Quote:
Originally Posted by john rogers
Ahhhh, the good old days look 171, the 1984 Olympics and all the hoopla and work up to get ready for it such as:
- The US Olympic folks spent $$$$$$$ at Penn State to see the best setup for road and track cyclists and found..... The Italians had got it right all the time for how to setup a bike and rider!
- Mark Gorski (won the sprint gold medal) was a member of our La Jolla Cycle club and the weekend before the Olympics got a traffic ticket in La jolla for running a stop sign!
- The day before the road race was to take place we were camping on a side street with about 20 members of the La Jolla Cycling club and Marrianne Berglund of Sweden who at that time was the reigning women's road race champion stopped by and we all took a ride of the course. Many people were calling hello to my daughter, Lisa who had won her 4th state championship and no one even knew who Marianne was which made her really laugh!
- George Mount was also a member at times of our club and I remember his comment about eating for racing: "eat what makes you happy" and he said when racing in Europe he would have cheesecake from N.Y. brought over by friends so his stomach would be "happy"
- I remember when Greg Lemond, who had just won the junior world's championship road race lapped the Senior 1/2 and Pro field at the UCSD criterium and then sat at the back of the pack with his teammates and the rider that won the sprint was REALLY pissed when he found out he was actually second!
Ahhh yes, that is why my knees, hips and shoulders all ache today I guess from riding 400 or more miles a week.....
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Oh boy, the good old days is right. I remember Gorski beating Sergi Kopylov, the world champ, in the 7-11 velodrome in 1983. Michael Hubner of E. Ger. was the fast one. When those guys came around the corner, you could almost feel the ground shake. I was so pissed when they boycotted.
I hate to say it, its and American thing to be so scientific about everything. The Italians, Belgian, and such had a hundred years of experience. A few months ago I started to ride again after 15 years. This kid in a local bike shop kept trying to tell me I need a professional fitting on my bike. Things are not what they use to be 20 years ago. Buy a computer to log my miles and keep in check with my cadence. What happen to try and true? I refuse to have one of those large screen TV on my handle bar. I drink only water on all my rides. No need for sports drinks. The quality miles are what counts not the magic in the bottle. Riding, chasing, and doing tempo with your tongue hanging out will get us there. I am a loooong way from there
I rode for Montrose up here.
I was in love with that little blond in her pony tails. Deep down inside, I wanted Twigg to win because she was one of ours. Carpenter was ok too, she had my bike or maybe I had her Puch. Was your daughter state champ on the road or track? How old was she? Did you ride track at all down there?
Mount, wow. The first American to ride for a European pro team. I wish I can hear some of those stories. I read somewhere LeMond was riding 1/2 races all the time as a Jr and that he lapped them all the time.
I am in my mid 40s. I too put in lots of hard miles like you for about 15-20 years. Is that what I have to look forward to?
Jeff