I am working on a long form, in-depth character study and investigation into the mind and current whereabouts of Chuckie V. If you have any stories, anecdotes, witticisms, criticisms, insights or otherwise thoughts you would like to share, please feel free to drop me a PM.
I am currently scouring the internet for his historical racing results, most notably those against the big 4. If anyone has information or links or old magazines/scans with these hard to come by results, please do reach out.
I have done a lot of research, much beyond that of Slowtwitch. I am looking for people that knew him to reach out for the purpose of relating their personal experiences, possibly on the podcast.
I’d like to hear him talk about his 1999 Ironman Canada win followed by his 1999 DQ at Kona. Awesome athlete and personality, I hope that he is doing better these days.
He used to live 3 doors down from me until his divorce with Charlie. Since then he vaporized & haven’t seen or heard from him since. I’ve ridden with him pulling out of my driveway multiple times just by pure chance and he usually seemed angry to talk to. As if like anything bothered him (even riding with someone). I know he has had issues, but while TV/media portrayed a social personality, in real life during my encounters with him, he was not from my interaction. Very private, which is fine. I always admired his poor man efforts to compete with the salaried or sponsored athletes like the Big Four.
I did a training camp with him and Charlie several years ago - in Solvang - I never saw the darker side of him - admittedly it was only for 6 days. He was engaging, thoughtful, and fun to be around… I have read a lot of stories about him – including his Appalachian Way trek (some hilarious adventures there), and hope he is doing OK
I thought about replying to this for a minute. Got to know Chuck through a local pro that lives in the area I live. It is where he trained most of the year when he won imc. Did some long rides together and listened to some funny and serious stories of his.
Great guy who I have often thought about since the thread on here asking if anyone knows how he is.
Not sure what exactly your looking for but pm me you like.
never knew him but followed his blog and trail journals. The blog went dark/private some years ago, so long that blogger doesn’t even keep a note of how long it was.
The trailjournals account of the AT petered out but I find now it seems to be documented at https://alimpinthewoods.blogspot.com
So I have something to read now
Given the current state of the sport, we need more like him to stick around.
Can you elaborate? No pun intended!
Hey Tamiii,
Was just meaning that Chuckie specialized in calling out the B.S. of ‘hacks’/‘shortcuts’ etc. in an informative, entertaining and completely unequivocal way.In his own words, he saw himself as “a lyrical laxative for a constipated sport”
And I feel that given the nonsense (‘hacks’/shortcuts/high intensity-low commitment plans) ‘bunging up the system’ at the moment, we’re in desperate need of Chuckie’s experience-borne honesty now more than ever e.g…
He was a better coach than he was an athlete so we never got to really see either. He admitted to me he was his own worst enemy as an athlete, there was speed left on the table and he openly admitted that. He left the world of elite cycling because of all the unethical behavior to come across to triathlon.
Last time I saw Chuck in person I was staying with him and his GF in Tucson at a camp. He offered a spare bedroom for my accommodations and it was an easy decision to say yes. That bedroom ended up being a carpeted floor, blankets and pillow. I was offered better accommodations but decided to stay with Chuck because sleeping on the floor there was a small sacrifice for the time spent in conversation. I hope that says a lot about how I felt about him. (I believe he spent the last of his Gatorade money on the condo?) Less than 6 months later I lost touch with him.
I would love nothing more than for him to come back out of the shadows just long enough to drag every bit of today’s BS through the mud.
