| Thursday, September 06, 2007 |
| Me and Floyd riding.. GIDDDY-YUP!!!! |
June was not yesterday, but let's pretend.
A rode with Floyd and it rocked!
Here is the proof. ( a great photo I ran across on Flickr today).
(all image rights reserved to Flickr user SoccerGK88)
Floyd is in the orange and white Smith&Nephew kit, I am right in front of him in the White and Blue Philadelphia Ciclismo kit. This photo is on the last climb of a 45 mile ride. Most of the ride I sat on front with the ride leader keeping a decent pace.
Then came the final climb!!!
As you can probably see in the picture, I am a little short in stature compared to many riders. But, for what I lack in size, I make up for in power-to-weight when it comes to hills. Just after this photo was taken, I picked up the speed and dropped the crowd. I had a good long break from the field and I took a second to check my six. This is where my dreams came true....
The moment I had been yearning for all week (most likely my whole life if I would have know who Floyd was when I was 2 yo.) started to play out. I am off the front, final climb, riding solo... I look back and there is Floyd sitting at the front of the group with that gnarly Lancaster County grin on his face. Sure I am a slug compared to him, but someone breaking off the front on a climb... Floyd could not resist. I saw that look in his eye and I floored it. A few meters later I looks back again and Floyd is riding solo half-way across the gap! I put more to the pedals and a few seconds later I hear the straining of Floyd's borrowed bike catching my wheel. "I heard you coming there old creek-y, can't sneak up on me" is about all my mushy brain could think of as that bottom bracket cried under Floyd's wattage.
Here I was gasping for breath, but stoked to riding 2-up next to Freakin' Floyd towards the top of this hill. Trying to be polite (when I should have just shut-up) I started mummbling to Floyd about some stupid mess and he had no idea what I was talking about. I tried to clarify, but I was just sound lame. So, I did what any nervous climber would do... I put my head down and attacked the hell out of them again! No one cared to go this time... why would they? We are at the end of a 45 mile joy ride, not the freakin' Vuelta. Oh well, I rode to the top solo and we all regrouped at the top. I believe I got a handful of puzzled looks. Oh well, my racing tactics never made sense to me, let alone anyone else.
That is my story and I'm sticking to it....Labels: Cycling, Floyd Landis, Free Floyd |
posted by matt @ 10:58 AM   |
|
|
|
| Thursday, March 29, 2007 |
| freefloyd.org and FREE FLOYD Tshirts, Come and Get'em!!! |
The "Floyd Landis is The Man" cafepress.com store is back in action and www.FreeFloyd.org is good to go!!! Check out www.FreeFloyd.org for all your FREE FLOYD info.
Adding to the basic t-shirts the FLITM cafepress.com shop now has long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, and colored shirts. As always 100% of the proceeds from all FREE FLOYD product sales are donated to the Floyd Fairness Fund. Stop on in to www.freefloyd.org to see whats new with the FREE FLOYD gear. |
| posted by matt @ 6:22 PM |
|
|
|
| Tuesday, March 27, 2007 |
| I Met Floyd! |
Last Saturday, March 24th, I met Floyd Landis. You may call me a fan boy and say I drink too much Floyd Kool-Aid, but I don't care. Floyd Landis is a huge inspiration to me and I got to shake his hand.
This event transpired at the "Champion’s Reception" in Ephrata (F-er-ta), Pennsylvania. As a prelude to the Town Hall meeting scheduled for the following evening. The reception was a lax affair. The focus of the evening was a 2 hour autograph session with Floyd. Roughly 200 people participated in the event.
After waiting in line for a half-hour of so, I finally got to the front of the line. Nervous as all hell, bright red in the face, and mindless, I walked up to Floyd and introduced myself. I am sure by this point he had signed 300 autographs and was feeling pretty dizzy. Not to mention the incredibly hot stage lights that he had to site under all night. I yapped for a moment, forgot to keep my cool and nearly excluding my wife from meeting Floyd. I was awestruck and probably came off like a total goof.
The rest of the evening rocked. Great people, great place, free wine and cheese. I got to meet the fantastic people behind the Trust but Verify blog. Db rocks! I also chatted with Mike Henson and Will Geoghegan. Both are part of Floyd's defense team, as well as, good friends. These gentleman were super accessible and incredibly nice. Finally I met a number of Floyd supporters, including Jennifer who was getting a signature for her 4 year old daughter (who has a rockin' "Go Go Floyd" shirt).
In person, Floyd is every bit like you would expect. Looks just like he does on TV, talks the same, and exudes the same shy and reserved demeanor. I really took away the sense that Floyd is the shy boy from Lancaster, as he is often portrayed. He was awash in humility, happy to sign anything, modest and soft spoken.
Local news papers are reporting that the two night ordeal raised around $18,000 for the Floyd Fairness Fund! If you are a customer of the fabulous "FREE FLOYD" tshirt, that you contributed to this amount. The often imitated, but never replicated "FREE FLOYD" tshirt for sale here donates 100% of proceeds to the Floyd Fairness Fund. Keep you eye out for these shirts to be available again in the very near future. And don't forget, donations to the Floyd Fairness Fund can be donated directly from their website. However, you won't get the rock star t-shirt, so you'll have to grow a mustache or get tattoos to make up for it. ;) |
| posted by matt @ 8:04 AM |
|
|
|
| Thursday, March 22, 2007 |
| FREE FLOYD T-shirts: Down but NOT Out! |
 As some folks have noticed, the CafePress.com storefront for the FREE FLOYD t-shirts had been down for a few weeks. But you can't keep a good shirt down! Via some investigative work and a hand from DB over at Trust but Verify, I was put in contact with Floyd's camp and happily came to an agreement that would make CafePress happy with my use of Floyd's image.
As has always been the case, this agreement spells out that each t-shirt sold carries a $1 mark-up over the price that CafePress charges. For each shirt sold, the $1 premium will be donated to the Floyd Fairness Fund. Simple as that. You buy the shirt, I donate the cash, you look like a rockstar, Floyd's cause gets recognition! Win-win all around.
However, one of the sticking points that I had to agree to was to stop driving around my "Floyd Landis Will TT you to the Ground" van and scaring little children. It seems that the local authorities in Lancaster, PA got some complaints about a hollering lunatic screeching his tires and playing loud death metal. Oh well, at least I'll save on the gas money. ;)
Hopefully in the near future, the "Floyd Landis is the Man" CafePress.com store will be reopen. Then you will be able to buy all the "FREE FLOYD" shirts you want and keep the donations flowing. I and the Floyd Fairness Fund thank you! |
| posted by matt @ 8:38 AM |
|
|
|
| Saturday, October 21, 2006 |
| The Screaming Banshee |
 So it looks like the Banshee crew in Highland, Colorado are Floyd Haters. Yup, you read it right, they hate everything that Floyd has accomplished and want to take away his Floyd'ness. You see, if you're not with Floyd, your against him and by the words of "Dirt", I don't see them joining my side anytime soon.
Maybe it's something about the green hair piercing sect that keep them from enjoying the way in which I celebrate Floyd's accomplishments. These Floyd hating banshees want to deprive me of my Floyd'ness just because they have none of their own. Maybe there is a diplomatic way to handle all of this, or maybe we just need to have a good old fashioned bike-blog off in the parking lot at 3:15. Knuckles and pipes gentlemen... |
| posted by matt @ 3:38 PM |
|
|
|
|
| A small tribute to "The Man" |
So, I got married back at the end of July and Floyd did not come. He RSVP's with something about doing his hair and winning the tour. I'm not really sure what it was all about, but I couldn't bare to read it; he dissed me. Okay, so that really didn't happen, but only because the private eye I hired couldn't get me his forwarding address.
 Floyd was present in one form though; he was my cake. For my rehearsal dinner, my family surprised me with the Floyd Yellow Jersey cake you see pictured here. Boy don't I look surprised! Okay, since DZ dissed my invite as well, I had to bring him in somewhere.... I know, Floyd and cake don't generally go together. He is gruff and bad-ass and cake is, well, cake is cake, but I think it is a stirring rendition of the well earned Yellow Jersey.
This joyous occasion came just days after the announcement of Floyd's "A" sample. I think I spent half my reception threatening to throw people over the railing because they questioned Floyd's innocence. I'm not sure if the was the Belgian beer talking or maybe it is all the Kool-Aid that I drink. All in all, people cautiously agreed with me that the doping allegations seem a bit suspect.
Although Floyd was too busy flaunting around France to show,we had a good time regardless and everyone enjoyed the cake. |
| posted by matt @ 3:36 PM |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, September 20, 2006 |
| Floyd Landis wins 2006 US National Race Calendar Title |
Photo: property of Cyclingnews.com
Landis riding for Mercury-Viatel 2001
 Floyd Landis has secured first place in the US National Race Calendar (NRC) competition by producing two huge wins with TT's and the overall at the Ford Tour de Georgia and the Amgen Tour of California . Way to go Floyd!
Although Floyd is not on a domestic team, his big wins were enough to carry him through to the title. Much to the dismay of Karl Menzies I would imagine. Menzies, the big Australian riding for HealthNet/Maxxis, came in second in this years competition. With big wins at the Santa Cruz Criterium, the Snelling Road Race, and a stage win and Points Jersey at the Redlands Classic, accompanied by a handful of podium finishes including the Sea Otter Classic and two stages at the Ford Tour de Georgia, I'm sure he's not too biffed coming in 17 points behind Tour de France winner Floyd Landis. Menzies is definitely a rider to watch. In only his second year as a pro he has racked up some very impressive stats on the state side scene. Congrats Karl!
This honor is Landis's first NRC title. His two big wins must have carried a ton of weight, being that Floyd has not been a factor in the NRC since his went pro with Mercury in 1999. Although his 28th at the Ford Tour de Georgia and 18th at a stage in the Sea Otter Classic propelled him to a 418th spot in the 2003 NRC. Not quite tearing up the charts, but he did finish better than me. Maybe next year Floyd will be so tired of the UCI crap and the European media that he will not want to race in their back yard and go on an aggressive domestic campaign; promoting incredible coverage for the his team of choice (perhaps the Discovery Channel) and American cycling. Imagine that, a world class American cyclist staying in America to give an unquestionable lift to the image of cycling in the states. I know I for one would be doing a hell of a lot of travelling if I could see a fellow Pennsylvania boy tearing it up on home turf.
Okay, so it's a pipe dream, but so what... Floyd's still The Man. |
| posted by matt @ 6:33 AM |
|
|
|
|
| Who is this guy? |
Home: Philadelphia, PA, United States
- USCF pack filler
- rabid pro cycling fan
- living my life in the image of "The Floyd"
Email me at: floydlandisistheman [at] gmail [dot] com
|
| Previous Post |
|
| Links |
|
| Archives |
|
|
| Powered by |
 |
|
