why did I start racing bicycles?

On the summer afternoon of July 29th, 1984 my brother and I sat in our living room watching the summer Olympics. We were swimmers and I would guess we didn't miss a single event that was broadcast from USC's aquatic center. But, there was something else that caught our attention.

I don't remember if it was live or just a recap of the finishing miles of the men's Road Race. In the closing miles, the break away included names like Grewal, Bauer, Phinney, and a Norwegian named Lauritzen. Obviously, my brother and I were filled with American pride and were going nuts because there were two Americans at the front. It was the beginning of my interest in bicycle racing.

Where are these guys now?

I met Alexi Grewal about 7 years ago at the Collegiate Cycling Nationals in Athens, Ohio. My team, Miami University, sponsored his presentation at the awards ceremony. I can tell you he is anything less than interesting, but truly out of his mind. In the span of about 10 minutes of conversation he managed to suggest that if he had a truck like the one I was driving he would probably kill himself in it, professed he had a running knowledge of systematic doping in European cycling and lastly pronounced his envy of my approach to cycling (the kind of approach where money doesn't exchange hands). Not the most stable of beginnings. He looks more like the uniBomber in this picture than an Olympic Champion. I did not tell Alexi this, but he is the reason that I bought my first road bicycle at age 15 and began racing. He isn't my hero, I'm not that kind of guy, but that race definately sparked the fire.

Steve Bauer runs a touring company and UCI Continental racing team, Team RACE (Race Against Cancer Everywhere), in his native land.

Dag Otto Lauritzen just appeared on the radar. 13 years after his bronze medal effort he is still dancing. Holy crap, if you are going to be embarrassed about something it should probably be in the past, not yesterday. Nice suit Otto!

home again

5 or 6 left over vacation days, 1200 miles, a dead battery, 2 bowls of gulf gumbo, three saddle sores, one roller derby girl with one broken leg, 28 hours of bayou saddle time, one sit down with a lawyer, a flat tire, 75º to 25º in 9 hours, one terrible band, two half eaten raccoons and 20 hours of drive time = quality vacation days.

within a mile of somewhere

Back on the Gulf Coast for another winter training session. 9 days, average high temp of 72º, great host housing and the smell of wet dogs. Perfect.
605 is a big wide state highway, but it also has a decent bike lane that stretches 12+ miles. It makes the connection to all the back roads up north.


The futher north you get the bigger the rollers, but the grade never really gets much over 6%. But, there are endless miles of backroads to get lost on, and it is a long way between intersections. Without a tour guide, its best to keep to the cloverleaf. Maybe its time for a GPS on board the two wheeler.



Took a lazy stroll down by the coast the other day. I-90 is high speed right here so no dice on taking that to NOLA. But, at the end of the outer road you can catch a serious draft to Loraine-Cowan. Just make sure you are doing 40 mph by the time you hit the pavement.