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witcombusa
05-11-2009, 06:12 PM
I found an old picture of Eric on the bike in the 1984. Is it just me or
does he look like he could crush a 753 tubeset frame without working
up a sweat. (6', 190lbs.)

Ah, the old 7-Eleven day's. The who's who of the US emergence into
the Euro peloton.
mike p
05-11-2009, 06:15 PM
You don't see arms like those on many bike racers.

Mike
r_mutt
05-11-2009, 06:25 PM
that mofo looks positively hulk-like. he was my hero when he won all those golds at- was it lake placid?
totally_fixxate
05-11-2009, 06:26 PM
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TXr5uGM_ox8/SQyPHfmCvkI/AAAAAAAADlA/F7Ad43ej2hI/s1600-h/eric+heiden.JPG
jimp1234
05-11-2009, 06:26 PM
I'm sorry I didn't go see him last year when he was out promoting his book. If for no other reason than to settle once and for all the urban myth that he climbed Old La Honda Road under 15 minutes...
r_mutt
05-11-2009, 06:28 PM
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TXr5uGM_ox8/SQyPHfmCvkI/AAAAAAAADlA/F7Ad43ej2hI/s1600-h/eric+heiden.JPG


2 things i love about that pic:

1 - that cinelli laser. imho, the coolest of the "funny bike" era.

2 - he's wearing the same sidi's i had when i was a kid!


:banana:
mike p
05-11-2009, 06:29 PM
Did he win any big bike races?

Mike



http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TXr5uGM_ox8/SQyPHfmCvkI/AAAAAAAADlA/F7Ad43ej2hI/s1600-h/eric+heiden.JPG
totally_fixxate
05-11-2009, 06:49 PM
Did he win any big bike races?

Mike


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Heiden#Road_bicycle_racing
witcombusa
05-11-2009, 06:50 PM
I know he won the first ever US Pro Championship (1985). Rode at least one Tour as well.
Erik.Lazdins
05-11-2009, 06:53 PM
that mofo looks positively hulk-like. he was my hero when he won all those golds at- was it lake placid?

Lake Placid NY it was in 1980 - all done outdoors! :beer:
Lifelover
05-11-2009, 06:56 PM
A skater or a biker that looked like that today would be universally accused of taking PEDS.
witcombusa
05-11-2009, 07:00 PM
And is that a Tom Ritchey frameset he is riding in that first picture? Ritchey did build some beautiful road frames..... :beer:
johnnymossville
05-11-2009, 07:12 PM
I remember him being on a Schwinn catalog I dog-eared to death as a kid. I guess he rode for them for awhile also?
William
05-11-2009, 07:22 PM
He thinned out a bit for cycling. To this day one of my nastiest warm up exercises in my classes are one I got from Eric Heiden. If you do them right, you will have trouble walking down stairs or sitting down. :D


William

http://www.bikes.msu.edu/greatest_cyclists/ericheiden.jpg

http://cencalcycling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Image/crit08/Heiden-USPro.jpg

http://4pack.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/ericheiden.jpg

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=69176&rendTypeId=4

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2009/news/jan09/jan27news2heiden/APP2001031524862.jpg

http://www.bobkestrut.com/images/heidens.jpg
witcombusa
05-11-2009, 07:44 PM
Some great pics! That first one really gives you a look at the Ritchey frame and stem....NICE.

Beth was a great athlete also. Saw her race in the Coor's Classic back in the day.

http://www.bikes.msu.edu/greatest_cyclists/ericheiden.jpg

http://www.bobkestrut.com/images/heidens.jpg
johnnymossville
05-11-2009, 07:54 PM
...and they both have pretty nice penmanship too!
Buzz
05-11-2009, 11:23 PM
I met Eric at a book signing this past fall 28 years after I had the good fortune of being in Lake Placid to witness him win several of his gold medals. I had my '80 Olympics photo album and tickets with me. He started rattling off his competitors names and their splits. Good memory. He signed one of my tickets from his race and I gave him an extra ticket I had from of one his races.

Interestingly he told me has not been back to Lake Placid since 1980. I thought that was odd but on further reflection I think he is a guy that is always focused on the next challenge and doesn't measure his life by what is in the past. He and Max Testa currently have a sports performance clinic in Utah after many years of Eric working as an Orthopedic Surgeon at UC Davis.

The USA won 6 gold medals. Heiden accounted for 5 of them. The USA Hockey team obviously won the other gold medal. Beth Heiden won a bronze medal. The USA won 12 total medals. The Heidens accounted for 50% of all the USA medals at the 1980 Olympics.

Still get goosebumps thinking about seeing him skate in his golden skinsuit and then of course watching the US Hockey team make their march towards their gold medal and especially their victory over the Soviet Union. It was quite an amazing few weeks in my life to witness and experience these events in person.

Thanks for sharing the photos above.
Sandy
05-11-2009, 11:34 PM
You don't see arms like those on many bike racers.

Mike

You don't see the legs like his on many bike racers either. I remember how massive his thighs looked when he was speed skating.


:banana: Speed Skating Steel Serotta Sandy :banana:
Kingfisher
05-12-2009, 07:33 AM
I saw him at Core States back in the 80's...back then you could walk right up to the team "tents". All I remember was that when he stood up, the crowd let out a collective gasp over the musculature in his legs...I have never seen that type of ripped leg muscles before or since, pretty amazing.
dogdriver
05-12-2009, 07:51 AM
"Doctor" Heiden lives in Park City, UT now. Not one to loaf, he went to medical school after the "athlete thing" and is now an orthopedic surgeon. He's still involved with mentoring developing athletes, and him and his partner, Max Testa, run cycling development camps throughout the year. He still hammers on local rides.

http://heidenorthopaedic.com/
RABikes2
05-12-2009, 10:23 AM
During RAAM in 2005, I was on a solo rider's crew and heard Eric was part of one of the 8 person RAAM teams. If I remember correctly, their team was promoting/raising money for organ donors. I met some nice folks on their crew.

Adding my .02 of trivia
RA
Waldo
05-12-2009, 01:15 PM
You don't see the legs like his on many bike racers either. I remember how massive his thighs looked when he was speed skating.


:banana: Speed Skating Steel Serotta Sandy :banana:

Hell, I'll settle for Beth's quads. :crap:
gone
05-13-2009, 01:19 AM
Beth was a great athlete also. Saw her race in the Coor's Classic back in the day.


She sure was. I remember that the ABC coverage of her at the Olympics really pissed me off. They'd done a lot of setpieces about her and Eric and then went on and on about how she "failed" because she didn't win a half dozen golds. I don't recall that they reported anything about her ankle injury leading up to the Olympics.

I always admired her and followed her accomplishments as a bike racer afterwards.
paulandmonster
05-13-2009, 01:53 AM
also a national champ in cycling
RABikes2
05-14-2009, 10:25 AM
During RAAM in 2005, I was on a solo rider's crew and heard Eric was part of one of the 8 person RAAM teams. If I remember correctly, their team was promoting/raising money for organ donors. I met some nice folks on their crew.

Adding my .02 of trivia
RA
OLYMPIAN, DR. ERIC HEIDEN OF 'TEAM DONATE LIFE,' AND 'TEAM GIVE ...

TEMPE, Arizona—2005 Insight Race Across America (RAAM), ... Dr. Eric Heiden is no stranger to RAAM, having witnessed his first race in 1983 as a guest ...
www.o2sm.com/press-releases/raam_2005/pr11_team_donate_life_061005.pdf