One of our longest serving writers is also our tallest, Dave Aldersebaes (Dave A) measures in at 6 foot 4 inches, but more importantly he is cycling mad! He writes about it, he races in all disciplines and he is captain of his Ironclad Cycling Team. Meet the “BIG Man” of the PEZ Crew.
PEZ: You’ve been writing race reports, interviews and road side for PEZ for (how many years?) quite some time now, how did it all start?
Dave Aldersebaes: For me it was “right place, right time”. I had just started writing about cycling when PEZ launched, and I got in on the ground floor. That was early 2003. I think my first “real” assignment outside of humorous 1st person stuff was the Worlds in Ontario. Talk about starting big.
Dave was the first of the PEZ crew to model the 2009 kit for a 'sunny' Tour of California.
PEZ: As you live in Portland, Oregon how do you handle the time difference and tricky coverage when you are writing a race report on a European race?
Dave A: I get up very early! Lucky, our coffeemaker has a programmable timer on it!
PEZ: What has been your favourite/exciting/daunting Pez Assignment?
Dave A: I enjoyed the Tours de Georgia back in the day the best. 04 and 05 were some of my favorite memories of the job, though all of it has been a lot of fun. The Tours of California I’ve done have been great, and I hope one day to get Paris-Roubaix assigned to me. One can dream!
Covering the Tour of Georgia wasn't all fun and games.
PEZ: I’m a little scared to ask this question, but what do you think of the Lance come-back?
Dave A: I think I’ll for once take a queue from him and bite my tongue on that.
Dave has managed to do what even some professional cyclists haven't been able to: get a picture by PEZ's favorite: Cor Vos!
PEZ: The dust has settled on the Tour de France ’09, what did you think of it?
Dave A: Interesting, from a drama standpoint, as it was somewhat of a throwback to the old Hinault/LeMond situation with the intra-team struggle. Of course we saw that Contador is the superior stage racer for this era. It was interesting to see the Armstrong/Bruyneel psychological warfare all support what was in the end the losing effort. I think Contador will win in 2010 if there are no illnesses, busts, etc.
Dave snapped this shot with some random guy in a Garmin kit.
PEZ: If “The Pez” was to ask you (and pay for!) “What race would you like to cover, road-side?” which would you pick?
Dave A: Paris-Roubaix, hands down.
PEZ: Is there a “Dave A” favourite rider, past and present?
Dave A: Always loved Greg LeMond for past riders, and for present, I gotta go with Jens Voigt. That dude just cracks me up.
Phil Liggett and Dave share a smile.
PEZ: Are the UCI handling the dope thing correctly?
Dave A: Not really. With the UCI doing it, I think we get a lot of lip service and at the end of the day, sadly, we have the fox guarding the henhouse.
The two Daves up to no good.
PEZ: If I was a Schoolboy thinking of taking up cycle sport what would you say to me?
Dave A: Be very careful if you reach the higher levels, and know your history of the sport. But as an amateur, I’d say knock yourself out – all in all it’s the best sport in the world!
Another Dave and Dave original: this time, the voice of American bike racing: Dave Towle.
PEZ: Is the future bright for the sport of cycling?
Dave A: I really hope so. I think if you look at the small changes being made in the right direction now, that there’s certainly hope. As we hope and push for the paradigm shift back to believable performances, I would say we’re in for some serious growing pains.
Evil Dave.
PEZ: What started you riding the bike?
Dave A: A thing called Ragbrai, a roughly 500 mile state tour of Iowa, got me into cycling as a sport. I did several of those and then the racing bug bit me, and bit me hard. I was hooked. I just wanted to go faster and faster, and I still do! Sadly, I’m not very good. I’m a good handler, and a fair criterium rider, but overall I am the textbook definition of a mediocre cyclist.
PEZ: As well as writing you are very involved in a hands-on way with riding and racing, tell us more.
Dave A: I am very proud of my team that I started with the help of my employer back in 2006. Since I have no children of my own, this team sort of acts as a stand in! I can’t help but shamelessly promote IroncladCycling.com go have a few laughs if you like.
Ironclad Cycling: Dave's baby.
PEZ: I’ve noticed you do it all, track, on-road, off-road and cyclo-cross, what’s your favourite?
Dave A: I’ve always been a Roadie. Plain and simple. I love criteriums as well, they’re my favorite, but I must say ‘Cross is growing on me like a weed….and it’s coming up in a month now!
It wouldn't be a cross race without an ugly face.
PEZ: Is there time for anything else in the life of Dave A?
WORK. WORK. WORK. Girlfriend. Cat.
It wouldn't be cross racing in Portland without mud.
PEZ: Why cycling? What is the attraction?
Dave A: To me cycling is the ultimate expression of all things sport. It’s the most beautiful sport in the world, the most pure form of suffering. The simple nature of a simple machine powered by a human. My personal attraction is pushing myself to my very physical limit.
Dave.
PEZ: Anything else you'd like to say?
Dave A: I’m exceptionally proud and happy to be a part of the PEZ team, I think we bring a different perspective to the sport, and our growing readership emphasizes that.
***
Follow Dave and his Ironclad Team's exploits over at IroncladCycling.com!
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