I met Eki (again) this morning!!!!

[maillotpois]

Okay, first let it be said that I am a bike race fan. My family follows NO other sports except pro cycling. We've been to the Tour de France twice. My 9 year old daughter couldn't name 1 baseball or football player but she can tell you the names of a dozen pro cyclists and can probably identify their team for you.

So this morning, I am headed back home after an errand - I'm dressed in my full Death Ride kit because I planned to go back out immediately go for a ride. I go around a corner and there he is! Vjatcheslav Ekimov!! Leaning on his bike, fully decked out in Discovery geat, in a parking lot, clearly just waiting for some folks to start a ride.

I pulled a (legal) U-turn and went back and got his autograph. I was fairly gushy, but seriously this is a multiple Olympic medallist who, as the Grandfather of the peloton is MY age. He is SO charming, shy and HANDSOME. Something about the long blond hair and tanned face.

Of course all during my ride I thought of things I should have said to him. I should have spoken to him in Russian (while I have forgotten 99.9% of anything I learned as a Russian major I could have at least given it a shot). I should have told him how sad we were when he wasn't able to ride the Tour last year due to injury. Oh well.

Oh - and the first time I met him was during the ride which included what shall forever be known as The Best Ten Miles of My Life. It was a couple years ago, the day before the SF Grand Prix or T Mobile or whatever it was called then. I was cresting a hill in Nicasio, and a CHP Moto cop pulled up alongside me and said "You're about to be caught by the Postal TdF team!" So I flayed myself to stay with them over the hill and rode TEN MILES with them. First thing I did when I was in the bunch was call out "Hi EKI!" because I am such a goon! But Hincapie, Noval, Acevedo, Rubiera - all of them were there. That was an AMAZING ride!!

And this morning wasn't so bad either! My husband said I was acting like our dog Russo when he gets a big stick!

Just had to share...

Sarah

[snapdragen]

I hate you...

Eki is one of my fav's, so I'm grudgingly happy you met him.

[jobob]

Waaaay cool.

[Deanna]

That is so cool! It's so much fun having the Tour of CA about to start! Midway through my ride yesterday I decided to change routes, cutting over from Anderson Valley to Dry Creek Valley on a more southern route. As I'm going down the hill into Dry Creek, I see a car in my lane, trying to pass a massive blur of blue and white. It took me a minute to realize I was coming up on the whole Gerolsteiner squad out on a training ride. One of them even waved at me! I finished up my ride by watching some of the Apple Pie Crits. At the VERY last minute Levi showed up for the start of the pro race and pulled them at almost 30MPH for the full 1-1/2 hours. Somehow he managed to pull off his legwarmers at the pace whilie ON THE BIKE!

[Running Mommy]

That is soo cool! I ran into Levi Leipheimer like that one day. He was getting ready for a ride and I was out for a run. It was the fall after he placed pretty high in the tdf and I congratulated him on his tour finish. He seemed rather astonished that I even knew he rode int he tour! ha ha
I also got passed by what I call the Levi freight train on a long ride one day. I think they were coming back from the Geysers and the wind they created as they blew by me almost knocked me off my bike! It was AMAZING!
Very very cool! And with the race coming into town I'm sure you'll have more "Sightings" in the next week.

[Lise]

Wow! So cool!

I'm pretty ignorant about the pros in cycling (that's the embarrasment smily), so I think it's doubly cool that you know who he is, AND got to meet him. YAY!

[runnergirl]

That is so neat!!!

It's great to hear about a family into cycling like yours!

[massbikebabe]

How come there is no icon for serious drool??????







karen
wiping off keyboard

[Veronica]

I wish I had been riding with you.

V.

[slinkedog]

Very cool. I am waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay jealous.