Riding with Lance Armstrong

Written by Michael McKisson

Saturday, 12 December 2009 04:45

Today was an amazing day. Dare I say it might have been a Hanukkah miracle! I rode with Lance Armstrong and the rest of the team RadioShack riders.

Lance Armstrong and Team RadioShack are in Tucson for their first training camp as a team, so my friend Rob and I decided we would try to get a few photos and ride with the team for a little bit. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to be as awesome as it turned out to be.

Rob and I met at a grocery store a few miles away from the team's hotel and we rode up to see if we could spot any signs of the team.

As we were riding around the property, we spotted a team car and roughly two dozen Trek bikes in a little courtyard.

Team RadioShack support car

Rob and parked our bikes and started waiting. Eventually a few riders started trickling out to take their bikes for a quick test ride. Jani Brajkovic was the first to go for a test ride.

Eventually Chris Horner came out and started putting his shoes on and preparing for the team's training ride. He was a really nice guy and chatted with those of us who were just happy to be talking to a professional cyclist.

More and more of the riders started grabbing their bikes and then Lance came out. He posed for pictures and signed a few autographs for the assembled fans. Rob and I tried to get a few photos and then ran to our bikes when he took off.

We hopped on our bike and quickly caught up with the group of riders. We overheard that the team was heading out to Mt. Lemmon, so we tucked it and tried not to screw anything up. For much of the ride, I was on Jani Brajkovic's wheel.

We didn't take any photos during the ride because we didn't want to crash and take out a key member of the team. We would have become cycling's Bartman.

At one point in the ride, I was talking to Sébastien Rosseler about the weather. He was enjoying himself because he was escaping the snow in Belgium.

Rob and I were about 2/3rds of the way back in the pack, while Lance Armstrong was leading the group. We eventually stopped at a light and Rob and I had huge grins on our face. Neither of us could believe we were riding with Team RadioShack.

As we were riding out Tanque Verde, I noticed this yellow and black jersey slowly sliding back in the pack. I realized it was Lance. He was letting people pass him and chatting with each one of the riders as they passed. Eventually I passed him and he slipped in behind my wheel. LANCE ARMSTRONG WAS ON MY WHEEL! I could hear him joking with one of his teammates about a race. I was focused on holding my line and being safe, but I am sure I looked like a little kid on Christmas morning.

As we were riding by, people would pull over to take our photo. Other people would pass and clap for the team. It was really cool.

I even got to sprint a little with Chris Horner, although I am sure for him it was not a sprint at all. We were trying to merge into the left lane and had to get in front of a car quickly.

Shortly after we turned left onto Mt. Lemmon, the team stopped and we were asked to remain at the rear of the pack so that the team could focus on their training.

Rob and I decided we didn't want to press our luck, so we let them go on without us.

In total we rode just about 10 miles with the team. It was a really amazing experience that I will never forget.

Check out the photos and slide show below to see who else I got to meet. You can also see the photos on my Flickr page

Jani Brajkovic and I

Johan Bruyneel and I

Comments (2)

|2009-12-12 13:30:37 Justin Adler

Unbelievable. As always your blog/life leaves me at a loss for words.
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|2009-12-15 00:34:48 Kevin Hal - Awesome!

Hey Mike - that's great that you got to hang and ride with them! I know some people who are going to be jealous when I point them towards your blog. Congrats on such a great experience!
-Kevin
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