It dawned on me last night that many of my reader(s) might not have a good idea of whom or what I am. Hopefully my blog will lend some insight into that over time, but I thought it might make some sense to post part of an interview that Velonews did on me a few months back. For those of you that do not subscribe to the magazine, the cover to the left featured me and Jereme Horgan Kobelski. Although he shared the cover with me, I outpaced him in that issue in both photos and content. They like me better. Anyway, hope you are having a great day.

Andrew Hood of Velonews recently caught up with Johnny GoFast in his house in Alamo, California. The lanky and versatile rider had just completed a four hour training ride through the east bay. We had a chance to ask him about his new contract with Pegasus/Vandenberghe Properties, his young family, training, and his controversial place within the Cat 4/40-44 Expert Cross Country/Cyclo Cross A pelotons.

Velonews: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. You are looking fit and ready for the upcoming season. What has your training entailed this far?

Johnny GoFast: I've been putting in a lot of base mileage the last few months. Working a little in the weight room, and otherwise trying to be with my family.

VN: What are some of your goals for the upcoming season.

JG: Well (laughs), it's really always been about beating Griff on the bike. Nothing else. When I'm out there and it's raining, and I'm in the middle of a tempo set and I'm hours from home, all I can think about is beating Griff. He's pretty fast for a turtle, so I know if I can beat him, I'm not aiming high enough. I want to get a top 10 at Sea Otter in the Cross Country Race (editors note: Johnny GoFast came in 10th in the expert race after crashing 1 minute into the race and having the whole peloton chuckle at him as they weren't even off the pavement yet. He clawed his way through the ranks to post his highest finish yet). I also want to upgrade to Cat 3. All of the guys that I cyclocross race against are 3's or better, so I need to improve to be racing with guys I'm going up against in the fall.

VN: Any secret training weapons you've been using to gain an advantage on Griff?

JG: I have a new teammate on the Pegasus team named Pat McLaughlin. He hammers. He doesn't wear a heart rate monitor or use one of those random wattage tabulators. He just kits up, throws a leg over the cross bar and rides. No science, no intervals, just cranks. When I ride with him, it's get out, start pedalling and shut up. I always come back in worked over. Griff isn't doing that, no way.

VN: How did your contract with Pegasus come about?

JG: There were a lot of opportunities with other teams. My agent had a number of things lined up with Bianchi, Specialized, Trek, etc., but he felt the deal Pegasus was offering was the best for me at this time.

VN: Is it true that you are riding for a 10% shop discount?

JG: Hey man, I've gotten some water bottles, a free tee shirt, some discounted coaching, a free dinner. When you add all that up plus some of the intangibles, like having Pat as a teammate, it really is a great deal.

VN: Isn't it true that some of the factory sponsored teams shied away from you beacause of your checkered history with drug suspensions?

JG: I guess the softball portion of the interview is over (laughs maniacally). There's been a lot made out of some of the false positives I have received in the past. I've done my time. I've always maintained my innocence and I have proof that my twin indeed vanished. You know, everyone is so fast to throw the first stone when a false positive comes up, but where are they when I score a true negative?

VN: You fell down in front of Dick Pound and Hein Verbrugen with a syringe sticking out of your left butt cheek that said, "for Mark McGwire's personal consumption."

JG: Miguel Tejada assured me that it was nothing more than a B12 shot.

VN: Do you even know what B12 is?

JG: (silence)

VN: Let's switch gears. Assuming you weren't happily married with two beautiful children, who would you prefer, Marie Helene Premont or Gunn-Rita Dahle?

JG: Well, they are both pretty hot and they both rip. I suppose I'd go with whoever was on ecstacy.

VN: Which discipline do you prefer? Mountain bike racing, road racing or cyclo Cross.

JG: I really do like them all for various reasons. Where else can you find a total athletic dork fest other than at a road race. I mean some of those roadies are so into the mechanics of a bicycle and the minutiae of training that it almost becomes nauseating. Boys can go fast though, and I got to give props to the crit racers. I still love racing on the dirt, and it's where I set my roots, but the discipline is dying if not already dead. It's frustrating lining up and counting seven other experts in your race and then looking at the sport field with 113. If the sports refuse to upgrade, the interest in the expert field wanes, and races end up sucking. I've discovered Cross and I absolutely crush Griff on the Cross bike, so right now I'd have to say that's my favorite.

VN: What's on deck?

JG: I'm doing Wente road race and the Napa Valley Dirt Classic and the Madera Stage Race. I'll look for some more races/crits in May and then I'll shut'er down and go back to base training in prep for Cross.

VN: Thanks and goodluck with everything.

At this point, Johnny was shuffled off into a dark recess by Victor Conte for a "rub down". I packed up my things and was escorted to the door by one of Johnny's entourage and asked to present a copy of the article and interview prior to going to print. I did not comply with the request. Andrew Hood Velonews

Anyway, that give you an idea. It was pretty much a hatchet job, but what do you expect in this day and age of pinko journalism.

Johnny GoFast