I had posted this in reply to a comment made about John Kerry, but the thread became better suited to the non-cycling discussion board so I thought I would repost my message and ask about famous/infamous people you have met on the roads.
So, anybody ride with Lemond? Robin Williams? Lance? Bill Walton?
Here's my encounter with Kerry.
I'm not involved in politics, but I can tell you that John Kerry does in fact ride, and ride pretty well.
For the past several years he has participated in the Pan Mass Challenge fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund (
www.pmc.org). Two years ago I was riding along at about a 19-20mph pace when a guy came up to me and asked if I would mind if he drafted me for a while. A bit later, I pulled off and let him come through to take a pull. As I was drifting back he introduced himself as John and I introduced myself. We traded pulls a few times before it dawned on me that John was actually John Kerry, the Massachusetts Senator. Pretty funny, I thought. We chatted for a while and he told me of a ride he did with Greg Lemond through Vietnam several years ago. That must have been some experience...
Anyway, Kerry rides a beautiful orange Serotta Legend Ti. His fitness was pretty good considering he probably never has much time to train. Last year I saw him repeatadly on the ride and finished in front of him by only a couple of minutes. What was amazing was the fact that this charity ride has rest stops every 20 miles or so, yet Kerry did not stop even one time. 110 miles straight through. His pace wasn't particulary fast, just steady. For the last 60 miles or so I would pass Kerry before each water stop, then pass him again after I had stopped for a few minutes... We went back and forth like this all afternoon. Kerry rode with no support or Secret Service. He was alone most of the time and really seemed to be riding for the event, and not for publicity. I wonder if he'll be able to do these sorts of rides in the future...