| "Erik mountain bikes with Lance" |
If this were true, I had to be at the right place at just the right time in order to meet the number one ranked cyclist in the world. Would this be the day I would meet Lance Armstrong, the most successful racer in American cycling history? Thoughts raced through my mind like the passing peloton, as I approached the clearing about half way up the climb. If I were to fortunate enough to meet him, what would I say? After watching him race every day in Le Tour and reading his book, it would be surreal to actually meet the man, who had become a role model for millions of people worldwide over the past several years. His comeback from cancer to win four Tours de France had elevated him to legendary status. High rollers, like the cycling afficianados who own homes in Aspen, paid megabucks to ride with him in a large group. I tried be optimistic, but realistic. What are the chances I'll actually meet Lance? I tried to stay grounded. At the platform, a small group of riders, who were also hoping to catch a glimpse of Lance, had gathered. No one said much. The suspense was building, but I was also having my doubts. All of a sudden a blue uniformed rider appeared over the rise. He rode up to us greeted us with an upbeat, "Hey guys". It was Lance, but no one could really respond. Apparently, we were all awestruck. I finally got out the words, "Hey Lance" and held out my hand. "Great to meet you I'm Erik". We shook hands and the adventure began. "Do you mind if a few of us tag along"? I continued. "As long as you guys wait for my buddy, Bart. He's pretty slow". Lance had a quick wit and loved to rib his buddies. They enjoyed giving him a hard time in return. Following a brief photo session, the group of a dozen riders, including the Hub guys and two of Lance's best buddies, headed back to Hunter Creek Valley. Like he had done on Smuggler Road, Lance continued to set the pace for the group. We ripped Ricochet Road, the longer singletrack leading down to the valley. The problem is that none of us could really keep up with him! He easily pedaled away, but waited for us on the valley floor, where we all regrouped. We decided to make our way up to Four Corners via the jeep road then do the Hobbit loop and the Sunnyside descent. It doesn't get any better than this I thought. And I still can't believe this is happening! The U.S. Postal team leader became our group leader for the day. We followed him down the singletrack to the10th Mountain bridge. He was flying and I was finally positioned right behind him! "Take a right"! I shouted out as we crossed the bridge and made our way to the base of the climb. Climbing towards Four Corners, the group started to split apart. Lance was sitting up, looking very comfortable as he casually began to leave us in his dust again. At the time I was riding next to Charlie Tarver, owner of the Hub of Aspen, and said to him, "I'm going to try and get up there". "Go for it Dino," Charlie encouraged me. Realizing I wouldn't ride with Lance unless I went hard was the ultimate motivator to close the gap. When I did catch up, I discovered Lance was pushing Liz, our group's lone female rider, up the climb. Lance was chatting away, very relaxed and smiling, although he was literally pushing Liz uphill. Understandably, she had a big smile on her face too! Arriving at Four Corners, Lance shared a few more jabs with his friends, Bart and Morris. "Man you guys are slow!" We all enjoyed their verbal sparring, but soon decided it was time for a little Hobbit action. Charlie, the group organizer, directed me to take the group down the singletrack to Van Horn Park then climb back to Four Corners via the steep, winding climb up the Hobbit. I had no problem with that! Once again, we had the fastest rider, you know who, lead us down the trail as I called out directions from behind. Lance sped down the mudslick root-filled trail at race pace. I tried to carry on a conversation with him as I struggled to keep up. We mostly talked about the area and the killer riding to come! We arrived at Van Horn well ahead of the others and marveled at the fall colors and view of the surrounding peaks, including the Maroon Bells. He was impressed and obviously having a great time. "This is beautiful man". I found out Lance was a man of few words. But, what else needed to be said? We regrouped and headed up the next climb, the infamous Hobbit Trail. Lance took the lead. I was amazed by how effortlessly he was climbing up the mud-slicked trail. Even though I was spewing to keep up, I lost sight of him after a few minutes. I finally caught up to him at Four Corners. He was checking out the map to see what we had done and where we were heading next. "I guess you needed a little quiet time" I said. He mentioned he wanted to get his heart rate up a little too. Lance was also interested in our route so I pointed out where we had already ridden and where we were heading on the map. Soon after most of the group arrived, we launched into the Double Secret Probation Trail, which took us quickly (thanks to our fearless leader) over to Sunnyside. We shared another chuckle after I explained why it's sometimes called the Jedi Trail. Remember that Star Wars scene where they fly through the trees? Following my colorful description of Sunnyside, Lance was stoked for the downhill and itching to hit it! "Should we wait for those guys?' I asked. "Well, I really have to get back" he answered. His buddy, Bart, started the big descent with us. The three of us stayed together up the initial short uphills. Then, Lance put the hammer down again. I was lucky to keep him in my sights. Bart dropped back. It was now just Lance and I. Suddenly, I had the realization that an unbelievable experience was happening: I was actually riding with Lance Armstrong on my favorite ride. And we were going "mach shnell" accross the Sunnyside traverse! He didn't even hesitate on the rocky traverse, even though there was all that exposure on the left. Words became unnecessary. We were simply two guys mountain biking together on an incredible ride and loving it. We finally hit the short steep climb that pops up about a third of the way down the singletrack. Attempting to guide him, I called it out and we both shifted down. But, Lance had a little difficulty getting traction near the top of the rooty climb and I was somehow able to get by him on the left. I asked him if it would be OK to lead a while and he said "sure". Trying to keep the pace up, I lead for about five minutes. Using all my skills to stay in front of world's greatest cyclist, I took too much speed around a switchback and introduced myself to a couple of aspens. "It's all you buddy," I said as the man in blue whisked by me. He wore a big smile from ear to ear. Hikers making their way up the trail parted like the Red Sea as Lance wasn't slowing down for anything. Luckily, I was able to stay close to his wheel as he picked up the speed through the rocky lower sections of trail. "Man, my hands hurt" he turned back and said while we sailed over the red rock."Well, I'm not going to pretend to teach you anything, but you may just want to lighten up your grip on the bike a bit. Try to relax your hands and your upper body". Wait a minute. Did I really just say that ? The instructor in me was coming out. Lance was having fun locking up the rear wheel and sliding his Trek OCLV hardtail around the tight switchbacks. He was grunting a bit in the rougher sections and laughing in the faster parts of the gnarly trail. During one particularily tough section, I blurted out "Lance, you're a great mountain biker"! He just went, "Nah". He was definitely modest. I shouldn't have been surprised that he had such great mountain biking skills, especially after he had mentioned earlier he races mountain bikes and rides enduro motorcycles in his home state of Texas during the off-season. Suffice to say, we crushed the remaining downhill till finally reaching the Rio Grande Trail. We excitedly talked about the ride as I escorted him back to his hotel. "So what do think about the riding here"? I had to ask. "It's great man!" Heads turned left and right as we rode quickly up the Rio. Arriving at the hotel, I heartily shook his hand. "That was lot of fun and an honor to ride with you", I tried not to gush. "Erik that was great. Thanks a lot." I handed him my business card and watched him disappear into the hotel lobby. I stood there blown away. I found Lance to be a very upbeat friendly guy, who embraced his experiences, both good and bad. He seemed to really enjoy the mountain biking that day and was grateful. Towards the end of the ride when I asked him about the challenge of remaining positive during the worst part of his cancer treatments, he said he embraced the pain. He accepted the challenges in life, but kept in mind the good things, the important reasons to continue the fight. Lance struck me as a classy guy, but also just one of the guys. He is also one hell of a mountain biker. |
