Ti Designs
09-10-2009, 05:08 PM
The thread about Lance going for a ride and 200 people showing up made me think about my own cycling hero - John Allis. If you show up for a ride with Lance, there's a good chance you'll never talk to the guy, and if you do it's a few seconds that he's never going to remember. Maybe you'll get a picture with Lance, but that's about all and it's about as meaningful as photoshopping Lance into one of your vacation photos...
John Allis is different. John was to cycling in the 70's what Lance is to cycling now, 'cept nobody cared about cycling back then. But John didn't return to racing after he retired, he started coaching new riders and creating a generation of cyclists. What impressed me the most about John was that it didn't matter who you are, he would work with you. Riders too slow to climb the hills with the group would find a helping hand from some old guy who would then give them tips on how to stay in. If you showed up on a cold ride without warm gloves he would pull out a pair of wool gloves from his pocket - "thay gave those to us in the Milk Race in '71", and he wasn't kidding!!! He once gave a rider his warm up suit from the 68 olympics because she was cold - that's kinda like Lance giving you one of his yellow jerseys 'cause it matches your shoes. For 30 years John coached the Harvard team, getting out on the road early in the morning at least 3 times a week, all winter long. At times it was easy to forget who he was - it's 20 degrees out, there are 6 of us, no skin showing... But somehow it always showed just who he is. I've also coached the Harvard team, but John always got the tough jobs. He would get a half dozen of the worst riders and come back from the loop with a smooth paceline. And John is still fast! On one of the morning rides there was an attack and a front group formed with some of the fast riders. The second time I rotated back John had bridged up - yes, the senior citizen had bridged the gap to a group of cat 2's...
John was so off the beaten path that nobody knew what he was worth. People pay a lot for coaching, they contact their coach by e-mail, they do power meter files and talk about training hours. John never charged anyone for his time and he coached the basics of cycling in person - and all you had to do was show up.
I've been riding with John for over 20 years, I've never gone for a ride with Lance Armstrong. Somehow I think that makes me the smart one for a change.
John Allis is different. John was to cycling in the 70's what Lance is to cycling now, 'cept nobody cared about cycling back then. But John didn't return to racing after he retired, he started coaching new riders and creating a generation of cyclists. What impressed me the most about John was that it didn't matter who you are, he would work with you. Riders too slow to climb the hills with the group would find a helping hand from some old guy who would then give them tips on how to stay in. If you showed up on a cold ride without warm gloves he would pull out a pair of wool gloves from his pocket - "thay gave those to us in the Milk Race in '71", and he wasn't kidding!!! He once gave a rider his warm up suit from the 68 olympics because she was cold - that's kinda like Lance giving you one of his yellow jerseys 'cause it matches your shoes. For 30 years John coached the Harvard team, getting out on the road early in the morning at least 3 times a week, all winter long. At times it was easy to forget who he was - it's 20 degrees out, there are 6 of us, no skin showing... But somehow it always showed just who he is. I've also coached the Harvard team, but John always got the tough jobs. He would get a half dozen of the worst riders and come back from the loop with a smooth paceline. And John is still fast! On one of the morning rides there was an attack and a front group formed with some of the fast riders. The second time I rotated back John had bridged up - yes, the senior citizen had bridged the gap to a group of cat 2's...
John was so off the beaten path that nobody knew what he was worth. People pay a lot for coaching, they contact their coach by e-mail, they do power meter files and talk about training hours. John never charged anyone for his time and he coached the basics of cycling in person - and all you had to do was show up.
I've been riding with John for over 20 years, I've never gone for a ride with Lance Armstrong. Somehow I think that makes me the smart one for a change.