Ugh. He needs to go away.

He seems to be acting a bit like a solution in search of a problem on this one.

I thought it was a good message, one of positivity and inclusion at times when the country could use a bit more of that. (And not like the first two people to comment on it, doing so negatively).

+1

Seems like common sense that can apply to many things in life.

Two weeks ago I was riding a steep hill. I saw a woman who was jogging her hybrid bike up as it was too steep for her to ride
I shouted some encouragement as I rode past and stopped at the top to cheer her on.
She had no quit but I could have easily blown her off because she was on a hybrid.

Just ride.

So what exactly is your problem with his message?

LOL, I have no idea who that is. I assumed you were referring to Philippe Gilbert, aka Phil Gil.

always good advice but as a lifelong Fred, Jerry, FNG, I don't think I'm his target audience.

I had a similar experience this past weekend. I ride with a number of different groups depending on what I'm looking for on a particular day.

On Saturday I left with a group where it's not unusual that at 49 years old I'm the youngest rider. A woman I'd never seen before showed up this weekend. It was clear she had a little experience riding but still newish. We got to a section of steady climbing rollers and the group kept motoring to the next turn off. Ordinarily I'd take turns leading the group through this section at a pretty strong pace. For some reason I held back and quickly noticed she got popped off and realized it was going to be a hard lonely slog for her to catch back up (the group waits at turnoffs). I eased up, offered to help her with a pull to the turn, gave her some encouraging words and high-fived when we made it. She was very happy with her effort and the was appreciative.

Once we got to the turn around spot for the ride I hooked up with a much faster roadie group as I wanted to get some hard efforts in and get back home quick. I spent the final hour back home on the rivet and hitting max HR several times.

That it came from him; a person whose duplicity and hypocrisy knows no limits.

+1. That is what I was going for. The whole video is good. The 1st part is directed towards newer cyclists, and essentially says great job and maybe ignore the snobs if you need to. Keep going.

For the other poster asking who it is, not sure if sarcasm or not....Phil gaimon, but you know that or could by watching the video.....

I'll go back to the LR now.

does this mean that #ebikesmatter ?

Not sure he was being sarcastic. Some of us never really heard of him as a professional cyclist, and if you check his stats out, you will understand why. Never raced a grand tour, only one small race win in ten years, etc. He might have become more famous as a "professional cyclist" racing a bunch of amateurs for strava KOMs that he ever was trying to toe the line against top pros.

that was me. yes, watching the video gave me his name but prior to that moment I'd never heard of him. and he didn't introduce himself so it still doesn't mean anything to me. Engner66 said he was a professional rider. so now I know more

his message was fine. very animated and YouTube-y but that's the norm these days. as a late adopter, still a Fred, it amuses me that it needs to be said.

I am with rubik

What, did Phil steal your cookies?

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

No, he probably chose to do the Hincappie fondo instead of Phil's cookie fondo and felt excluded.

For those who don't know who he is, more than any cycling achievements, his claim to fame is he wrote 2 books on life as a struggling pro - Pro Cycling on $10 a Day on the struggles of being an under paid US pro trying to get to the World Tour and Draft Animals on life at the bottom of the heap as a Euro pro. Both are great reads if you're in to bike racing or are a pro cycling fan. Since retiring (a/k/a not being able to get another contract with a World Tour team), he's managing to make a decent living via YouTube and sponsorships doing cycling things, mostly hunting climbing KOM's. Last month he set the Everesting world record but lost it after only 4 days. That was a sarcastic set of videos . . .

He does have one pro win as a World Tour Pro, from a breakaway in an early season 1.1 stage race in South America.

I think the hypocrisy mentioned upthread is that part of the persona Gaimon built up is his supposedly vehemently anti-doping attitude, going as far as getting a "Dopers suck" tattoo on his limb. That, of course, was before he became buddy-buddy with Tommy Danielson.

Being vehement on an issue is more than lip service. Often, people have to suffer the consequences of staying true to that attitude. When Tommy D got popped for taking steroids, Gaimon stayed mum. All the sudden, the usually loquacious person who really hasn't met an issue on which he wishes not to comment chose to remain silent on the one issue toward which he was once passionate. Gaimon himself admits that he likes cookies; seems that he likes cake as well, as in having his cake and eating it.

He should really stay away from the public sphere and let someone else hog the mike for once. Fwiw, I do agree that too many serious cyclists are way too uptight and unwelcoming, but that message could be better delivered by someone else

You ride with groups these days?

Yep, only for the last few weeks though.