1988 Mike Pigg Interview
Proof of my huge tri-nerdery credentials. Above. I cycled to Mike Pigg’s hometown to take this photo. So don’t try to explain that you are a bigger Mike Pigg fan than me.
It was 2003. And I was on a tandem trip from Seattle to San Francisco. I wasn’t in Arcata for long. Just a lunch stop. In the old-school USA town square. But I liked the vibe.
There’s so many take-aways in the article below from 1988.
Here’s my highlights:
The first photo of Mike at a 1987 USTS event. Shirt-free.
So he’s wearing the Coca Cola red leaders helmet cover. He’ll put the red jersey on for the run. I was a big fan of this Basso bike with the Campag disc wheel. I wrote more about it here. And what an excellent early-aero position.Bring back helmet covers. I’d certainly buy and use one. Will definitely be part of the the TSP merch offerings.
The article is written by Terry Mulgannon. I mentioned him in TSP24. Do triathlon magazines still publish comprehensive profiles like this? Coupla thousand words there. Would modern triathletes even bother reading that? Could any journalist make Loughborough sound as interesting as Arcata?
The article is from the April 1988 issue of Triathlete (USA). So the new triathlon season hadn’t started yet. But it would be an excellent one for Mike. He raced 20 times. With 13 wins. And was voted the 1988 Triathlete Of The Year.
Going back to the west coast by bike is definitely on my travel bucket-list. Need to visit Eugene and Ashland. And will definitely pencil-in a night or two at the Arcata Hotel. According to Mulgannon, “When it opened its doors about 100 years ago, it was touted as one of the finest hotels on the coast between San Francisco and Portland.”
I didn’t know the story about Mike Pigg nearly winning the 1987 Triathlete Of The Year award. Page 103. Interesting how they work the points out. Does something like this still exist?
In my head, I used to compare Slough to Arcata. Unpopular town. But with great training terrain just outside of town. I’m still inspired by Mike Pigg. Although my training is minimalist. I like to work hard. And I’m always psyched to race. Gun to tape.
Images: Triathlete (USA) April 1988
