This weekend I had the wonderful privilege of meeting one of my heroes: cyclist Jens Voigt. He was participating in a charity bike ride to raise money for The Epilepsy Society in New Forest, England. The evening before the ride, the weather didn’t look terribly promising with one direction pure sunshine and the other rain and hail clouds. In other words, it was typical British weather.
I’ve been known to lose my cool and be completely and utterly dumbfounded in the past when meeting cyclists, so I am quite proud to report that I was my normal Kathryn self when I met Jens! There were about 20 of us at a small event the night before the ride where we got the chance to chat with Jens. As luck would have it, I was sitting with two guys at the table nearest the door (we were the first ones to arrive, after all!) so when Jens came in, he headed over to our table and just started talking. He spent a good chunk of time with us before moving on to the other tables, which gave me a chance to check out his bike.
There’s a classic Jens-ism on his bike. It’s well known that when his legs are aching and exhausted in a race, he says, “Shut up legs!” and soldiers on.
He’s also got some impressive numbers on his frame, counting his crashes (100), pro wins (64), and broken bones (11), among other stats, all of which add up to 1 Jens.
Despite a long day of international travel, giving interviews, and fulfilling obligations to his sponsors, Jens was energetic and cheerful as we chatted about the state of cycling today, other riders in the peloton (he does some really good impressions!), and life in general. He signed autographs and posed for photos, all the while smiling sincerely. There’s a reason why he’s known as the nicest guy in the peloton.
In the morning, the clouds and sun fought each other and there was a noticeable difference in temperature when the sun clouded over. Most of the other cyclists complained about not having a third or fourth layer to wear. Meanwhile I was in just bike shorts and a jersey! I managed to control my shivering but when the fourth person offered to loan me a jacket, I took him up on it.
The 42 mile ride took us through some gorgeous scenery. There were even wild ponies roaming around! Alas, there are no scenic photos as the ride took every ounce of my energy! We rode in groups of 8 so that every one would get the chance to chat with Jens along the way. One of the gentlemen in my group was kind enough to stick with me and give me more than the occasional push so that I didn’t drift too far back. The fact that I was riding in my running shoes and on a rented bike didn’t help my speed, but I’ve never been a fast cyclist anyway. Having my own domestique to look after me was an enormous help, not to mention that he was a great tour guide and told me all about the area. It turned out my domestique was Robin Wilmott, a photographer who had taken this well known photo of Jens when, after his frame broke early in a mountain stage of the 2010 Tour de France, Jens’ only option to continue was to borrow a junior bike which was far too small for his lanky legs in order to rejoin the peloton and make it to Paris. When it was my turn to chat with Jens, he laughed and said how impressed he was to see me cycling in so little gear! I finished the ride in a little over 3 hours, which was fine with me considering how long it had been since I last did any real riding.
After the ride, there was a raffle and even though the rain had held off, I still downed several cups of tea to warm up again. As I poured in the milk and sugar, Jens came over to congratulate me on finishing in my running shoes! Later, the other cyclists teased me that I had done it just to get noticed.
I was lucky enough to spend some time with Darren Kenny, a British Paralympian with multiple cycling gold medals both on the road and the track. It’s pretty humbling to get to talk with such an accomplished athlete, so I was delighted that he was so eager to hear about my travels.
Jens sat to happily sign autographs and take photos with all of the participants.
I couldn’t resist and had my picture taken with him again!
The nicest guy in the peloton? Mini Bear and I certainly think so!
