*When Tyler Hamilton is barely moving.Rick shared the road with a genuine bike celebrity today. He was riding up Lefthand Canyon today when two guys blazed past him like he was going backwards. Now, Rick is no racer, but he is no slouch, either. He's been passed by racers, but according to him he has never been so totally dusted by two other riders on the road. He was: impressed.
A few minutes later, he saw the guys creeping along up ahead, which would indicate that they were recovering from the ass-kicking interval they just completed. He rode up alongside them and chitchatted about this and that--probably about how much totally faster they were than him (Or probably something more intelligent than that. I'm sure Rick played it cool.)
A few more minutes later, sure enough, one of the guys came racing by Rick. (Oh--for those unfamiliar with Lefthand Canyon? It's uphill. For like 7 miles. Not a wicked steep hill, but a hill. Most people do not sprint up.) And then he slowed down again and Rick caught up and started yakking with him. He thought, wow this guy looks familiar. Does he shop at Whole Foods, too?
It wasn't until the guy was long gone and Rick was on his way back to town that he realized: D'oh. That was Tyler Hamilton. Tour de France stage-claiming, Olympic gold medal winning--and, sadly, at one point, blood doping--Tyler Hamilton. Hope he's clean now, and wonder what he's training for?
For Rick, seeing Tyler Hamilton is way cooler than seeing, say, Justin Timberlake. Or Michael Jordan. Or Lance. Well, especially Lance. He called me right away to tell me that he passed Tyler. TWICE. (and, yeah, got smoked a few times, too, but who's counting?)
I'm so happy for him, and glad that at least one of us had a good day. I, on the other hand, did something completely dumbassed at work. So stupid. So incredibly self-destructive that even Britney Spears would look at it and say, "DUDE. That was really retarded. What were you thinking?"
But everyone makes mistakes. And tomorrow is another day. I'm sure Tyler would back me up on that.
A few minutes later, he saw the guys creeping along up ahead, which would indicate that they were recovering from the ass-kicking interval they just completed. He rode up alongside them and chitchatted about this and that--probably about how much totally faster they were than him (Or probably something more intelligent than that. I'm sure Rick played it cool.)
A few more minutes later, sure enough, one of the guys came racing by Rick. (Oh--for those unfamiliar with Lefthand Canyon? It's uphill. For like 7 miles. Not a wicked steep hill, but a hill. Most people do not sprint up.) And then he slowed down again and Rick caught up and started yakking with him. He thought, wow this guy looks familiar. Does he shop at Whole Foods, too?
It wasn't until the guy was long gone and Rick was on his way back to town that he realized: D'oh. That was Tyler Hamilton. Tour de France stage-claiming, Olympic gold medal winning--and, sadly, at one point, blood doping--Tyler Hamilton. Hope he's clean now, and wonder what he's training for?
For Rick, seeing Tyler Hamilton is way cooler than seeing, say, Justin Timberlake. Or Michael Jordan. Or Lance. Well, especially Lance. He called me right away to tell me that he passed Tyler. TWICE. (and, yeah, got smoked a few times, too, but who's counting?)
I'm so happy for him, and glad that at least one of us had a good day. I, on the other hand, did something completely dumbassed at work. So stupid. So incredibly self-destructive that even Britney Spears would look at it and say, "DUDE. That was really retarded. What were you thinking?"
But everyone makes mistakes. And tomorrow is another day. I'm sure Tyler would back me up on that.
5 comments:
I've had to type this up twice (stupid Blogger!)...
I'm also leaving this here (as opposed to five posts ago... gave me another error message...)
HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY, G-MAN!
...so... Casa Bonita is a real place??!!! THE CASA BONITA from the hilarious South Park episode???
New Pornographers rule! Did you see them when Emma Pollock opened for them? (She's from the Delgados... she rules, too!)
Tell Rick I power-walked past him in Golden Gate Park. (he was on his bike, pedaling furiously)
and CONGRATS on the house!
Yes! THE Casa Bonita. The Casa Bonita of legend.
(No Emma Pollock. Wah. That would have been awesome.)
yay for rick! as for the work thing: everybody does dumb shit sometimes. at least you're not driving around with tea on your lap. and no pants.
Rick...Our pal Dan Fost told me about your close encounter with Tyler. Nice.
We're throwing a party for Levi Leipheimer at my friend Fabio's restaurant in Petaluma. Check out the chat Levi had with Stan Bunger this morning on KCBS:
http://www.kcbs.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=1069746
Nice.
Bob C.
Mamele:
Of course not, silly. That's Rick's job.
Post a Comment