Pro Argument

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So what’s the most “pro” thing you’ve ever done? Have you thrown away a water bottle? Maybe a white saddle or white handle bar tape? Have you ever given an autograph? Or perhaps you’ve changed in full view of a race that’s just finished – that would be very pro indeed.

68 Comments

Anonymous

I got spit on by Lemond while taking photos on the inside of a tight turn during the Tour DuPont. I think it was unintentional. Unfortunately, my being covered in his DNA had no effect on my cycling.

hahaha

Jay, you know Horner, Rapinski and another Saturn guy finished that race, rode to a coffee shop in Lemoninster and sat around for couple hours siting and sipping and shooting the breeze. That is so pro.

Tri-Guy OG

Moment is Pro for Tri-Guy. Starting Kona after a pro-rep friend of mine bamboozled a spot for me. Riding the lava fields on the Queen Highway with a freshly “Naired” body is about as pro as it gets.

Jay Mueller

I am going to retract my previous statements as being “pro” moments as they seem to prove my douchebagness more than any, uh, proness. Plus they look like name dropping in a race where I eventually got my ass whupped.

How about moving to attack up the side of the field at Jiminy Peak a few years ago and getting covered in piss by all the real pros who decided en masse to take a rolling nature break?

Damn it. I give up.

Jay Mueller

Circuit Race Fitchburg 2003 gave me two pro moments.

1. Looking Chris Horner dead in the eye as he, Rapinski, and one other guy lapped us in the field during the circuit race and saying, “Are you f—ing kidding me?” Then he attacked the field again without responding to my comment.

2. Riding cross eyed, single file on the backstretch false flat when the Jittery Ho in front of me let a huge gap open then pulled off, going backwards. I closed the gap to like 20 meters and as I was about to explode heard an Australian voice behind me scream, “Close that goddamn gap!” As I popped and started to go backwards myself I looked at Henk Vogels and said, “Close it yourself, you f—ing kangaroo.”

Anonymous

Point-to-point stage race in eastern Europe, lodging and meals were provided by the race en route (financed by the national Sports Ministry), raced as an American on a German team.

but I was there

.
Point to Point everyday in stage race tour. Identifying, and spraying hoochie mamma crowd breasts, on the fly, off the cuff. It’s a beautiful moment that bonds the bunch. No more moping in the gutter at 3/7ths power, strength, and will…You shine, and lift your head as you smile to yourself, and know that you are a winner, and the member of a creative, elite, cutesy pie bunch that just can’t quite leave the trail as they found it, and can’t stay around to divide and conquer the drama unless we’re servin’ the swervin’, son.

Phil Pack

I know. controversial comment, but did you notice 4 of the 5 breakaway guys sported white saddle with White bar tape of course. Sooo pro. No wonder I’ve got Fizik Arione wing Flex with the black cover and white thigh glides. Pro! David Millar is sporting it on the white Scott

My most pro moment:Bringing my cycleops trainer to the Bear mtn. Fall classic. Helped me move up from last to 4th from last. Very pro.

horse of a different color

Winning a national championship and not being picked or even considered for the Sidney Olympic team

Brother Jim

…driving a steady 105mph in the team Subaru with 3 bikes on top from midnight to 3am on through PA on I-80 from Cleveland to Harrisburg whilst not officially on the teams insurance, after all 3 of us wrecked at Clowner’s Grove.

Was Something

Won a mountain road stage solo in the snow, securing GC in the process.

Also got to watch a high school cheerleading squad do a routine on the start line before a crit at Superweek.

Anonymous

not to post results for those who can’t watch during the day (there is no way to have read the warning on the left without seeing the name close by on the right). This is even understood on the NYCC message board and one would think it would be well understood here. Get a clue and some courtesy while your at it.

Some guy

I don’t have a blog on this site, or at all, though i do have a website. I post here a lot, sometimes with my initials and sometimes anon.

Girlfriend in that case was in the 1980s. Married to a different person now.

Oh, wifey helped me with a “pro” moment: drinking eigth to ten bottles in the course of a hot 100-mile race – that’s pro.

Anonymous

My most pro moment was when I overheard Coach L yelling venga,venga venga at some newbies on Harlem Hill. By the way has anybody heard from the old Coach. I kinda miss the guy.

Anonymous

To Some Guy,
Wouldn’t you need a girlfriend, though?

Let me guess who you are…you write a blog for this site right?

Anonymous

Stagg’s built a run-up by the northeast fence, right next to the area where there’s no barbed wire. He needs someone to get him at 4:30 AM Friday. Takers? He’s offering two marshaling credits.

wanna ride more

I think I might pay someone to come up to me and ask if I’m “xxx-xxx the bike racer” while standing with my girlfriend – it wont feel pro to me of course, but it will likely buy me many hours of riding without complaint from her!

Anonymous

after solidifying victory in a CRCA points race, i just tried to stay out of trouble on the last lap. Then my teammates and I all poured a glass of champaign when we passed Tavern on the Green.

Schmuck

Where’s Schmalz’ journal entry from last night’s FBF race? I want to read about how drinking beer and eating fried pork slowed him down.

Ray Alba

Manny Barosso was hit by a car on the Gimbles ride this past Sunday. He had to be heliported to Westchester Medical Center. He was in very serious condition – and I believe at one point was listed as critical. He has already had a couple of operations and will be getting another on his face in the next day or so. Please wish him well and if you want to send something to him – he will be at the Westchester Medical Center most likely through the weekend.

I just got off the phone with him and he sounds like he is in good spirits – and ironically looking forward to riding his bike again.

some guy

Do results count? Or getting paid to race?

Anyway, I don’t have either of those things so here goes. Not at work today and I’ve ridden for years, so this list will be long.

Some kid ran up to me after a crit at Superweek where I was involved in putting on a show (in the 3s) and asked for an autograph.

Saying “Why yes, I am” when some guy ran up to me in the big train station in Boston and asked if I was “XXXX YYYYY, the bike racer.” I was with my girlfriend which made it even better.

Took off an undershirt in a race with help from a teammate and helped him take his off too. Then handed shirts off to a supporter in a feedzone.

Flawless bike change with a teammate who was top-10 on GC at the top of baby gap in the Green Mountain Stage race.

Riding a 100K criterium in 90F weather.

Riding a 100-lap criterium in pouring rain.

Gave a rain jacket to Tyler Hamilton in the road race at Fitchburg. We’d been racing a couple hours in cold rain, but the rain was letting up so I took it off. Hamilton had started with no jacket and was beginning to have a crisis from the cold. (He still finished ahead of me….)

Said “Good luck in Barcelona” to Lance Armstrong in the middle of his last race before the Olympics and he grunted back “Thanks.”

Getting dropped 45 miles into a race, chasing for 15 miles with two guys and as we pass the comissar’s car and catch the second half of the field (which had split) having her look out the window, write down my number and say “Welcome back, rider 217.”

Yelling “WTF are you doing?!” at Ed Beamon of Navigators as he pushed me and having him yell back “You know what I’m doing!”

Off the front in race in Canada with one other guy with two police cars and two motor cycles in front, a commisar’s car and a wheel van behind.

Pissing off the bike in races.

Stopping to piss in the middle of the race. I know the ladies do this often, but for guys it’s pretty rare.

Racing in Virginia on a Thursday and Maine on the weekend.

And the two “anti-pro” moments. First, had a Coors Light team rider (Greg Oravetz, a major dick who won the US pro championship among other things) say “What is this, amateur hour?” when me and some buddies tried some action behind a break at the Killington stage race.

Second, spending 50 miles dropped with pro rider (who now lives in NYC and does some coaching) with him telling me how much it sucked to be there, how it especially sucked for him because his team would give him shiat for being so far back, but that “It probably isn’t so bad for you since you’re used to this.” Thanks!

Toto

I whip out a meatball Sub at the start line, start munching and staring menacingly at the skinny bastards. Then I attack for a few KM righto ff the front. Then I vomit.

Anonymous

I won a big race…went right to my van, Dude, and ripped my shirt and pants off in case any one needed to see what makes me tick

JFG

Trained with an elite level Colavita Sutter home Rider and in the Catskills and the Navigators team and in both instances road back to the team cars for water bottles while the real pros trained.

Waugh

Raced in a Freezing downpour at Branchbrook, crossed the line, coasted 30 feet to the Team RV, went in, took a hot shower. Had a Fanta.

Anonymous

I tossed a water bottle in the Bear feed zone, then on the last lap, i saw that my teammate working the feed had left it, so I stopped and picked it up before crossing the finish line – that’s how against littering I am.

Anonymous

Training, being light, spending money, not working hard enough, thinking of cycling all the time, not training, not being light enough, eating too much, reading this website every few minutes, racing, not racing …, all as pro as shit.

Anonymous

crashing at a stage and getting to use the medic car. Then chasing back to the back of the field to get spit out the back on the final climb.

Anonymous

Ive gone to feed zone after a race and actually taken bottles thrown away by others that looked nice (and abandoned). So not pro and I dont care.

Dumbass

soloed away from the group for no apparent reason(except for the publicity to my sponsors) only to get caught 1 lap later. There was helicopter coverage last night, oh, wait, that might of been NYPD practice – so much for the publicity.

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