So I used to be a big fan of Shane Litzenberger. I met him a few years ago on one of those Thursday night throw downs up Mt. Diablo. Anything sub 25 minutes to the Junction is considered decent and Shane would routinely cough up something in the 21's. Hell, he can go sub 50 up to the summit while cracking jokes. Anyway, before I knew any of this, I was hammering along up the mountain in a little pack that was chasing him. He had broken off the front and none of us could respond. He kept giving us the look back and it really started to bug. I vowed that day that I would beat him the following week. I'd show up fresh, well tapered and give him some of my rear tire to chew on. He crushed me again. It was then that I started my investigation and discovered his climbing prowess and it was then that I discovered he's got legs the size of people. Later we became teammates and I got to know him a little bit. A fly fisherman that also rides is a good thing to come by. He's talented on the bike and the more you get to know him, the more you rout for him.

Anyway, that was then. He moved off to Boise and based on the photo above, I no longer have a man crush on him. I mean, look at that dorkfest. I didn't think anyone could give triathletes a run for their money when it came to total geekdom, but guys having a "trainer festival" comes pretty damn close. I'm sure he was winning or putting up the most impressive watt numbers, but who outside of that room could he possibly tell or would possibly care? Oh how the mighty have fallen. The king is dead. I'm now accepting applications for new hero worship. Griff, yours goes right to the bottom of the pile.

Johnny GoFast