Pizza, Fries and No Warm Up.

The FBRA recently caught up with Masters National Road Race Champion Ken Vida and asked him all the really important questions…

Q: First off, huge congratulations to you Ken on an impressive victory at Masters Road Nationals – truly superb effort. How did the race play out?

The 72 mile hilly road race easily had the biggest field of the year with over 100 riders. To be frank, I only planned on doing this race to get ready for the criterium as my season’s training was based more of short explosive efforts rather than what you typically need in a road race.

The first lap was one of the sketchiest I have ever done as speeds were very high and everyone wanted to be in the front.  I tried a few very short lived efforts off the front and decided that it was most likely going to be a field sprint because the peloton was just going way too fast for a break to succeed. I settled in and tried to stay out of trouble for the rest of the race before the fireworks started on the last lap.

Coming through the start finish on bell lap, chaos erupted as everyone wanted to be up front. It was at this point a solo rider escaped from the peloton.  I still thought my best chance was a field sprint.  Halfway through the lap the peloton had the single escapee in sight, and I knew a counter attack would be my best chance to get up the road.  Strategically, I attacked out of the field with 5 other riders.  We went by the lone escapee and before I knew it, we had a minute gap on the field.  I started to “coach” the breakaway to make sure everyone worked to the line knowing that if we started playing games, the race was over.

At 1K to go we still held our advantage and I knew I had a great chance to claim the national title.  At this point guys started sizing each other up, but still no big attacks.  I was going to get to sprint against 5 other guys – the perfect scenario for me.   I knew the finish thanks to a recon ride the day before, picking a picket fence mailbox at the point where I could start and hold my sprint to the line.  Executing a perfect plan, I jumped at that mailbox and was gone.  It wasn’t until I crossed the finish line and dismounted my bike that reality set it in that I had won the race and am now a national champion. It is easily one of the most surreal and special races in my entire cycling career.

Q: Do you have any pre-race rituals that you perform every time you race?

Actually just getting to a race on time is a ritual for me.  I almost never warm up and am usually so itching to go, that my warm up is almost always the first lap of a race.  I don’t advise this for others, but in my 25 years racing I have never pursued a proper warm up.

Q: What’s your one guilty pleasure food?

Well, pizza is my absolute favorite food that I eat at least once a week.  I don’t feel guilty about it at all though.  I also love French fries, but try not to eat those as often.

Q: Can you recall your first ride on a road bike? What got you into bicycle racing?

Growing up in NJ, I spent my winters skiing and had aspirations of making the Olympics.  After talking to various “experts” in the sport, I was told that cycling in the summer would make me a stronger skier.  Discussing this with my parents, they heard of a local event literally 10 minutes from my house that we could go watch and see if I was interested.

My parents took me to a race called the Tour of Nutley. I was instantly in awe of the speeds and the tight pack.  If I close my eyes today, I can still remember the feeling of the first time a peloton sped pass me at 30 MPH.  After watching the junior race I was convinced, I could totally do this.  The kicker was that the winner of that junior race was none other than a young George Hincapie, so I had my work seriously cut out for me.

The next day my dad took me bike shopping and I picked out an aluminum bright red Schwinn road bike, the thing was just so cool.  I remember it being $650 which at 14 years old was easily most expensive thing I ever purchased, thank goodness for all that paper route money.  Family and friends thought I was nuts to spend so much on a bicycle, but I was completely hooked.  Three months later, I entered my first race, the Tour de Roy, and soloed to a win.  That was the start of a lifelong love affair with cycling.

Q: What’s the one most important piece of advice you’d like to share with our younger juniors riders?

Two words, “Don’t Quit!”  Cycling is a very hard sport, but it is also one of the most close knit families out there.  All my friends are or were cyclists at one time or another.  Anywhere you go, you will always have friends with something in common.  In addition to that, the skills, goal setting, and dedication that cyclists have translate great into anything you want to accomplish in life, big or small.