MY BUDDY AL

I have a buddy named Al who I got to know when I lived in LA. Al is a Canadian by birth who now lives in the states with his American wife. Al is a jeweler by trade and really likes riding his bike (both mountain and road) and climbing.

Here is the thing, my buddy Al is a stud and a bit of a legend, both in his hometown of Calgary and in LA.

When he lived in Calgary, he did a two man team mountain bike race in winter (again, in Calgary, so it was cold). He and his partner rode so hard and fast that they arrived at some of the checkpoints before the race staff even arrived.

Living in LA, Al used to do some of the group rides. Al is pretty much the same size as I am (5'7"), a little heavier, with a lot more horsepower. Al goes up hill pretty well. So well in fact that one of the regulars on the group rides, a guy we called Big Jim (because he was about 6' and probably around 180 lbs) always used to tell Al that the only reason that Al could beat him up hills was because he weighed 30 lbs less than he did. (Big Jim seemed to miss the whole power to weight ratio part of this equation). Well Jim went on and on....and on about this until finally Al put up a challenge. He would race Jim up Latigo Canyon from PCH...with 30 lbs of dirt in a back pack. Jim accepted the challenge. So, the morning of the challenge arrived along with a number of witnesses who had heard about the challenge. Everyone watched Al as he meticulously weighed out 30 lbs of dirt and put it into a bag in his back pack. Latigo is a 7 mile climb that gains over 1800 feet in elevation as it ascends to its second summit. Al and Jim started off together. Al finished, 7 miles and 1800 feet gained later, over 2 minutes in front of Big Jim.

Fast forward a few months after the great Latigo Dirt Race to an evening when Al was riding his beach cruiser over to the local community center and happened upon Big Jim and Mrs. Big Jim outside. Mrs. Big Jim took the opportunity to try to support her man and tell Al "I bet you couldn't beat Jim up a climb on that cruiser of yours". Al, not being one to back down from challenges, accepted, as did Big Jim (not wanting to disappoint the Mrs, and I am sure liking his chances). This time the race would go up Piuma, a 5 mile climb that gained over 1600 feet. The morning of the race arrived, with even more witnesses than the Latigo Dirt Race. Big Jim arrived on his state of the art Canondale, and then Al arrived...on his beach cruiser wearing khaki shorts, a button down short sleeve shirt....and flip flops. Al beat Jim up Piuma by over a minute.

Fast forward to present time and the 2007 Crocodile Trophy, a 10 stage mountain bike race in Australia that covers over 1100 km. Participants in the 13th edition of the Crocodile include Astana professional road rider Joachim Benoit, a Hungarian named Attila....and my buddy, 43 year old Al. Al is racing in the M1 category (there are 3 categories: Elite for guys like Joachim and Attila, M1 and M2). All 3 categories start at the same time and race the exact same course and distance and the participants are placed overall and then according to category for the overall GC. This past Saturday, on Stage 5, Al came second. Overall. The only guy to beat him was Joachim Benoit, the European Pro-Tour Team guy. Al broke away for 70 kilometers....by himself. He made it 2 km from the finish before Benoit caught and passed him.

Al's legend continues. Way to go Al. Nicely done.