Andrew Davidson

Name: Andrew Davidson

UCI Code: CAN19840608 (i think that's what it was)

Hometown: Winnipeg (but Calgary really)

First club: Dynamic Cycle on 17th Ave - beside Johnny Cruise Drum Shop

Current residence: Calgary until Feb.1st, then Montreal!

The elementary school I went to had awesome summer programs where the instructors would take us out mountain biking around the city - that was my first love

First race:
C.O.P. weeknight mtb series. I think i was the only one in my category (U15), so i was first and last!

Most memorable:
The time trial at my second year tour de a'lbitibi junior world cup stage race in Quebec- holy shit! such an epic stage. They drive you down a half kilometer into the ground - into the towns old mine, taking loads of 15 riders at a time, on this trippy mining-mobile. Then you sit in a cold, cramped, leg balm - infumed change room, waiting with all the other riders to take a turn on one of a couple exercise bikes, for maybe 5min tops, before the start of a 16km ITT that starts with the 10-15% grades climb out of this cave, on roads that are so moist with condensation that you can't stand up or you will slide out. l i did the same TT the first year and thought to myself, FUCK THIS SITTING AROUND b.s.! (pardon my english) - it's the total lack of warm up that kills you, so I locked myself in a bathroom I found, put on every peice of clothing I had, and did some seriously intense jumping jacks for a good 15-20min. I was SO warmed up by the time I got to start - I ended up finishing second out of the 140 or so field, 12 seconds behind Tyler Farrar, whose like big time now I think. woooo, jumping jacks!

Worst race:
Just like my most memorable, again raining like crazy, my morale was waining at the end of a long stint in France. As I'm warming up (more accurately, riding and getting cold and wet) - I am asking the gods in my head, "should I even keep racing?", and honest to god - I look up in front of me to see a huge green sign with a bicycle, and a "X" through it! It was a sign telling cyclists to keep off the sidewalk, but I knew it was a sign just for me. I ended up riding straight into a cement road divider within the first 1km of the race, just as the nuetral start ended, and ended up just chasing in the caravan by myself until I was spent and dropped. I had a friend who resembled Borat, who once had a bad race experience too.......

Funniest teammate: Jamie, Eric, Phil, Jeff, Ryan they are all pretty hilarious, probably some of the best road trip conversations ever. Lots of hypothetical question games. my coach Dan Proulx , super funny, he knew lots about kids in the Hall

Greatest adversity:
Pissing off a bike man! It's an important skill to have when races are 5hrs, but I never could do it, at least with other dudes around - it's just like when there's guy in the stall next to you, except he's on a bike and wearing tight lycra like you, and he has his hand on your ass - to push you along. I've actually stopped and gotten off my bike mid-race to pee, and just chased like the devil to catch back on.

I remember...
Alberta racing for the communal feeling - just getting to know lots of cool people and hanging out in randomville Alberta, road tripping it - and a weird feeling of an equalled playing field - i mean it's pretty awesome for a 16year old to be in a group of racers that range from their peers to men in their 20's, 30's 40's - and for the couple hours of racing, it's like, "now who's a punk?" ATTACK!

Last Alberta club: The Olympic Oval

Racing?
I am currently racing for myself, like to the store to buy milk before they close, or to the pizza place before they close, or the video store before they rent the last copy of Clifford (starring Martin Short as a very convincing evil 12 yr old boy) - basically I am a procrastinator with a bike. Team "I'll Do It Later", is what I'm calling the squad. We were suppossed to get matching clothes and gear, but of course we left it too late and just ended up getting a grab bag of old eighties track suits from the Mennonite Thrift Store

Advice for youngens:
Maybe it's all the PBS programming I watched as a kid that has ingrained this, but honestly, it's just got to be fun. There's so many cool things you can try in your life, sports wise and everything else, I don't think you should force it if you really don't have a natural enjoyment for it. that's first. Secondly, don't buy that nair hair removal, it does not work - razors all the way.

Future goals:
Start an all-bike musical busking band, that hits the street guerrilla style. hard and heavy. seriously, watch for it.

Off the Bike:
MUSIC! I love music so much. listening to it, making it, umm, dancing to it, making music videos. I played my first ever genuine gig in the Canmore Hotel the past weekend, as a drummer - the sound check guy did't really like us, we are kind of arty, and some dude yelled "PearlJam!!!!" right before we started. awesome.

Retired:
Well technically I am retired from racing, but that's just a technicality. I still race bike path "Armstrongs", and I have a lot of fit friends that kick my butt.