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edited by: Andy Cline, Cycling Editor

A more simple time

  • CHAPTER 60: Final chapter [June 1996]

    After Philly, it was a quick run up to Trexlertown for the U.S. Olympic Track Trials. I had spent a lot of time with elite group pursuiters who that had trained together in hopes of bringing the U.S. up to world class in that event. And there were plenty track/road [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2008, 1:28pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 59: Turning the corner [June 1996]

    The long roadtrip continued up to Philadelphia. In my mind, the '96 Olympic Trials changed the face of American racing. The money poured into the effort brought the best out of everyone. All the men and women who started the Olympic dream in earnest two or three years ago, managed [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2008, 1:23pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 58: Bookends [June 1996]

    You would think a writer with keen insight should have seen this coming. Could have seen it coming. Would have seen it coming. But, as Steve Hegg says time and again, "Shoulda, woulda, coulda."
    Just past the finishing straight in Boiling Springs, N.C., a few large oaks offer shade [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2008, 12:07am EDT

  • CHAPTER 57: Trials and tribulations [June 1996]

    When I think of '96, a number of moments flood my mind like a cycling version of "One Shining Moment" that CBS runs at the end of the NCAA Basketball Championship. Sappy, sure, but when you get to know individuals as well as I knew just about everyone toeing the [...]
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    Posted: August 29, 2008, 2:49pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 56: First signs [May 1996]

    Of course, Lance won his second Tour DuPont. But it wasn't anything like the first. As he finished on the campus of Kennesaw State College, I was the first reporter running at his side. And for the first time in my career covering him, something wasn't right. I sensed it. [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2008, 2:28pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 55: Dialed in [May 1996]

    There are times I get so absorbed in what I'm covering that magic happens. I don't know how it happens. I don't know how to explain. I just know things happen.
    Take, for instance, the U.S. championship criterium in Seattle in '94. It was a flat course out on [...]
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    Posted: August 22, 2008, 3:25pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 54: Seeds of something [May 1996]

    Since I had already sold a number of stories for the '96 Tour DuPont, Olympic Trials and Philadelphia as I prepared for a year as a freelancer, John Wilcockson graciously allowed me to cover those main events that were previously his sole property. It was a sign that he was [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2008, 7:59pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 53: This is it [February 1996]

    Okay, here's a subject you don't hear too often standing around the water cooler at work: Did you know when you conceived your child?
    Our answer: Yes, without a doubt. No question. The cosmos shook.
    I'm telling you straight out. Clear as day, as if it were scrolling [...]
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    Posted: August 20, 2008, 2:33pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 52: A Beijing duck [November 1995]

    Back at our hotel in Beijing, we headed to the bar for some R&R in the afternoon. It didn't take long for us, well, okay, mainly me, to strike up a conversation with a young manager of the bar. She was about 25. She spoke pretty decent English, and enjoyed [...]
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    Posted: August 19, 2008, 2:23pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 51: It’s foxxx [November 1995]

    The irony of James Startt getting my VeloNews assignment was the fact that we were teamed up as roommates throughout the Tour. No hard feelings. I had known James from the Tour DuPont. He was a good guy from Indiana who has plopped himself in France to cover bike racing. [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2008, 3:08pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 50: Shanghai revelations, part 3 [November 1995] 2

    I met Greg Randolph at the U.S. Nationals back in June, and we hit it off immediately. Talk about a rare bird. He just finished as the top amateur in the time trial in Seattle, and I found him sitting on the tailgate of a well-worn station wagon — one [...]
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    Posted: August 15, 2008, 1:29pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 50: Shanghai revelations, part 2 [November 1995]

    While the racers had their hurdles to overcome in China, the journalists had bigger ones. From the outset we could feel eyes upon us. Literally. We were being followed around and watched, closely, to make sure we weren't going to violate our parameters. That is, we were here to cover [...]
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    Posted: August 14, 2008, 11:32pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 50: Shanghai revelations [November 1995]

    Steve Brunner was the PR director for Medalist Sports, who ran the Tour DuPont. Mike Plant's next great vision was coming together with the first major bike race in China. Heck, it was about the only untapped market out there for Plant to expand into. Brunner planted a seed with [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2008, 7:00pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 49: In the stars [September 1995]

    In September we hit the road again for vacation. Our previous two vacations had been aberrations, in that we took them in July, in the heat of the summer. We did that in '93 because I had planned on continuing at The Register, so we had to take vacation then. [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2008, 6:46pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 48: Pursuit of a story [August 1995]

    I took a road trip to Colorado Springs to spend a week at the Olympic Training Center getting as many pre-Olympic features done as possible. I was getting my foot in the door and creating the base for what I'd need to find a way to get a credential for [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2008, 6:39pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 47: Fiery Red [June 1995]

    But that was just the start of Saturn's amazing run. Next up, the Liberty Classic in Philadelphia. The victor there? The woman with the biggest personality of all.
    As the full women's field closed in on the finish of the CoreStates Liberty Classic after 57 miles , Saturn's Clara [...]
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    Posted: August 10, 2008, 6:09pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 46: The women’s side [May 1995]

    It was great to have Linda Brenneman back in the women's field. Her absence in '94 allowed me to get to know the other women much better, and with her back, I felt completely dialed in. Linda surprised everyone by showing up and winning Redlands, even though she drove nearly [...]
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    Posted: August 09, 2008, 6:03pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 45: Trying harder, part 2 [May 1995]

    Of course, now to the story behind the story. I wrote this in my journal after I had filed my stories for newspapers in Austin, Orange County, Winston-Salem and a few others:
    A long day dragged on longer and longer and longer, but hey, that's my job, my challenge, [...]
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    Posted: August 08, 2008, 3:07pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 45: Trying harder [May 1995]

    Just as Malcolm Elliott had done in '94, Norm Alvis stormed onto the North American schedule with a powerful base of European fitness from his years as a domestique for Motorola. After years of grunt work, it was his chance to step into a leading man role in the off-Broadway [...]
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    Posted: August 07, 2008, 4:01pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 44: Really wild [May 1995]

    The way Armstrong won West Virginia was every bit as impressive as his victory at DuPont and Motorola's thrashing at Pittsburgh. He simply stomped everyone. No wonder he was acting like king of the world. He destroyed everyone in the 110-mile stage 4 that began and ended in Beckley. That [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2008, 5:15pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 43: Wild, wonderful, wet Lance [May 1995]

    I covered the Tour of West Virginia twice, and had a blast both times. I had no official press vehicle. I was roaming the roads of West Virginia both legally and illegally. Funny how just turning on the emergency flashers of a black Ford Explorer with a bike on the [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2008, 5:10pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 42: Stainless steel [May 1995]

    I'm not so sure that the Thrift Drug Classic doesn't serve as a microcosm of Lance Armstrong's growth as a bike racer. As a young gun, he won it simply on sheer force. In '94 he won it as a reluctant star, accepting his role as team leader only after [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2008, 12:36am EDT

  • CHAPTER 41: Nice Asheville, part 2 [May 1995]

    The first place we hit in Asheville, she saw two guys she knew. They sat in a booth with us. The three of them pounded brews like there was no tomorrow. I was picking up the tab. Hey, it was a small price to pay for the entertainment value. They [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2008, 3:50pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 41: Nice Asheville [May 1995]

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Sorry for the down time, but, you know, summer vacation called.
    Speaking of Asheville, well, I have to tell you. I fell in love with the place. Of course, the main race entourage lived in the lap of luxury, staying at the Old Grove Inn. I stayed [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2008, 3:53pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 40: The comeback [May 1995]

    Never again.
    Imagine hearing those words flowing from someone's mouth who you are programmed to believe — someone who supposedly holds the answers to so many of the secrets of the human body. It's as though Doctors spit out those words on a daily basis, these days becoming almost [...]
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    Posted: June 21, 2008, 1:11am EDT

  • CHAPTER 39: Getting tight [May 1995]

    A cool thing happened before DuPont. I talked to Lance Armstrong for a preview from Europe. That wouldn't mean much to most people, except that Motorola press honk Paul Sherwen took me aside to point out, "You know, you're the only American Lance did an interview with before he got [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2008, 1:07pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 38: Roadtrip 2.0 [April 1995]

    The only way to capture the essence of Roadtrip 2.0 is to enjoy a couple glimpses from my journal. In retrospect, I wish I would have had the dedication to force myself to sit down and write something each day. But in reality, the schedule I kept was as brutal [...]
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    Posted: June 11, 2008, 5:22pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 37: Broadening my horizons [Jan. 1995]

    I started keeping an eye on the track cycling, too. That led me to Mike McCarthy and the team pursuiters.
    McCarthy is another one of those mind-bogglingly interesting people who kept me riveted on the sport. Cycling is hardly big-time in the U.S. New York Yankees. New York Knicks. [...]
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    Posted: June 08, 2008, 2:43pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 36: Countdown begins [Dec. 1994]

    It's eerie how cycling has popped its head in and out of my life over the years. Having my real journalism career begin with my first story on Och, and all. Well, there was another rather interesting twist.
    When we moved to Southern California in 1985, our only [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2008, 4:46pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 35: Austin on the cheap, part 2 [Dec. 1994]

    While the idea of spending a week or so at a team's training camp might sound appealing, well, it is and it isn't. It is because it's great to see riders with one season behind them and their optimistic sights set on the future. It's kind of lame because, really, [...]
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    Posted: May 29, 2008, 1:55pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 35: Austin on the cheap [Dec. 1994]

    The next morning, at 7 a.m., I was flying out of LAX to meet up with Lance and the Motorola boys down in Austin. I managed to get up in time, but I left my driver's license at the hotel in the pocket of my tux for my wife to [...]
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    Posted: May 23, 2008, 2:19pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 34: Cranking it up [Nov. 1994]

    One of the more prestigious assignments that really didn't matter to more than a handful of people was getting contracted by the Associated Press to cover the press conference and write about Greg LeMond's retirement. I got the heads up that the announcement was coming more than a week ahead [...]
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    Posted: May 19, 2008, 4:13pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 33: Branching out, part 2 [Sept. 1994]

    My attempts to find other areas of interest continued well into the fall. Two years earlier, I covered the Furnace Creek 508 for The Register. It was an amazing experience, my photographer and I in a rented van, basically staying up for 40 hours to cover the event. It is [...]
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    Posted: May 15, 2008, 5:30pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 33: Branching out [July 1994]

    CHAPTER 33: Branching out
    I had the summer to try to dip my toes into some other projects. I spent a majority of my time trying to learn how to get my screenplay sold. Talk about a painful process. But I also kept hammering trying to make this freelance [...]
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    Posted: May 12, 2008, 12:23pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 32: That other race [July 1994]

    Of course, as I was dialing back, the rest of the cycling world was gearing up. The Tour de France was on its way. And that's where my Milwaukee connection cashed in again. Years and years after that first story on Och for a community newspaper, I was writing about [...]
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    Posted: May 09, 2008, 2:20pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 31: Wild and innocent [June 1994]

    I first met Kevin Livingston at Redlands in '92, as he helped Scott Fortner win the overall title. A few months later, I got to spend more time with him in Altoona as I got close to the Saturn team. And we spent some time chatting at the '93 Tour [...]
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    Posted: May 05, 2008, 6:43pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 30: Rings around [June 1994]

    When I think of young women rising through the ranks, one of the closest to my heart is Dede Demet. I first met Dede at the '91 Junior National Championships. I started a relationship with my old hometown newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal, through her career (and Mionske in Altoona).
    [...]
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    Posted: May 03, 2008, 12:03am EDT

  • CHAPTER 29: Leave a light on [June 1994]

    It was a blessing, of sorts, that Linda Brenneman would sit out the '94 season to give birth to her son, Benjamin. It allowed me to get to know the women in the North American peloton without my trusty security blanket. I also call it the North American peloton in [...]
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    Posted: April 30, 2008, 1:09pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 28: Just doing my job [June 1994]

    What made that Pittsburgh experience all the more interesting is what happened in Philadelphia. I can only share those insights from two distinctive perspectives.
    As I've said, what drew me to cycling was the ability to cover it the way true journalism is supposed to be practiced. Use [...]
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    Posted: April 28, 2008, 3:37pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 27: Tough as steel [May 1994]

    A few days later, I found a campground outside of Pittsburgh, and prepared for the next phase of my trip.
    As I got closer to Armstrong, I became fascinated with his story. After another humbling experience at DuPont just coming up short for victory, he got his frustration out [...]
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    Posted: April 25, 2008, 12:38am EDT

  • CHAPTER 26: Shenandoah [May 1994]

    When the Tour DuPont rolled around, I had a network of connections working for me. I covered DuPont as a stringer for Cycling USA, The Orange County Register, Austin American-Statesman, Albuquerque Journal, a few stages for the Winston-Salem Journal and I had connections with a number of other newspapers that [...]
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    Posted: April 21, 2008, 2:18pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 25 Da man [March 1994]

    While I wanted to focus on the unique individuals who raced in anonymity in America because that's where my heart was, I also had to keep my eye on the big prize. It had to do with options. Potential. Future possibilities. My aggressive style of covering the Tour DuPont did [...]
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    Posted: April 16, 2008, 5:01pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 24: Charting a course, part 2 [January 1994]

    Still, the story that felt most endearing to me on the men's side was Malcolm Elliott. So I spent some time with him at his home in Santa Barbara, where he told me that each morning when he pulls on his white jersey and smiles, it reminds him that the [...]
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    Posted: April 14, 2008, 4:36pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 24: Charting a course [January 1994]

    By the time Christmas rolled around, I had my '94 season pretty well planned out. My spring classics were in California. After hitting the preseason camps of the Sheriffs in Santa Barbara, and later Saturn and Coors Light in Santa Rosa, I'd drive up the coast again on successive weekends [...]
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    Posted: April 09, 2008, 6:39pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 23: A check off my list, part 6 [September 1993]

    There was little doubt I had just one day of riding left, no matter how far I made it. From the moment I climbed on my bike in the morning my uncomfortable butt and sore knee made it obvious that wherever I ended today would be it, even if it [...]
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    Posted: April 07, 2008, 2:33pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 23: A check off my list, part 5 [September 1993]

    Day 5 started briskly, with another overcast day. This would be the last day with my escorts, Jeff and Dan. The day's goal was left up in the air. Lompoc would be too easy, just 40 miles or so. After that was another 30 miles to Gaviota, but there wasn't [...]
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    Posted: April 04, 2008, 2:45pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 23: A check off my list, part 4 [September 1993]

    At this point I have to admit there was a lot of guilt surrounding this trip. Although Debbie and I have managed a couple of quasi-bicycle trips on our own in the past few years, we haven't had the major tour that lurks in the back of our minds. We [...]
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    Posted: March 31, 2008, 12:39pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 23: A check off my list, part 3 [September 1993]

    I didn't really sleep much the first night. The most memorable moment was 5 a.m., when the full moon was nearing the western horizon, lighting up the Pacific with a neon blue glow. I started coffee and toasted bagels for breakfast, then sat on the patio of the beach house [...]
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    Posted: March 27, 2008, 3:32pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 23: A check off my list, part 2 [September 1993]

    Few cities display such a distinct personality as San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge just a colorful outfit in a wardrobe closet filled with more options than any socialite could imagine. From the Bridge through the Presidio, we rode in relative peace. The traffic jams were saved for the major [...]
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    Posted: March 19, 2008, 6:59pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 23: A check off my list [September 1993]

    Actually, shortly after my trip to Texas, I got what you think of as one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. The first band I started with had gotten serious and begun to work regularly. I couldn't fit that into my schedule, and began to mess around with another group of friends. [...]
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    Posted: March 18, 2008, 12:22am EDT

  • CHAPTER 22: Doing it right, part 3 [September 1993]

    When I got back to Southern California after my first road trip, I knew, if nothing else, I'd have memories of a lifetime. I can still remember sitting on that patio with the sparkling stars of Albuquerque filling the sky. Getting the chance to see the Bosticks away from the [...]
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    Posted: March 15, 2008, 1:23am EDT

  • CHAPTER 22: Doing it right, part 2 [July 1993]

    If that night with the Bosticks wasn't enough to make me fall in love with my new life as a freelance writer, what happened in Wichita Falls put me over the edge. I was reminded on that afternoon to never think of the peloton as a single mass. Each individual [...]
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    Posted: March 10, 2008, 7:10pm EDT

  • CHAPTER 22: Doing it right [July 1993]

    It didn't take long for me to hit the ground running. Our summer vacation for '93 already had been planned. We intended to head up to Oregon in mid-July. Perfect timing. We hit the Cascade Classic, and I got my first assignment from Cycling USA magazine. Memorable? The overall title [...]
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    Posted: March 07, 2008, 1:23pm EST

  • CHAPTER 21: Tip of the iceberg, part 4 [May 1993]

    That was the best story of my first DuPont, and later earned me a feature on Hincapie in Newsday. My best memory, however, had to do with the fabric of covering the race. And seeing, first hand, the type of scene you really can only dream about.
    They had [...]
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    Posted: March 05, 2008, 2:50pm EST

  • CHAPTER 21: Tip of the iceberg, part 3 [May 1993]

    What really endeared me to cycling was its bizarre mix of a professional race, traveling circus and county fair.
    It's hard to imagine a town more thrilled to be host to the start of a stage of the Tour DuPont that the folks in the northern gateway to the [...]
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    Posted: March 03, 2008, 2:39pm EST

  • CHAPTER 21: Tip of the iceberg, part 2 [June 1992]

    Another one of the guys I was getting to know more and more as I watched him grow was Freddie Rodriguez. Like Jeff Evanshine, Rodriguez was in his second year as a senior rider. They joined the likes of George Hincapie, Chann McRae, Kevin Livingston and Tyler Hamiton on the [...]
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    Posted: March 01, 2008, 1:34am EST

  • CHAPTER 21: Tip of the iceberg, part 1 [June 1992]

    A funny thing happened when I went to Altoona. The Register found out the surprising depth of interest in cycling by our readers. The readers stepped up and made it a point to say thanks for the coverage. And that, in turn, started the ball rolling toward my true future.
    [...]
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    Posted: February 27, 2008, 11:20am EST

  • CHAPTER 20: The final blow [June 1992]

    With the Olympic teams announced (Peddie, Armstrong and Mionske for the men, Golay and Thompson for the women) there was only one thing left to decide in Altoona — the criterium national championship. As usual, the race came down to a bunch sprint. As the women rounded the final corner [...]
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    Posted: February 25, 2008, 3:55pm EST

  • CHAPTER 19: Snakes alive [June 1992]

    The Olympic races were on Friday. Saturday was left for some criterium prelims. Sunday was the criterium final.
    My buddy Pop had been doing some consulting work in Pittsburgh, and figured since we were both a couple of thousand miles from home, why not hook up? So he came [...]
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    Posted: February 22, 2008, 11:15am EST

  • CHAPTER 18: Mind games, simple math [June 1992]

    The next men's race couldn't have gone worse for Armstrong. Again, a breakaway slipped up the road without him, or his key dudes Baker and Julich. Eight riders pulled away 32 miles into the 123-mile race, and were eventually joined by three others. Armstrong chased, and wanted to get into [...]
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    Posted: February 20, 2008, 2:32pm EST

  • CHAPTER 17: Let’s check the scorecard [June 1992]

    CHAPTER 17: Let's check the scorecard
    With a selection climb on the Olympic Trial course, it was obvious that Linda Brenneman's Olympic dreams were gone for good. She might be able to hang for a while and desperately hope that by some miracle this race could get defensive and [...]
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    Posted: February 18, 2008, 1:25pm EST

  • CHAPTER 16: First Kiss (off)

    When it came to the men at Altoona, my readers needed a miraculous upset. My boys of the OC were the likes of Jeff Evanshine and Fred Rodriguez, competing in their first senior championships, and a former Race Across America wannabe who won a scaled down amateur version of Redlands [...]
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    Posted: February 14, 2008, 12:57pm EST

  • CHAPTER 15: Judgement day

    In the days between the time trials and the first of two road races that would determine the Olympic berth — the actual National Championship road race — things calmed down a little bit and Linda began to feel better each day. Her spirits were up. She felt good. Strong. [...]
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    Posted: February 13, 2008, 3:09pm EST

  • CHAPTER 14: Taking a leap

    In my mind the only way to be a really successful journalist is to be an extreme journalist. That is to say, you have to take chances and teeter on the edge, not only with your methods, but mentally. It's like bungee jumping, I've said, where you have to make [...]
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    Posted: February 12, 2008, 3:31pm EST

  • CHAPTER 13: The first time

    Once in Altoona, it didn't take long for me to get hooked mercilessly on my cycling. It began with the time trial.
    From the Linda Brenneman point of view, the time trial created a dilemma. It was important, but only on the fringe — possible added ammunition if she'd [...]
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    Posted: February 11, 2008, 2:31pm EST

  • CHAPTER 12: Flying high (part 2)

    Mad Max
    First, I have to tell you about Max Winter, a type-A, first-class photographer I worked with in Dubuque. Max was always dialed up to the, well, max. Talk about a perfect name.
    In any event, as with a lot of type-A nut cases like Max, he [...]
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    Posted: February 10, 2008, 4:31pm EST

  • CHAPTER 12: Flying high

    What I've always loved about the way I practice journalism is the adventure of getting a story. In high school, that thrill with the quest began with a long drive in the car to the Glendale. Well, long for someone who hasn't had a driver's license very long. You know, [...]
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    Posted: February 08, 2008, 2:04pm EST

  • CHAPTER 11: On the road (part 2)

    As luck would have it, we had yet another concert on the horizons. The BoDeans, who grew up in Waukesha, about 10 miles from my home in Wisconsin, were on tour. We headed down to the Bacchanal, another San Diego haunt.
    Again, we worked our way to the front [...]
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    Posted: February 06, 2008, 7:11pm EST

  • CHAPTER 11: On the road (part 1)

    We flew back from Vegas without Debbie closing her eyes for a moment on the flight. She has always been a talker, but this was taking it to the extreme. She went on and on and on. Sometimes it made sense. Sometimes it didn't. I had no idea what to [...]
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    Posted: February 04, 2008, 3:44pm EST

  • CHAPTER 10: Breaking away (part 2)

    Since she was two years younger than me, our life together was never simple. We sort of dated, but really maintained more of a real tight friendship with an occasional makeout session, not really sure or maybe somewhat frightened, to try to categorize what we had. One Friday night I [...]
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    Posted: February 02, 2008, 1:41am EST

  • CHAPTER 10: Breaking away

    We had ushered in the 1990s in style, hitting a New Year's Eve 1989 concert at the San Diego Sports Arena with my hometown Milwaukee band The Violent Femmes opening for the ultimate party band, the B-52s.
    We had a tight group of friends who partied each weekend, usually [...]
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    Posted: January 31, 2008, 10:35pm EST

  • CHAPTER NINE: Rock bottom

    Until this very moment, as my fingers ply the keyboard, I had never put this simple equation together in my mind. You know, one plus one equals two.
    My entire run from Hank Gathers death through the Chris Huber's track stand had been an invigorating professional experience. I got [...]
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    Posted: January 29, 2008, 3:00am EST

  • CHAPTER EIGHT: You either get it, or you don’t

    Bringing cycling to the masses is no simple task. Heaven knows how many hours I put into the special section we produced at The Register for the race at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. We had scores of stories and graphics to explain this obscure sport — its tactics, its [...]
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    Posted: January 28, 2008, 3:00am EST

  • CHAPTER SEVEN: My Way (part 2)

    So, wow, I was heading to Minneapolis. The main task was to interview Greg LeMond for the feature that would be the centerpiece of our special section for our race.
    Well, okay, I suppose "interview" might not be the right word. I went to Minneapolis to spend some time [...]
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    Posted: January 24, 2008, 6:36pm EST

  • CHAPTER SEVEN: My Way (part 1)

    This became serious business, covering cycling. A real beat. The Register actually paid to fly me to Minneapolis in September to cover the second race of the LeMond series.
    How did I know this was serious? One of my proudest moments with that first Hank Gathers feature came [...]
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    Posted: January 23, 2008, 3:00am EST

  • CHAPTER SIX: The full spectrum

    I continued my exploration into the sport cycling. It was the perfect year for an introduction in Southern California. The U.S. Masters National Championships AND the U.S. Junior National Championships were in San Diego.
    I got to see the old guard cyclists, who refused to leave the sport. Guys [...]
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    Posted: January 22, 2008, 11:55am EST

  • CHAPTER FIVE: Hanging on

    It didn't take long to get a taste of big-time cycling, American style. My baptism came at the Redlands Classic, a short stage race in Redlands, California, that attracted the top bike racers in America — and some of the top racers in the world.
    The Russians sent a [...]
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    Posted: January 22, 2008, 12:08am EST

  • CHAPTER FOUR: A perfect introduction (part 2)

    The men's race seemed to blow past in an instant. There were so many attacks and counter attacks, breakaways and chases, bursts and lulls, that I began to run out of room in my notebook.
    By jotting down every little move, however neurotic, I got a firm grasp [...]
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    Posted: January 18, 2008, 3:00am EST

  • CHAPTER FOUR: A perfect introduction (part 1)

    Part of the secret culture of cycling are the local races. Pause for a moment and envision an industrial park near your house that must be a virtual ghost town on most weekends when the 9-to-5ers hit the beach. Wide, well-paved streets without traffic. My bet is that it is [...]
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    Posted: January 17, 2008, 3:00am EST

  • CHAPTER THREE: What goes around, comes around (part 2)

    We made it to California when we simply quit our jobs in Dubuque, Iowa, and drove to the coast in search of a new life. It was a gutsy move. It forced me to start my career at The Register back at square one, rather than where I really was, [...]
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    Posted: January 16, 2008, 3:00am EST

  • CHAPTER THREE: What goes around, comes around (part 1)

    Life has a mystic synergy. At least mine does.
    Growing up there were two things I loved to do. First was write. Second was ride my bike.
    In the glorious summers of Wisconsin, my bike became my chariot of adventure, taking me places teaming with life to fill [...]
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    Posted: January 15, 2008, 11:23pm EST

  • CHAPTER TWO: Checking out

    I sat staring at my speeding ticket that morning, sitting in for my boss as community sports editor. That meant reading stories about pre-teen and teen basketball players and gymnastics and swimmers. Kids in the infant stages of, what so many hope, will grow to be an athletic career for [...]
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    Posted: January 14, 2008, 5:22pm EST

  • CHAPTER ONE: A Wake-up Call

    The funny thing about wake-up calls is that too many of them begin with red flashing lights. Rollers. Cherries.
    I'm not talking about your daily wake-up calls for work, or wake-up calls from the front desk. I'm talking about reality-check wake-up calls that signal your life is at a [...]
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    Posted: January 13, 2008, 3:00am EST
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