Monday, July 14, 2008

I just talked to Simon Whitfield...

...and it was freakin AWESOME!

For all a y'all not in the know, Simon Whitfield is a badass. He's a Canadian national champ, an Olympic champ, and just won the Lifetime Fitness Tri last Saturday.

I walked in to Gear West with my wetsuit to get some cement. I tore it a little on Saturday. Kevin (GW owner) was talking bike splits with a bunch of dudes. I grabbed the cement & proceeded to the counter, where I pulled out my wetsuit & asked the guy working (Drew, I think) if it would do the job.

I don't know if the conversation turned to disabled athletes or what, but Kevin asked "Hey Colin, what's that thing you have?" I said "It's called Monomelic Amyotrophy" and Kevin explained to this group of pros that it makes my left arm weak. Aparently there's a guy in town who had something similar in his leg as a kid. I stuck my arms out to show them & tried to wiggle my fingers a bit.

The guys then went back to their conversation, except for one who was genuinely concerned about my arm. He asked me some questions about it, I explained how it affects my swimming, and after a minute it dawned on me that I was talking to one of the greatest triathletes in the world.

We shot the breeze for a bit, then Simon examined my wetsuit & gave me some repair tips. It took every ounce of restraint I had to not flip out like a geeky fanboy.

For the record, Simon Whitfield is awesome. He's a funny dude, he's fast as hell, and he'll tell you how to repair a QR Hydrofull...and you don't even have to ask.

Proof the man rules:

No comments: