I was thinking how long a learning curve it is to attain enough knowledge to race a bike intelligently. If you’re really on top of everything, about the number of years it takes your body to morph into a efficient rider, your brain has enough knowledge to allow you to perform well.

I usually get stuff pretty quickly. It only took me two years on the Professional MTB scene to figure out that everyone falls down once in a while and there is nothing to be embarrassed about doing so. Other observations and tricks took longer.

Anyway, I was on the ride yesterday and we were talking about fighting. I remembered a fight that I had back in elementary school when I was in 5th grade.

I went to public schools here in Topeka, Kansas. Right next door to my elementary school was a private Catholic School that had grades 1-8. A tall chain link fence separated the two school grounds. One day during lunch, a verbal argument through the fence escalated into rock throwing. And finally meeting at the end of the fence to fight.

So a big group of us went to the end of the fence to fight a big group of “them”. But, when we got to the end of the fence, everyone sort of chickened out. Finally, my best friend came up with this great idea that one guy from each school should fight for everyone. Immediately I was the guy. I was probably 5 ft. tall and weighed 85 lbs. The Catholic guy was a 8th grader that was at least 50 lbs heavier than me.

I didn’t want to fight, but the guy punched me instantly. So, I was pissed and tackled him to the ground. I’d been fighting with my brother ever since I could walk, so I was pretty familiar with fighting tactics. I finally got the guy in a head lock with my legs, choking him. (That was the position I was always trying to attain fighting Kris.) He kept trying to hit me in the balls, but I just told him I was going to punch him in the face, and then punch him in the face, every time he hit me in the crotch. He stopped pretty quickly.

After laying there for awhile, maybe 5 minutes, the bell rang and everyone went inside. I kept trying to let the guy go, but he kept going crazy and hitting me every time I eased up with my leg pressure. So, we just stayed there on the ground at the end of the fence.

After about 10 minutes, the principle from my school, Dr. Frank Wilson, came striding across the schoolyard. Someone must of told him I was outside fighting. He was the principle of Monroe Elementary School that didn’t allow the Linda Brown to go to a all white school in Brown v. Board of Education, here in Topeka. That was the lawsuit that outlawed racial segregation in the United States. Anyway, Dr. Wilson pulled us apart and grabbed me by my collar and escorted me back to school. He told me to go to the restroom, wash up and report to his office.

I had been to his office multiple times. I’d been paddled by Dr. Wilson multiple times. That was standard procedure then. At least here, in Topeka. Anyway, I got back to his office and waited there forever. Probably 30 minutes. I was scared shitless. Eventually he opened his office door and called me in. I was positive I was going to get paddled. And he paddled hard with a paddle.

But, instead he told me to sit down. Then he asked me how I ended up the one fighting. And commented that I beat that big Catholic kid up pretty good. He then completely changed tact and asked me if I knew how to play chess. I did. He asked if I’d like to play him in a game of chess. I obviously said, “sure”, not knowing exactly what was going on.

So, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the principles office, playing chess with him and eating chocolate. I can’t remember who won. Wish I could. But, it doesn’t really matter. Not another word was spoken of the fight, calling my parents or punishment. When the final bell rang, he told me he had a very enjoyable afternoon and told me to get going. I felt like I just escaped the spanking of my life and I was super lucky.

I never really thought much about it since. But, a light bulb went off last night when I was laying there and thought that Dr. Wilson must of planned out that whole afternoon. Dr. Wilson had a PHD in education, I think. But, I’m not sure they could teach what he did that afternoon. His not paddling me and congratulating me on “winning” the fight went miles with all the students at Whitson Elementary School. Everyone in the school knew about my afternoon by the next morning. For sure.

I treated/thought of him differently my last two years. I think everyone did. He wasn’t “The Principle” anymore. He was on our side. I’d never thought of it that way.

It bothers me that it took this long to realize something so obvious. Most stuff comes pretty quickly to me. This whole thing makes me wonder how many other obtuse observations are really just simple and obvious. Probably tons.

The UCI and the Pro riders have a stand off on the race radio thing. I’m not sure where USAC stands in all of this. Pat McQuaid sent this open letter to the Professional riders. Some of it makes sense to me.

But, an interview with Jonathan Vaughters, who is the representative of the professional teams group, has a lot to say on the subject. The Pro teams are planning a boycott of a UCI promoted event in China at the end of the season if the radio ban stays in effect past May 1st I think.

Jonathan is a pretty smart guy and someone I’d like to have on my side in an argument. I think he is very, very good for the sport. But implying that the radios assure that the best rider wins a race is ludicrous. Here’s part of his interview from Velonews.

VN: Why are race radios essential in your opinion?

JV: Some people say it was more exciting in the 1970s, 1980s, but there are a lot of factors involved in that. We are open to any ideas about how to make racing more exciting. We can open up radio communication to the fans, have it streamed live online or have it part of the TV broadcast. By banning race radio, you introduce an element of randomness into the race. If a rider gets a flat tire, his teammates will never know, the team car cannot tell them, the race is rolling along at 60kph, and this guy is effectively out of the race because of a puncture. Without race radio, the team car gets to him slower, he might not have teammates to help him back to the peloton. It’s just a randomness and I honestly don’t think fans want to see a poorly conceived race that is more randomized, that the luckiest rider wins. That’s against the ethos of the sport. In cycling, which is a team sport, the best athlete on the best team with the best strategy with the best coaching, at the end of the day, should win. In order for that sequence of events to occur, you need communication.

The statements that bothers me the most is the last two lines of the interview. “The luckiest rider wins.” And “the best athlete on the best team with the best strategy with the best coaching….should win”. Man, that is a lot of bests. Seems like trying to get all those bests together seems kind of lucky.

I have to disagree with Jonathan on this. Say he’s right, and not having communication makes the results seem “lucky”. I think that this is one of the best and most unique aspects of the sport. This isn’t a marathon. In cycling, the most physically gifted guy doesn’t get to win every time. That is the beauty of it. I’ve said this many times. If you raced the same race, everyday for a year, with the same riders, it would never, ever, turn out the same. That is a good thing. Not a bad thing.

I’d much rather be spectating an event that doesn’t have a predetermined outcome, than what we get to watch now in the sport of bike racing. Especially stage racing. Each race turns into a team time trial until the decisive moments. It is boring.

But, I don’t think he’s right on his whole premise. I think that it isn’t necessary luck when the “underdog” wins a bike race. It is a combination of a billion different things. And, attributing this “wrong” result to a lack of communication between the best rider, and his team, and a coach is just bullshit.

Race radios take the instinct out of the sport. Instinct is how you win many bike races. It is the feeling that allows the rider to risk, to take a chance that doesn’t have a high percentage shot at succeeding. It is what makes watching bike racing exciting.

Eddy got pretty “lucky” winning 8 stages in 1970 and ’74 at the Tour de France. He won the lottery in 1969 when he won all 3 jerseys for the general classification (yellow jersey), points classification (green jersey) and the mountains classification.