Taylor Phinney vs Twitter
Track World Champ takes questions from his Twitter followers
Instead of writing a fully fledged blog, I decided to take questions from my followers on Twitter. Here’s what they asked me and my answers!
@cyclegirlpdc: Where do you see yourself in 15 years, what do you hope to have won and achieved, would you like to have a family by then?
Taylor Phinney: In 15 years, I will be 34-years-old. I will be on the tail end of my cycling career, having had a very successful one at that. I will have a gorgeous, smart, and athletic wife with a couple young kiddies running around (dream big?). All of my children will be healthy and know that they are loved. I will have houses in various parts of the world, and my main focus will be raising my children right, and preparing them for the world.
@ckasper1: What sort of pre-race rituals do you go through?
TP: I have a playlist on my iPod called "Killtime". This is an eight-song playlist that I listen to before every race that gets me into the mental state of, well… "It’s killing time!" Competition is war, and I go into it as fierce as I would if I were actually going to battle, except I dance a little bit. I don’t think that is a true warrior trait, but like I say… Why not? My mind is focused on slaying the other riders, and my body is getting loose. What better way to stay loose is there than to shake what your momma gave you?
@kyleb411: Do you prefer light beer or regular beer?
TP: I am under the age of 21 so I have never consumed this beverage you call "beer".
@puddlewatcher: How has playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on your Xbox 360 helped your cycling?
TP: Well Mr. Watcher, that is a very good question. I would like to start by saying that I have spent over 12 hours of my life playing this game, and I can say that my reaction time has improved greatly, especially when I am in close contact with the enemy. When a 12-year-old who is much better than me, runs into the room I am camping out in, all I must do is click the right stick to eliminate him and improve my score. At the beginning of my playing career, I was very slow, but now I am quite fast. How does this relate to cycling? Well, when I was riding my bike with Taylor Swift the other day, an enemy quickly approached us from the right and I was able to swiftly take him out with my invisible knife. Wait. I think that was a dream… Oops.
@KUjaydreamin: How does the recent IOC decision to not include the pursuit change your career plans between now and 2012?
TP: Obviously, the removal of the individual pursuit was a huge blow not only to my mind frame, but also to my career path. While it would be easy to dwell on what could have come out of the Olympics in 2012 had the pursuit stayed in, I must look forward to what I can do in order to still win that gold medal I yearn for. I am still aiming for London 2012, whether it is for the omnium on the track, or the individual time trial, only time can tell. I still plan on turning professional in either 2011 or 2012, and winning as many races as I can.
@chicrunner: What do you look for in a girl?
TP: What do I "look" for? Women are not objects chicrunner, a man must look past a woman’s appearance! Duh…A girl has to make me laugh! Bottom line.
@bikecamp (my mother): How wonderful is your mother?
TP: On a scale of 1-10… About a 12.7 or so.
@chanceb737: What is you average training week like?
TP: My average training week during the season consists of about 18 hours of riding. Efforts vary from day-to-day. I like to simulate a two "on", one "off" schedule day-by-day.
@loopybunny: How was training camp?
TP: Training camp was a LOT of fun. I don’t think there is a team out there that laughs as much as we do while sitting down for meals. Even after a hard ride, we somehow end up in stitches laughing so hard while trying to eat our recovery meal. The guys are all great, the staff are great, I couldn’t ask for more! The training at the camp itself wasn’t anything too strenuous. Having a camp in the middle of December, not a lot of people need to train very hard. The purpose of the camp was more focused towards media and team bonding. Our next camp is in Solvang in a couple weeks, and we’ll be doing a lot more training there.
@shannanegans13: Does my butt look big in my background picture?
TP: I mean… I can’t really see it very well. But hey, it looks fine to me! You gotta shake what your momma gave you!
@creedmonster: How about some insight on diet info?
TP: Speaking of big butts! I kid, I kid… When it comes to diet, I eat healthy, but I also don’t restrain myself if I’m out for dinner and I REALLY want a hamburger. I am convinced that I am too young to diet, and honestly, I don’t know if I could handle extreme dieting very well mentally. I eat what I want, but have been brought up to know what I should and shouldn’t be putting in my body. I can tell you that I love salads with a fiery passion. And I’m being completely serious. Eat what makes you feel good.
@herothedog: How do you train in the cold weather? I have trouble getting out if it is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
TP: You just have to wake up, put your warm clothes on and commit! Find a buddy, climb a bit to get warm, then just man up on the way down. I can only do cold weather training for a couple weeks before I crack. Winter is definitely a difficult season for a cyclist, but just go out everyday thinking about everyone else who is staying home. You’re gonna kill them in March.
That is all for this edition of my Cyclingnews blog. Thanks to my tweeters for the questions!
Until next time
-tp
Follow me on Twitter! twitter.com/taylorphinney
Check out my broadcasts on Ustream ustream.tv/taylorphinney
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18-year-old Taylor Phinney is one of the sport's most promising talents and will begin his professional career in 2009 with the Trek-Livestrong team under the guidance of directeur sportif Axel Merckx.
The son of Davis Phinney, twice a Tour de France stage winner, and Olympic gold medallist Connie Carpenter-Phinney, Taylor took to the bike in his teens and quickly found success. In his first three years of racing he picked up two Junior World Championships and four US titles and then went on to represent the United States at the Olympics in Beijing.
