Ask Andy Hampsten. Seriously.
Andy Hampsten rules. Consider:
- He’s won the Giro d’Italia.
- He’s won the Alpe d’Huez stage in the Tour de France.
- He’s currently got a sweet business leading bicycle tours of Italy (for the three people in the world [mom, dad, wife] who happen to remember, back when I wrote books for a living I almost always used a fictional bike touring company for my example documents).
So when the chance to ask interview him via email came up, of course I jumped at it.
Now, though, I’ve got to figure out what to ask him. And I’d like some help. So, what would you ask Andy? I’ll pick the best questions, combine them with a few that I want to ask, and send them his way. Then, of course, I’ll post the interview in this blog.
Why Would a Giro d’Italia Winner Do an Interview with Fat Cyclist?
“How,” you may fairly ask, “is it possible that Andy Hampsten reads the Fat Cyclist blog and has agreed to answer questions for it?”
The answer is simple: He hasn’t read my blog. He’d never heard of me ’til I contacted him via email. He doesn’t have great internet access in rural Italy, and so has agreed—blog unseen—to the interview because I happen to work with a friend of his.
I suspect, just between you and me, that if he had read my blog, he may not have agreed to the interview. So yay for poor internet access in rural Italy!
Comment by Unknown | 06.22.2006 | 12:10 am
hey, i’ll bet you stole that idea from bikedodger.
Comment by Sue | 06.22.2006 | 12:13 am
Dude, they’re selling your book for 70 cents! Sorry.
Andy, how cold was your left testicle as you were ascending the Passo Gavia?
Andy, do you want to see my lipoma?
Andy, do you spalm your balls with Ass o S creme before a big ride?
Botched
Comment by Andrew | 06.22.2006 | 1:15 am
I’d like to know about his farting technique.
Comment by mhywan | 06.22.2006 | 1:22 am
I guess relevant questions will be like:how much weight did you gain after retiring as a pro cyclist?how do you keep your weight down during the pro career vs now?who do you think will win the TdF this year?what sort of nasty/silliest things you have heard in the professional peloton?has he seen a bearded man wearing a skirt walking across a mountain road before?
Comment by James | 06.22.2006 | 1:27 am
If ya want hard-hitting, try this one. In the "Dry Bread Wants a Harley" section of Bobke II, Bob Roll writes: "’…We chucked steel like slaves to help Hamstring win the Giro, and we sure as shit ain’t laundering cash in some exotic foreign locale…’ As a matter of fact, I was on probably the only team in the history of cycling whose leader kept his prize split after winning a major Tour."So what’s up with that? Is Roll just blowing smoke, or is there more to the story?Or, if you want to ask him a question he might actually answer: Last year, more than eighteen years after your Giro win, you showed up at a cross race in Boulder. You run tours in Italy. What keeps you going on the bike? Does it ever get old for you?
Comment by Peg | 06.22.2006 | 2:48 am
Does he have any good investment advice? Favorite recipes?
-beakasaurus
Comment by Unknown | 06.22.2006 | 3:13 am
Andy – When working with Bob Roll on the OLN TdF coverage, are his comments as stupid off the set as they are on it?
Andy – What was the funniset thing you ever saw will riding the TdF?
Comment by Unknown | 06.22.2006 | 3:14 am
You’re in the Giro with the all time greats. You’re pounding up the Gavia in a three man break, crushing the field. Coppi is on one side, Bartali on the other. Graham Watson is on the corner just up getting ready to take a snap that will immortalize this supernatural bike race. Coppi and Bartali are both parched, and asking for your water bottle, which has one or two swigs in it. It’s only enough for one guy. To whom do you pass it, and why?
Comment by Daryl | 06.22.2006 | 3:48 am
What makes the riding in Italy so much better than in the U.S.? What needs to be done here to make it similar or even better? From what I understand Italians drive even worse than we do, we have more country, more mountains, more drive-thru daiquiri outlets so what is the deal with Italy? Besides the Pope that is.
Comment by Dodger | 06.22.2006 | 4:21 am
No, no name, he didn’t steal it from me. Now if he prints out the email, farts on it then reviews it, we got ourselves a case!
Andy, how many podium girls have you, umm… crossed the finish line with?
less juvinial: What would you drink during races and training?
Comment by michael | 06.22.2006 | 4:34 am
Not a question, but I’d still say it in an interview: "Andy, winning Alpe D’Huez, tell me all about it."
It’s more of a request, really, but I’m hoping he still answers it.
BTW, Fatty, I’ll be in Utah this weekend–your neighborhood, I believe. Maybe I’ll see you around.
Comment by craig | 06.22.2006 | 2:49 pm
Is it true that EPO gives you a nasty headache?
Comment by BIg Mike In Oz | 06.22.2006 | 3:17 pm
Andy, How did the crowds treat you compared to what the media showed of Lance’s experiences with spitting, etc?
Andy, It must have been fantastic to win a stage of the Tour de France. How did it feel to realise that you weren’t the first non-European, and were in fact beaten by several years by an Australian with a lisp?
Comment by Big Guy on a Bicycle | 06.22.2006 | 4:48 pm
Andy used to listen to some pretty hard core stuff while riding/training (e.g., Dead Milkmen, et cetera). What kind of stuff is he listening to now?
Comment by Jsun | 06.22.2006 | 7:35 pm
Andy-
1- If you had the rare chance to ask an ‘insider’ about their experiences, would you ask serious and relevant questions, or would you crack wise?
2- Do you care that I have nothing relevant to ask, can only think of smartash comments and have therefore degraded my fellow commentors for their lack of seriousness?
Comment by Big Guy on a Bicycle | 06.23.2006 | 1:44 am
Hey, Jsun, I was being serious…
Comment by Jsun | 06.23.2006 | 1:54 am
Sorry BigGuy, your’s was a legit question, and one I would like to know the answer to. Its just that I am paid in unmarked bills by Fatty to fill up some of the commentor space so that he can get the big bucks from MSN and other contributers.
I still like the ‘dead milkmen’, but my cassette tapes are just plain old fashioned and hard to get back into.
Comment by Jsun | 06.23.2006 | 1:56 am
its okay that I said that, right boss?
Comment by sans auto | 06.23.2006 | 5:59 am
Andy,
What did Fatty promise to give you in exchange for this interview (a Volvo)?
Do you know that you aren’t going to get it?
I can’t believe that nobody else made that joke, so I felt obligated. I’ve never tried to win anything, and frankly come to the site for good writing and funny comments. It just seems that not giving prizes is what Fatty is known for, so I threw it in.
Happy 40th Fatty… On the bright side, you are still over 50 years younger than my average personal training client.
Comment by craig | 06.23.2006 | 3:06 pm
andy
Care to speculate what Jsun has crammed up his ass?
Comment by bradley | 06.23.2006 | 4:26 pm
Andy, what advice would you give an aspiring blogger? What’s it gonna take to get some races in America that can compete long-term with the European classics and tours?
Comment by bradley | 06.23.2006 | 4:31 pm
By the way, I’ve FC beat: I have a text-book supplment selling for $.66 (why no cents signs?).
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0205305016/qid=1151080088/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/103-9151025-1988667?s=books&v=glance&n=283155">a really cheap book</a>
Comment by Unknown | 06.23.2006 | 6:03 pm
I do have a serious question for Andy that has to do with the relative popularity of cycling and how kids are introduced to it. How does cycling compare to soccer and other sports in Italy (I know soccer isn’t popular at all in Italy, but football is, but since football isn’t Football to me, I can’t call soccer Football)?
Are there cycling clubs/races for younger folks in italy/what do they do to make sure young folks get into cycling?
Botched
Comment by Unknown | 06.23.2006 | 6:11 pm
Botched – i asked that same question to my brother in law who lives in Italy, and he said soccer is HUGE while cycling is not nearly as big as you would think. Soccer is like the NFL and cycling is more like the NHL, very passionate fans, but a minority, sporting fan-wise. At least that’s his thoughts on the subject.
Comment by Unknown | 06.23.2006 | 6:52 pm
andy,
can you still (or could you ever) pee whilst staying
on and pedaling your bike? do you have to have someone
hold your saddle whilst doing said peeing? do people in
italy pee and if so, do they do it on their bikes?
thank you very much.
Comment by Jane | 06.23.2006 | 8:10 pm
Does this mean Lance is next? Toodles! – Jane
Comment by Unknown | 06.24.2006 | 3:51 pm
Andy,
Three questions:
Who gave you the nickname,"Ernie" ( I think I already know why)?
When was the last time you got to hang out or talk with Sterling M?
Did you know that Neel was riding again?