jon hamblen

jon hamblen is a good friend of mine... and i am going to do an interview with him right now... he was mentioned in the letters section of velonews (vis-a-vis dany pate) as a guy who was hyped up so much and came to nothing at all... jon is a good guy and an asset to the sport in my opinion... a true talented and motivated guy that hasnt forgotten that the whole point is to have fun.. he is a man of the people.. he never had that disease that was going around at the time where pro riders had to think their job was so so serious that they couldn't be cool guys and easy going... "coolness" is back and i think that people expect cycling to be less corporate than years ago... so its time to bring back jon hamblen to a pro team...

ES: jon... you are unprofessional...

JH: So, I'm unprofessional.


ES: no.. i mean you arent pro right now.. un-professional... but you were with navigators after you had a standout year and were Velonews Amateur of the Year... second at elite nats for the first of about 20 times, but that was back when there were still good amateurs... so i mean to say that you are professional.. you train and race diligently and you are well respected by the fans.. but you are a Cat.1...

JH: I have heard back from several directors (not directly) that and I am unprofessional and not motivated.


ES: really? well i would say that maybe you are in fact a little bit not motivated...

JH: Not motivated?... OK. I spent the last five seasons riding for teams that failed or for a little team, not getting paid or barely getting paid to race. Don't get me wrong my "little" team, Fior di Frutta is awesome, they do everything they can for me. Though, If I didn't have motivation to do this, I would've surely quit by now and started working a regular job (or a job that pays more, like stripping on the internet).


ES: sorry dude... i didn't really mean that.. ok.. you are motivated... so clearly you dont do it for the money.. you are like a SOUL biker... but if money is an issue then why dont you just quit and get that job stripping on the internet?... i know a guy who did that.. it was called "webcam dating" i think... it was weird.. i think you heard of that guy...

JH: The problem is I love racing my bike. I can't quit and don't want to quit. I don't train like I used to in the late 90's but that is because I get overtrained and anemic easily. I still put in one 6-8 hr hard day a week (when I am riding hard May-Aug) but I don't try to do that day after day anymore. It made me fast for about two years and then I sucked in 2000, really sucked. It's always in the back of my head and bothers the hell out of me.


ES: That was when you were pro.. how was that year?

JH: it was the worst year ever. I couldn't even ride 2 hrs without stopping to eat a Clif bar (then calling for a ride home). Now I train less and it hasn't slowed me down. I may not have gotten faster than I was 6 years ago but at least I'm not slower.

ES: you may be stronger.. i dont know... but i think you are WAY smarter.. that's the part that makes guys good.. knowing the job... everybody is strong when you are at a high level... what makes the difference is that you are smarter... so how is your training these days?

JH:Training is just different now. I also started racing cyclocross which effects my early season road racing. Yeah, Page, McCormack, Trebon, etc can get it together for the early season after racing cross but they're just better than me. I have to take a break, stop training and travelling for awhile after the cross season, to recover. It takes me until Apr or May to start riding well again.

ES: i dont think those guys are better than you... they have their downtimes too... and they arent particularly present in march... but i can see where motivation is hard to muster after a tough winter...

JH: Bascially, motivation is not an issue. I probably need to train less and raceless but train harder and race better when it counts to the PRO managers (early season races out west, you know, the ones VeloNews cares about).

ES: so ok.. you are motivated

JH: Motivated. I'd say so.


ES: you are "unprofessional" too...

JH: Unprofessional. Sure, I have fun screw around at races. I moon people, make dumb comments to and about all the racers, and wear my shorts really low now and then (it's still funny to me). But, I know when it's time to shut up and race (usually). I also am willing to talk to people, in fact I'd rather talk to your average bike dork than any PRO.

ES: yeah?

JH: It's nice to talk to people who are extra excited about bikes and racing, not jaded and bitter.

ES: a lot of guys are not really open to hanging out with fans... but i am and so are a lot of guys that i know... i'll hang out with anyone who has a good vibe going...

JH: I don't like most PRO's, they are a ridiculous bunch of egomaniacs (well, not all of them, just a few, but their heads are so big it seems like they take up the whole peloton). And, if you asked most people that really know me, they'd tell you "Yeah, Jon hates everybody, some more than others, but he's a good guy and really nice to most people." Well, that may not be the best way for them to put it but probably is how they'd put it. I'm cool with everyone, until they act up, I hate jerks.

ES: and you put them on a cray website...

JH; And, yeah, I have ridiculous websites but they are mostly about my friends, they love that crap. Now and then make fun of the jerks too, honestly, it just feels good giving them back what they deserve. I love writing all that funny crap. Hell, some people even like reading that funny crap. I mean, crap, it's a joke. For crap's sake... Apparently you can't be funny and race on a big team. I'm not talking about that rude, mean, frat boy cut down, only barely joking humor that some Gord's, I mean, PRO's have. I mean real funny, making an ass of yourself funny. I only use that rude humor with my friends and enemys, they usually know which they are.

ES: i think there isnt a lot you can do about any of that... if i were big time you could be on my team and we could have jason allen and just race and have a good time like we did in WS.. we could even have the blickems in our team too...

JH:Maybe I am just in the wrong sport. BMX or downhill might've been a better fit, those guys can still have fun at the top level. Too bad I suck at both of those sports and they are full of elitist assholes (just kidding downhillers, you guys rule! I love stunt biking and mullets, seriously). Or, if I had just gotten into motorcycle racing earlier, Nicky Hayden has the life, but it's too late to do it now.

ES: well, back to being unprofessional... maybe you should be 'profesional' now... i mean its all marketing.. you gotta sell the sponsor products... give it a shot because i have been talking to corbett and i think i am about to get you on healthnet...

JH: Unprofessional, well, it depends on what you mean by professional. I bet a few people have bought Time pedals and Cannondales because of me, and I think there are some people who think I'm funny, and there are probably people somewhere that I have inspired to race/ride/watch races (even my chubby buddy Mike Jones races PRO now).

Enough about me. How about that Jeff Corbett? Did I ever tell you about the
time that guy... well, that not's PRO.