Name:  Chris J Johnson

Team: Echelon Energy

Age: 34

Years Racing:   2010 was my first year with a license, i'd done city
streets, the oval, and Bob Cook prior to that.

Type of Rider: Long Rolling RRs, Stage Races, TTs

Category: 3

FtC Resident Since: 2004

Occupation:   AV/telemedicine

Family:  married w/ 12 year old stepson


Chris Johnson is relatively new to racing but I'd wager that he's logged
more miles on the bike than most people in town.  He commutes 25(?) miles
per day to work nearly everyday of the year and has been doing it for
years.
He's a bicycle advocate, racer and commuter.  He talks the talk and walks
the walk.  When he needs to take a rest day or taper before a big race, he
rides the bus to work. In 2010 he earned his upgrade to the 3s.  I
personally would like to take a second to thank Chris for all his
volunteering in 2010.  He helped out several YGR hosted events, the USGP,
the NCCE and probably a ton of other stuff I don't know about.

1.      I know you're the kind of guy that keeps track of this sorta thing
so, how many miles have you ridden your bike total?  How about in 2010?
Total?  Sheesh.  My lightest years were probably ~7500, lately its closer
to 10K.    This year I'll crack 12K I think.

2.   How long have you been commuting and what cities have you ridden in?  The best
and the worst?
I got really into cycling in Chicago in the early 00s.  Entirely by
accident.   I was briefly a messenger and then a full time commuter in
Chicago for years, then moved here in 2004.   I’ve worked in Loveland
since I got here and I’ve commuted via bike almost exclusively all but
that first year here.

Fort Collins is my favorite place i've ridden extensively.  as much as we
gripe about the drivers, its better here than most places, and the
advocacy and education are top notch.

i LOVED riding in Chicago.  the lake shore path is a total miracle.
nothing like having it to yourself at 2 in the morning on a warm summer
night.    and i actually do sometimes miss the urban warfare on the city
streets.

i grew up riding in las vegas which used to be a terrible, unfriendly
place to ride.  but has seen its scene develop a lot in the past few
years.  there's great routes out there (esp the new river mountain loop),
and the infrastructure is improving all the time.

Maui is pretty amazing, gotta say.

3.      What’s the worst commuting experience you've ever had?
In chicago i got sorta boxed in between a parking lane and a slow moving
minivan and a parked car opened its door and took me out.    lost an iPod
and gained a trick knee on that one.   kept all my teeth, thankfully.

4.      How about the worst conditions you've commuted in?
sheet ice on the road is pretty rough, though studs help.    also seen -18
degrees.  gale winds.   nothing folks here havent seen.    you can make it
though about anything, you just gotta allow more time, and have the
appropirate gear.

5.      How does all the commuting help/hurt your training for racing and
vice versa?
On the plus side, commuting gave me a pretty solid base going into racing.
it gets me up and out the door on days i'm not motivated.   its given me
a pretty good tolerance for adverse weather.

on the minus side, early this past season i realized i wasnt getting
enough rest/recovery between workouts, and i was really conflicted about
that.  To me the principle of getting to work under my own power is
important, so i had to figure out a balance that didnt feel like
selling that out. i was already really bummed to have driven so much to
get to races.   So the balance i struck is the bus.   after hard weekends
i've started taking the bus on mondays.   i loved public transportation in
Chicago, and its getting better here too.  Even on those days i still do
7-8 miles just riding to and from my bus stops.  but its less than the 24
i do riding door to door.

6.      How do you use your commuting as a training tool?

in the winter i take the long way a lot, either through masonville/HT or
windsor/bud/cement plant, depending on what i'm trying to do.  if i dont
have time for a long ride, i throw in low cadence strength climbing, high
cadence intervals, or sprint form intervals, etc.   theres a church off
timberline between loveland and FC thats mostly vacant during the week and
i'll stop in there and work on cornering for a half hour.       As the
season progresses and i move into intervals, i can incorporate a lot
different intervals into the commute itself.   theres so many great little
hills of different character between loveland and FC.

7.      What is the number one piece of winter cycling equipment you own?
How about a rundown of your winter commuter bike set up and what you wear
to ride in to work when it's 15 and dark.
schwalbe marathon winter tires with snow studs are my top gear.   i'm a
big fan of the marathons for bulletproofness, and the studs add traction.
i havent met road conditions i cant manage with those things.  last
january i climed devil's gulch with 4 inches of hard pack on the road with
em.

my winter setup is a specialized tricross, the base model from the first
year they made em, but upgraded with rival guts and FSA compact crank and
an 11-28.   i have two sets of aksiums, one with gatorskins and one with
studs, so i can swap quickly if i wake up to surprise snow.

15 and dark-  i wear a UA winter base layer, gore bib tights, a heavy
jersey or synthetic fleece top, showers pass elite jacket for a shell,
smart wool ski socks, spec. defroster shoes (possibly with hand warmers
between sock and shoe), barmits and some medium weight cycling gloves,
light fleece headband over the ears, i like helmet covers without a cap
over my head.  lets the heat out a lottle bit but blocks the vents and
traps a little warm air inside the helmet.   i get flack for it but it
works a lot better for me than skull caps.   i dont worry about my face
much.   i grow a beard from October to spring, which helps a lot.

8.      When was the last time you owned a car of your own?
technically i co-own a toyota matrix but as yet have not learned to drive
its manual transmission.  i sold my chevy s10 pickup when i graduated
college and moved to chicago.

9.      Here come the standard issue questions. Favorite local race?
i've really enjoyed city streets, even though (or maybe because) i think
of crits as my weakest discipline.  the commuter engine and spending so
much time riding alone didnt really prepare me for the tactics and
accelerations and skills in crit riding.   so its nice to have practice
crits with folks i know and trust all around.    theres probably no better
way to get to know your teammates and rivals than riding practice crits
with them every week.

10.      Favorite local climb?
before i got into racing, i spent a lot of weekends doing recreational
endurance rides.   i've always really liked riding to estes via masonville
and glen haven.   I probably did it every other weekend the first couple
of years i lived here.   You can ride Estes as hard or easy as you need
to, and its clear and rideable most of the year.

11.   Favorite local ride?
see #9

12.  Favorite FtC restaurant?
Back Country Provisions, Chipotle, El Monte, Cafe Mexicali,  had Nemo for
the first time recently.   good stuff.

13.  Favorite pre and post ride meals?
I can't eat much before a ride.  i've been really into the starbucks double
shots pre-ride this year.    caffiene and sugar and skim milk and some
vitamins.    Post ride i'm not picky, if i'm out of town i'll usually pack
a couple of PB&Co. PB&Js on wheat bread.      if i'm at home i'll make a
smoothie with whey and yogurt and fruit.

14.  Was it hard to figure out the local road scene?
I got involved around the same time YGR was really taking off in terms of
getting info out, and it was really helpful. its actually possible that
seeing the events listed and the conversations happening was part of what
inspired me to give it a shot.     SO thanks for that.

15.  How can local teams/the local scene help develop guys like you who
ride a lot but are new to racing?
a lot people who read this probably also know i post a lot on the YGR
forum a lot.   I feel like i monopolize it sometimes but honestly i think
its a really good tool for demystifying the scene for new racers.    Its
not as clique-y as people think, but there is ettiquette and rules of the
road, and some of them arent obvious.   I think if new people are open to
learning and humble about it, and if teams are constructive in thier
feedback, everybody wins.  In my head i feel like reading race reports and
ride reports and general community chat is a good way for new people to ge
a lay of the land and a feel for the dynamics and personalities and
"rules" of the scene.    I hope to encourage more people to contribute to
the forums regularly.

16.  What's your big money purchase for 2011 gonna be?
TT bike if i can figure out the financing or win the lottery.     i
managed some solid TT results in cat 4 with aerobars and box rims, but
thats not gonna cut it next year.

17.  Whats the wife think about all this?  Does she think you are crazier
for commuting when it's 10 degrees, snowing and dark or racing through
downtown at 30mph with 100 of your closest enemies?
She's been unwaveringly supportive of both the commuting and the racing.
i would like to think that the money i save by not having my own car and
the money i spend on bike toys comes out close to even.

Shes a bike commuter as well.  rides a sweet crosscheck.    she actually
teases me a bit when i take the bus, though i have to point out that even
my bike to bus commute is longer than her normal one.

She doesnt share the competitive drive (except at stoplights on her
commute), but shes a good sport.  she drove a SAG car for Bob Cook this
year.   and we've made family vacations out of out of town races like Air
Force Academy and Bob Cook.

I'm also proud to report that we just bought my stepson his first set of
studded bike tires, and the hope is he'll make it to school by bike all
winter.  he only got rides a handful of days last winter and he learned a
lot.

18.  What’s the plan for next year?  Team? Category?
Specific races/goals?
Gonna ride with Echelon next year and i am really really excited about it.
My mentors this year were mostly EE guys, and i spent a lot of wednesday
nights with them, so i'm looking forward to helping out however i can on
weekends next year.

I'll be racing 3, and i'll be 35, so i'll probably choose among 3, 35+3
and 35+ open, depending on the event, the field, and where i can help the
team or have the best shot at results.

i'm training a little differently this year than last year. I peaked
twice, early and late, but this year i'm gonna really try to be on form
late, in time for Salida, Bob Cook and Air Force Academy.     will shoot
for results in all my stage races and State Championships, but those 3
will be the "A races" i think.

19.  You're taking over Ben Miller's position as the director of the NCCE.
How has that been going and what are your plans?
Its been great.   really hit the ground running supporting Jason Trujillo
and Rob Noble's USGP effort.   My professional/educational background is
in backstage work for live performance, and if i bring any skillset to the
gig its that i dont rattle easily and i'm pretty good thinker and problem
solver under pressure.

As for plans: i'd like to get to know the local promoters i dont already
know (note to you promoters, theres a free beer in it for you if you'll
sit down with me).   I would like to put together a promoter
kit/checklist, i would like to compile an inventory of all available race
day resources to save everybody time on scrounging and money on rentals.
and of course i would like to get some more regional and eventually NRC
type events up here.    We all know and love the Rist Loop but theres so
much more up here.  and USGP proved that we have the community support,
the PR engine, the knowhow, and the volunteer base to go big time.  If i
am able to facilitate even more cooperation and communication among the
promoters and the city and the governing bodies and the community, i'll be
really pleased.

20.  I know you're a big music fan.  What's on the iphone right now?  Where
do you go to find new music? Listen to it when you train/commute?  What's
your take on listening and riding?
i killed my iphone in the rain at USGP, so i just got a new 4, and i'm
still repopulating it.   the new Kanye West album is really really good.
Theres a rap collective from LA called Odd Future Wolf Gang - they're a
bunch of sicko teenager skate punk kids making these gross, funny, bratty,
home recorded albums, in the vein of early wu tang, if youre into that.
i'm on a big iggy pop kick lately too.  mostly the Idiot and Lust for
Life.   lots of DJ mixes, especially XLR8R.

I used to be a music writer in chicago, in the webzine heyday of the early
00s.   and i keep in touch with some of the guys i wrote with back then,
its been a good way to involved with new music.

I am definitely an ipod training guy.   but not in group rides obviously.
drivers with radios are more cut off from the environment than i am with
earbuds.

I tend to listen to more podcasts than music when i'm doing long lonely
winter rides and commutes.   they kill the time better.  2 johns podcast,
cycling news, comedy stuff, news and educational stuff.    music is great
for intervals though.

21.  Caley wants to know when was the last time you had a smoke.
Its been i think seven years next spring.  as recently as this weekend i
had "the dream" though.   most of you former smokers probably know the one
i mean.