Psimet2001 

Nothing wrong with that. Love the team and I credit Andy with getting me into cycling/road racing.

2 quick funny stories -

1. I got a text from old forum member who has been banned forever. We'll call him "TimothyAdventure". He had moved to Colorado and was rooming with our mutual friend and ex-pro and good friend of Taylor Phinney.

TQ: "So guess who is our neighbor?"
Me: "Who?"
TQ: "Andy Hampsten."
Me: "Holy shiz... that makes sense. that's awesome. He got me into cycling."
TQ: "I know. and you got me into racing so it's like he got me into racing. I have him to thank for everything for all these years."
Me: "I wouldn't lead with that when you meet him."

2. As many know I have a very large team and we attend a lot of races. My job, because I suck at racing, has been support. I cart around a team tent compound around 450 sq feet of coverage, walls, heaters in the winter, chairs, tables, work stands, event racks for bikes, full tools, pump, etc. I show up to one of the prairie state cycling series events (now Intelligentsia Cup) as they were filling the void left by Superweek. I had never formally met Marco who is the "local" race director. I show up super early and haul my gear alone then park my car. Total pain in the behind. Dripping sweat and po'd. I go to ask one of the race personnel where teams can set up tents. They look at me like I am speaking in tongues. I get shuffled to a guy who tells me where I can set up. I move all the gear (takes like 10 minutes and 20 trips) and I start setting up. Marco shows up and tells me I can't set up there. I get mad but at least he is officially the race director and he tells me where to set up. I then haul the gear again. Alone. They don't offer to help and none of the 20 volunteers standing around debating the best way to wear the volunteer shirts offer to help. Takes about 30 minutes and probably 5 or 6 trips to get everything moved again as it's further away. I set everything up. Riders start showing up. Everything seems to be going well....

....Then this guy shows up and starts yelling at us that we can't be set up there. He doesn't offer us a place to move just says "you can't be here! who the f told you to set up here!!". I lose it. I start yelling at him, he starts yelling at me. He pushes a rider off a set of rollers, I throw a pile of wheels. He pushes our tents back....etc. I say things like "F this. I am telling everyone in Chicagoland to boycott these races. You guys can't get your heads out of your asses long enough to actually think about the racers. We're treated like crap and yet we're technically the reason all this exists." We steam and simmer and yell at each other for a while. A lot of people show up to break us up. Friends are giving me "WTF" looks. His race people are whispering to him.

I'm thinking, "why does it seem like both sides are telling us - 'you should chill you don't know who you're messing with'." Then my friend from Wisconsin who is camped next to me whose boy was shoved on the rollers say, "Damn Schuler, chill the f out!"

...and that's how I met Tom Schuler.

I think he's great and a real asset to the sport and would bend over backwards for him today. Half the time when I see him I can't decide if he's going to yell at me or if I need to grab one of my old 7-Eleven posters and get him to sign it. He reflected on our first meeting a bunch of years ago and said something to the effect of, "I get it. it totally makes sense. I think we're both just so damn passionate about all this." One of the biggest compliments I have ever gotten.