This is part one of a two part podcast. There is too much to cram into one podcast, so this one will be international talk where the main topic is il Giro, local- John misses the page twice in MTB race and John collects personal best data at Godzulla and last but not least an extensive interview with Astana rider Chris Horner. We will be following up with a second (almost) all email podcast in the next day or two to get to the mountain of listener feedback. Stay Tuned!!!
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May 19th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Really? Politics on the two johns podcast? I think there are an amazing amount of D-bags on both sides. Enough of them are stupid enough to verbally insult and key cars to show the extent or their tolerance and intelligence.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:47 am
Cunego isn’t racing the Giro this year. He’s focusing on the TDF.
May 20th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Kent- thanks. It was wishfull thinking of seeing former Simoni teammates go at it on the steeper slopes & that I didn’t look at the start list.
JK in NC
May 20th, 2008 at 7:34 am
That was a good interview of Horner, I liked the way he hinted at certain teams. Well im off on a easy ride to listen to part 2 as my legs are wasted after a stage race this weekend.
May 20th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
http://www.charlottemtnbike.com/
I found your results for the MTB races you did. You need to stop sandbagging the sport class, if your going to talk about how MTBer’s can’t crank out the power. Sport Class = Cat 4 on the road!
May 20th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Yes, 29er- you are right- however, I did get crushed in my first sport race in september here- I think I mentioned it on that podcast. Don’t worry- after these last two races, I will move up. After getting crushed in the fall, I just figured everyone was much faster on the MTB. I am of the belief that a rider should be able to get solid top 3 consistently prior to upgrading. Funny thing- MTB’g is so different- you can crank a little power out- but that doesn’t mean you can get through the tight technical stuff so well. Look, I just came into the modern era of suspension forks, disc brakes etc… and I am really enjoying it- I won’t be sandbagging…that’s one of the misleading thing about mtb’g- it is a different game than riding a road bike. I did some short track racing this winter in a super sport category which had more paved & double track & did ok in those areas, but on the twisty stuff, had a bit of trouble. At best my skill level through that type of stuff is sport level. I do hope to improve on that though.
JK in NC
May 20th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Wow! John, you are getting the beatdown! Let’s review the list of your listener-given nicknames:
1) John the Abstainer
2) John the un-hip
3) John the Sandbagger
You are still “the other John” to me.
May 20th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
This is a complete podcast worth of material. The unrelenting push to upgrade, as if attaining a certaing racing category leads to deeper enjoyment or somehow makes your effort more legit. It is one thing if a rider is making a legit living from racing, it is another thing if, like most of us it is a personal challenge & endeavor. Why not prove you proficiency in an event prior to taking on the next challenge? Yes, I am getting the beat down, but I will survive.
JK in NC
May 20th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
JG I am sticking up up for JK here. JK you are John the Explorer! MTBing is hard. You ride it for it’s inconsistency not for what you can expect. Every lap, there is something new. The lines are constantly changing. Climbing has never been more interesting. Just think to yourself. FLOW… man… FLOW.! I am water,I am wind and that guy in front of me is history. JK Welcome! Also as a side note take the old trusty unsuspended and drop the saddle and learn some trials moves. That helped me out more both traditions(mtb & road) than anything. Keep up the good work guys.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:05 am
Great to hear some talk on the great sport on Mountain Biking. I think John in Cincy needs to try it out and use his wattage on the singletrack. He can head up to Central Ohio on May 31 for the Mohican 100 and take on some guy that won the Tour de France for a few days. Well until his tests came in anyway.
Keep up with the racing and your technical skills will come around. I only said something about sandbagging because in Spring 2006 I did my 1st Sport Class race at Harbin Park in Cincy and some guy named John in a Blue Montgomery Kit won the race by several minutes. It motivated me to keep working and training and improving and was able to win the Fall race there and moved on to expert class.
Disk brakes are amazing, suspension fork are so technology advanced these days so plush on the bumps but able to withstand bobbing while sprinting or climbing hard out of the saddle. Not to mention what they are doing with wheels and tires for Mountain bikes now.
I think you will enjoy racing more in Expert with racers on your fitness level and it will quickly improve your cornering trying to hang on with guys who can climb and accelerate off the corners too.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:37 am
29er,ha! Yes- that was me at Harbin. That was my first MTB race in 11 years. On the warm up lap I was thinking I should have done the beginner race! I was so slow through the muddy parts, but the only thing that helped me was the hill. I fell on the warm up lap and between being covered with mud and my old bike with thumb shifters some of riders in the parking lot were sniggering. I did one other race that year and did well- that’s why it surprised me to get clobbered in the same category race down here. I think it is a bit more competitive and they have a good turnout for races in the Charlotte area.
Nice job on the improvement! Glad I could be a motivating factor.
I respect MTB racing for what it is, a different sport. Sure, it is still bike racing, the pedals turn and so on, but it really is a different sport. The same way an expert MTB guy shouldn’t enter a 1-2 race, as I have seen done, when his bunch riding skills are low, cornering etc… just because he is an expert on the dirt. If the skills aren’t there you need to race with riders of similar skill level. Thanks for the FLOW advice, I get the concept and practice it… but consistency is the hard part- a couple gaffs in a section and you lose a bunch of time!
Wouldn’t that be great, John in Cinci and his big watts on the MTB- oh and the headphones stache- it would fit right into the MTB scene! I have been trying to get that to happen for some time.
JK in NC
May 21st, 2008 at 6:22 am
I agree. Categories are not cross-transferrable. I do the 1/2 road category and am pretty consistently ok. I do the A races in CX and can be anywhere from top 3 to getting lapped by the end if it’s a national level race with pros. I can imagine that if I did an expert/pro level mtb. race, I would get absolutely smoked by the half way point.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:33 am
Since John the Sandbagger has come clean, I have a confession.
I have started running…and swimming………
May 21st, 2008 at 10:45 am
uh oh… Have you been practicing transitions? Do you own a speedo? Are you going to the dork, errr… I mean dark side Desert Dog?
May 21st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Are you a tri-athlete under that jersey Desert Dog? Dont go there its a long dark road. I have a confession I only started shaving my legs this year and I cant wait till the winter so I can stop.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:57 pm
now if we can only get confessions out of Hamilton and Landis…
May 21st, 2008 at 3:11 pm
All this talk of MTB racing and sandbagging aside, I just want to compliment JK for a great interview with Horner. It’s rare to hear a long interview with a rider of his caliber. It was nice to get a real sense of who the guy is and what keeps him coming back strong year after year. Didn’t he use to ride for the NutriFig team back in the day?
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
For those of you trying to listen to the Horner interview, we had some technical difficulties where the audio file was not the Horner interview, but an older one from the Tour of Langkawi. Sorry for mix up. It’s fixed now. Enjoy the other John’s excellent interview with a very interesting cycling pro.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:05 am
RE: Steve’s ? about Horner… yes, he did race for NutriFig/CO.Cyclist during the mid 90s. I remember seeing him racing as a relatively unknown pro at Tour LeFleur (Jackson, MS) back in ‘95 or ‘96… ponytail flying behind him!
Great interview!
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:10 am
Very good interview. The bumper music was a bit drippy though. Did you steal that of the Oxygen network?
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 am
err “off” the Oxygen network?
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Thanks for the excellent interview with Chris Horner. I’ve long admired his competitive drive, good sportsmanship, excellent teamwork and easy personality. He is such a student of the game, of the business — and he still loves riding fast. An excellent communicator, too. Hoping Astana would get a better-late-than-never invitation to TdF so we could watch Horner race there.
May 24th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I just finished the Horner interview. I have a new favorite rider to follow. Excellent interview JK.