So....what's next Mr. A???

A couple of months back as I was dragging one of my buddies, (we’ll call him Mr. A) up the Alp d’ Huez, and we got to talking about what he was planning on doing with his future….(ok, I was doing most of the talking since he couldn’t really keep up with me, fight for breath and talk at the same time) I mean, he’s done the Tour de France thing enough times that he’s proven himself one of the greatest racers of all time, he ran the Boston marathon in under 2:50 and although he didn’t win the Leadville 100 he still finished second which is a pretty impressive feat for a non mt biker…
So what’s next? I asked…..

Well, of course at the pace I was setting for him, he was having a hard time breathing and at the time, I wasn’t sure if it was oxygen depravation or if he was really serious, but he said “I have several goals in my life right now……one, is to pose naked on the cover of a women's magazine, the second is to win an eighth Tour de France title and the third is to someday run for Govenor of Texas.....

Now, granted, I had been pushing this tired old 37 year old to keep up with me as we crested mountain after mountain in the Alps, and he was probably just blustering to save his self esteem since he was getting his butt kicked by an old, fat, balding guy on a single speed, but could he really be serious? Could he really try to win another Tour?

Well, of course he could….just look at the past Olympics. We had a 41 year old mother win three silver medals in swimming. The age at which we’re expected to slow down and relax, our golden years continues to go up. Many athletes are still competing well into their 30’s and even 40’s …Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, Nolan Ryan to name a few…

So anyway, once we were done with the ride and Mr A had gotten his heart rate back under control and was able to talk in full sentences again I asked just how serious he was….and although at our age “as serious as a heart attack” isn’t a phrase we use too often, he said he was really serious…..

I guess one of his goals has been attained...and he's pretty committed to the second one..,

I actually think he can pull this off.....and the fact that he'll get back in racing shape will definitely halp in the fact that I won't be waiting for him all the time at the top of the climbs......

(Note - the author makes no claims whatsoever to the validity of the above stated claims and in no way guarantees, implies or by any statement attests to the accuracy of the above stories....esp as regards a certain middle age,out of shape, balding rider having ridden with or being forced to wait on a certain famous unnamed rider/racer/cancer survivor/superhero)