On Floyd's Wheel.
Me and Floyd chillin with his teammates.(Mostly from Frank's blog)
It was a Friday. I received unsolicited intelligence from an undisclosed source that Floyd Landis was in town. A few minutes later that intelligence was independently verified twice by two 2nd person observers. Yes indeed "Floyd Landis is in town". Frank started my suspicion that Mr. Landis would show up at a local ride the following day. So my homey convened via mobile-cellular technology (texting) and we decided to discretely rendezvous at the non-disclosed location the following morning at O-10-hundred hours. We arrived and waited and looked around. No sign yet. Then and after a while the one and only, 2006 Tour de France champion, Floyd Landis arrived at the location of the ride departure. There were about 20 cyclist gathered. There was no "star-struckness". I remained cool and spoke with him (nobody else would).
We were off. At times he was on my wheel. At other times I was on his wheel. We stopped at stop signs and red lights together. I heard the same voice in the paceline that I have heard on OLN and VERSUS interviews during the Tours de France. I was wrongly accuse at one point of unknowingly trying to run him off the road as we climbed up the short and steep Potato Gap. Floyd was boxed in as we were climbing more slowly in front of him. Sunshine blurted, "don't let him out!". We chuckled. Ha ha. There goes Floyd up the climb ahead of us. I can't hang with that. I am hurting. I hoped that I would not get dropped on this rare-opportunity ride. The team car is waiting on me (and all of the slower people). I hang on to the car as we go up a few of the short climbs. I wasn't going to get dropped. There were no officials, so pull me all the way up. Thanks! ...again, over and over....thanks!
It was like a normal ride.....a normal ride with Floyd Landis. It was pretty cool. He had yellow shoes on. He once wore a yellow jersey. Outside of Marshall, we raced a locomotive going down the tracks beside us. I witnessed Floyd waving at the train conductor. The train conductor waved back. . The train blew its horn loud. I stayed on Floyd's wheel for a while, took my turn at the front and eventually fell off of the first group. I got dropped. Behind me the team car was closing in with several other cyclist drafting behind it. I "got on" and was saved from getting dropped all-together. We rode at 32 mph drafting the team car up the slight grade to catch Floyd's group. This ride would have been fun even if Floyd wasn't here. This is a good day.
So now instead of riding with Floyd, I am stuck on Rory Sutherland's wheel. (oh darn) I told Frank that we will be faster next year, just from this one ride alone, oh yeah we will.
(Pictures are from Evan Wynn)
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