Matt Shriver

The Cat 5 Clinger

It has been a bit long without a post. I have been waiting for the right pictures I guess, but the training photos just never seem that interesting. the training in Tucson is going really good. It is nice to be in a warm climate where the consistency of riding is perfect and the quality is pretty good as well. I am here until this coming Monday and then it is off to San Diego for some training.

One thing I have noticed out here in Tucson is that there are allot of Cat 5 Clingers on the rides. Two days in a row this has happened where I am out training and I look back, there is some guy sitting on my wheel that I passed 10 miles ago! Yesterday I was out on a ride with Skiles Keith from Missing Saddle and some dude left his buddy to jump on our wheel. He sat there for so long that I started to point out potholes and debris in the road. I am not sure if I didn’t want the guy to crash or if it was just by habit. It got to the point where I was about to ask the dude to take a turn on the front because he had been sitting on so long. Finally Skiles and I upped the pace a bit and dropped the dude on a climb. I felt bad for the guys riding partner that he just bailed on. Same thing happened on Gates Pass to me today. It isn’t really a big deal when you are solo, but when you are training with a friend and want to chat, you don’t need someone you don’t know breathing over your shoulder.

I am starting to feel much stronger and it is only in my third week of training. The power is going up, the heart rate low and I feel good at the end of 5 and 6 hour days in the saddle. Good stuff! I will have some photos soon!

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Posted in: Just Squawking

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 5:52 pm and is filed under Just Squawking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

20 Responses to “The Cat 5 Clinger”

MIke Jones January 22nd, 2008 at 7:37 pm

i couldnt stand that in tucson, i wouldnt point out anything and I would right in the dirt, its like tailgating, if you wanted to ride with them you would have called them. YOu got me excited i thought the post might be about a cat 5 as crazy as clinger.

Steve January 23rd, 2008 at 8:45 am

Just a thought. I don’t live or vacation where their are training camps. However, I am a big cycling fan (220Lbs.)! I think it would be cool to be passed by a few pros and be a cling on for a few miles. It would make my day. I wouldn’t want to disrupt your training or be a bother, but it would just be cool to ride along for a few miles. If you wanted me in the rotation all you have to do is ask.

And if you didn’t know, to a small group of people you all are Celebrities. Some pay a thousand dollars a ticket to go to the super bowl. me, I go to bike races and get autographs of my favorite riders, and smile all day when I talk with you Pros.

Steve Crane
Chicago, IL.
Cat 5 Cling on
& former World Powerlifting Champion

the bird January 23rd, 2008 at 9:19 am

Jones, whats up man. I got excited for a second when you said in your response that you was excited.
I thought for sure you was going to tell us that your coming out to camp with the fifth wheel.
God I miss those crazy days with you.
Java, just put up a new post on his blog. It’s been over a month with him. Hey Mike call me some time be great to catch up with you. Hey by the way what are you doing posting a response here? Funny how we run in to each other on these blogs and talk to one and other here. I really don’t even know who Matt Shriver is really.
Ok Jones gotta go.. I’ll talk to you soon call me.

KINGERS! January 23rd, 2008 at 4:12 pm

That guy sounds like me…

MIke Jones January 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Steve, after thinking about it, i wasnt that much of a dick, but it was the guys that would stay on my wheel after it was obvious that i was doing a specific workout or I was listening to music or really jsut wanted to ride a lone. I would usually train alone for the safety reason, no other guy to worry about just myself. I was friendly probably 100% of the time when encountering these guys, but the ones that outstayed their welcome were the ones i was referring to. And to be honest, sometimes i would rather ride with some cat 5 rec rider and here their interesting stories rather than ride with some other pro and talk about how so and so ate an ice cream is never going to make it up Oak Glen, but if that guy would start pestering me with questions like what size shoes Gord Fraser wore or if scott moninger was a boxer or briefs guy t hen i would put them in the dirt.

bird- I know you said you only do 25% of what your coach says, but you should do more, like right now, go, go train bird.

peter skalair January 23rd, 2008 at 8:20 pm

Im not pro, but there seems to be an etiquite issue here.
Now what if I want to talk about fucking into some trashy whore with my dudes. what if I feel comfortable doing this out on the road,and then some dude rolls up and just wants to ride close behind. fuck man, this is a fucking boundry issue. Im not going to roll up on a couple and just sit next to them on a park bench. think about it bird, what woould you do? gawk? squawk? pee?

Steph January 23rd, 2008 at 8:54 pm

Steve’s right.

Without those “cling-ons,” you wouldn’t have job as a PRO bike racer. You get paid to race by companies who want to use you to advertise their product to the “cling-ons”, who buy those products. (and read your blogs)

Etiquette is exactly the issue. You don’t need to allow every wheel sucker in town to hang out all day. Your job is to figure out a way to be a decent human being in the interaction and leave the guy/girl thinking you are the nicest PRO bike racer.
Boundaries are important, but there’s a way to go about it.
Some guys are better than others…..Here’s to improvement!

Dicky Dub January 23rd, 2008 at 9:03 pm

Yeah Shriver and I talk about that stuff all the time and would appreciate it if you didn’t get into our conversation. It’s for your own good; you couldn’t handle the trash that comes out of Shirvo’s mouth anyway.

the bird January 24th, 2008 at 9:22 am

Jones, Im disapointed in you. I tell you how I feel and all you have to say is go train. I would have to say its more like 15% training that I do. 5 hrs a week and you too can be a pro like Bird.
Peter, im not sure what I have to think about. I never have this problem with a rider wanting to ride with me. At most I might have a hawk fly along with me. Im the Bird and for some of you may or may not know I live in Norther Ill. It’s cold, tons of corn fields and Im the only dude that rides here in my area. I would love it if someone rode with me. I have lots of storys to tell. Like this one time I rode by a cow ranch only to see 2 girl cows humping one and other. I’ve never scene that.
Or how on a normal loop I do theres a Drive In Church. Im not joking serious stuff, with no one to share with.
Im lonely out here please come ride with me. I’ll go 12MPH just so you can stay with me.
For today’s ride I might go pass this frozen lake, and see if there are any ducks that could use some bread. Or even go by Farmer Hill’s Farm to see if his pigs need a squeeking. Till Next time. I’ll Gawk, Squawk, And Pee. Yours Truly Lonely Bird.

the bird January 24th, 2008 at 9:23 am

This may be the most hits this Blog has ever received.

katheryn January 24th, 2008 at 4:37 pm

my favorite are the guys who sit on my wheel when i am doing steady states and then attack me on the hill, only to blow up 100m later and i go by them without blinking an eyelash. whatever dude.

MIke Jones January 24th, 2008 at 5:25 pm

hey bird, i miss you, lets just start using shrivers blog to communicate ,then if they ever implement that email tax we will be one step ahead of them.

MIke Jones January 24th, 2008 at 5:26 pm

hey bird, whats up, how you been?

shriver, if you could buy a blackberry to moderate these a little quicker that would be great, bird and i gotta keep in touch, thanks matt.

jones

MIke Jones January 24th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

bird, remember that time i went to get orange juice at 11pm from the hotel room and never came back till 8am?

that was fun, imiss you.

jack Mehoff January 24th, 2008 at 10:54 pm

Kathryn,
shit, you sound core. I want to hang with you. hey, what are “steady states”?
does bird poop little white drops?

moocher January 24th, 2008 at 11:58 pm

Hi Mike, Hi Bird,

Bird, do you remember me? I can to visit you and mike once in a hotel room at one of the Philly series races, Lancaster I think. You were alright, you reminded me so much of Reid Mumford. I might see him this week, I’m pretty excited about that. How are you?

Mike, I love you… you are so hot in carhart and other red neck clothing. Keep up the good work being a red reck and I’ll see you soonish.

Cya all,

Hi Shriver!!!

Rebecca M. Much

the bird January 25th, 2008 at 8:34 am

Rebecca, sorry im such a big deal I don’t recall who you are. Sorry.
I do know who Reid Mumford is though. Good Joe
To Kathryn are you SERIOUS??
Come on, you never blink?
Mike I leave tomorrow to spend some quality time with the Beast then 4 days later the camp begins.
Im not that fired up this year. Then again I never was last year either.
But with out you, Im nervous how this year may go.
I hope you can come visit me and Much this year at Philly in Room # 316.
I rememeber when you came home @ 8am with out the O.J. Then you had to do a commercial 2 hrs later, then you another 4 hrs later you drop the Bird on that climb and the Bird was with both Jone’s talk about life after cycling and how that might happen sooner then you think.
REmember that conversation on the steps while heckling the Freds.

the bird January 25th, 2008 at 8:38 am

Matt, I just saw a deal on At&t for 99.99 for a blackberry.
How come your not commenting on your blog, you must be doing some sick hours on the bike right now.
I just did a sick 2 hr trainer ride today.
I flip it back to town though after an hour.

MIke Jones January 25th, 2008 at 10:54 am

hey much, thanks for getting at me on my new personal communication forum. the bird remembers you, bird doesnt forget anything, do you bird? i hope you are ok, you havent gotten back to me yet,bird.

i have no idea what steady states are, when i said specific workout it meant can i average 320 watts for over 5 hours or whatever it was, its called high score, hayden roulston tought me that.

Much, good to hear from you since you quit your myspace i thought you didnt love me anymore, so now we can keep in contact here it the best way to contact me.

this comment forum should heat up soon, i posted an ad for help on my apartments and told them to find me here. Now if only matt would update daily so he can be on the front page so i dont have go click on blogs, maybe ill just make his page my homepage, yeah, thats it, i will.

thanks a lot

HI matt.

MIke Jones
Future46r@aol.com
MattShriver.missingsaddle.com (go to comments)

MIke Jones January 25th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

yeah, matt if you could get that blackberry it would be a lot easier cuz bird and i need to have more up to date conversations. or just turn over moderation rights to me.

bird, i remember the talk on the steps, that was fun.

ill bring the rig down to philly for the weekend, you can come hang out and we can trash it again like we did in redlands.

alright bird, i ll check my comments later, good talking to you.

hi matt.

mike jones