Riding with Legends...

Fall is one of my favourite cycling seasons.  After a long year of racing, it's nice to just get out for a ride and not have to pay attention to heart rate, power or any kind of data.  You go easy when you want to and you push harder when the urge strikes you.  No sense of urgency or purpose, just eating up the pavement and getting lost in the moment.  It is thus that I found myself biking around in the Gatineau Park on Tuesday, enjoying what was possibly one of the last comfortable “sleeveless” rides of the year.  The sun was shining, the autumn foliage looked glorious and the gentle breeze kept my body cooled at just the right temperature.  The perfect ride!

(View from the Champlain Lookout on a nice Fall day)

For quite a while, it seemed as though I had the park to myself, as there were barely any cars or cyclists on the roads.   Only the sounds of nature and the rhythmic thump of my heart beating accompanied me as I climbed further into the park.  The moment was ruined and I was awoken from my reverie when a loud voice coming from behind yelled "On your left! Stay right!"  I was startled, since this was the first person I had seen or heard in more than an hour.  Who could possibly be barking such orders?  It all made sense when I saw who passed me.  Philippe Gilbert.

(Newly crowned World Champion, Philippe Gilbert, wearing all his swag!)

Yes, Gilbert himself was passing me in the Gatineau Park.  Or maybe it was Tom Boonen? Or perhaps Mario Cipollini... It's all so confusing now.  I couldn't really tell, but one thing was certain; here in front of me - in front of my very own eyes, was the UCI Road world champion!  Decked out from head to toe in Rainbow colours, this would-be cycling dominator (who interestingly had a bit of girth around the midsection) was laying claim to his territory.  It's funny, because I had been discussing the topic of national and championship jerseys with my friend Morgan a few weeks back, when out of nowhere this mythical creature appeared.

Who was I to get in this guy's way?  I mean, he had the helmet, glasses, kit, shoes AND gloves to legitimize his status as Gatineau Park's numero uno!  Obediently, I got out of his way and was content with letting him continue on his date with destiny.  A quest to achieve greatness no doubt.  Unfortunately (for me), our climbing speeds weren't too different, which resulted in me getting another earful for "trying to catch some draft" from the great presence in front of me.  An intentional maneuver on my part no doubt...

Il campione del mondo turned off at some point and I was left to continue my ride in silence.  Should this encounter really have surprised me?  After all, if I've learned or observed anything over these last 3 or 4 years of riding, it's that cycling is unfortunately plagued with egomaniacs / narcissists / generally unpleasant people.  Don't get me wrong, I have met a ton of standup and admirable individuals through bicycling, but for every nice person I meet on the road there's 2 or 3 head cases who believe they are god's gift to cycling.  Case in point, JP and I tried a social experiment at Green Mountain this year, where we wanted to see how many people would reciprocate when we waved or said hello.  The results were underwhelming to say the least.   Why should you say hello to me? After all there's no way I can possess even a fraction of your skill or talent!

In any case, there isn't really a moral to this story.  I haven't gained (or sought) to find out why big egos seem to be rampant in the sport, but I have learned that I'll need to be more cautious around "world champions" in the future!

What do you think? Should anyone (other than the current champion) wear national or championship jerseys? Is a person wearing such a uniform more likely to be unpleasant?