Ian Dille
Appearances
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
I remember like bending my head over kind of as I was pedaling as hard as I could and looking behind me. And yeah, I just saw this kind of white and black checkered jersey coming across to me. And that was Mike.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
And so I just sprinted as hard as I could. He would like claw his way back to me, and I just couldn't believe it. Like he seemed so done, but like he just, he was just really tenacious. Like he just kept coming back.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
I started like coasting and then we were kind of just like coasting and he would look back and the group would be like getting closer to catching us. And and he said, you can win. You can win. Three words. I knew instantly what it meant. He means if I stop attacking him and let him stay with me and let him sit in my draft, then when we get to the finish line, he won't sprint me.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
I just put my head down and went as hard as I could. I mean, I felt like I was just going so fast and we had... We had like a motorcycle referee that would follow the race and they come up and give you time splits on a... They'll either just tell you or sometimes they'll have like a whiteboard that they'll write the gap between you and the chasers.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
And so they kept coming up and it would be, you know, you have 20 seconds and then it was like 30 seconds and then 40 seconds and... Like the gap just kept going out and out and out. I mean, I remember with like one lap to go and just like feeling so happy. Like I'd already won the race.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
And then so we go around and then we're coming towards the finish line and we're getting ready to take kind of the final left-hand turn to the finish. And I turned to him and I was like, yeah, you remember our deal, right? And then Mike just started sprinting.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
And I just remember watching him come by on my left, and my legs started cramping as we went up that hill, and I was just like, I can't believe this is happening. It felt like this dream just all of a sudden kind of turned into a nightmare, and I didn't win the bike race. Mike did.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
Disbelief quickly turned to total rage. I was like so upset. I remember riding up next to him and hitting him on the back and yelling something like, what the f***?
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
I watched them put Mike's medal on and then they gave him a jersey. And then traditionally, like, everybody raises their arms on the podium after the national anthem plays. And I was standing right next to Mike and I didn't, I wouldn't hold his hand. I didn't raise my arm. And that, that was like the photo of the race.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
His side of the story was that... There was no deal that I was just confused. Like, when he said, like, you can win this race, he was like, no, no, no, no. Like, what I was saying was, like, if we work together, if you stop attacking me, you can win. Stop attacking me. Stop trying to get rid of me. You can win if you just keep pulling and don't let this group behind catch us.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
He had this nickname as like Meatball, and he had a blog, and there was a lot of sort of like love for Meatball. And I was a little bit resentful about that. I always thought, like, they don't know the real Mike. Like, he's a cheater, and he goes back on his word, and like, I would tell people or people would ask me about, like, what happened in that race? And I'd be like, well, Mike's a cheater.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
And they'd just be like, well, it doesn't seem like something he would do, you know? And I'd be like, no, you don't know. People would sort of look at me sideways when I was like, I hate Mike Friedman. They'd be like, nobody hates Mike Friedman. What are you talking about?
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
I realize, like, saying that sounds like a high school football player, like, talking about competing in the state title game or whatever else. And then I totally get, like, how kind of, like, ridiculous and small that sounds as an adult. But it's weird. It's just weird how, like, how you cling to those things.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
And then... One of the guys on the bus was like, I'm going to give Mike a call and see if he'll come to the start line and hang out with us on the bus before we start. And Mike came onto the bus. We didn't even like... Look at each other. And then he left. And then when he came back, I was standing outside the bus and he had like a tray of coffees and he handed me one.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
And and I think he was just like, you know, I just want to talk to you about that day. I think about that race all the time. And I was like, man, me too.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
Here's Ian. He was moving back to Colorado. He was driving back and he called me. And that's when he said, yeah, I mean, you're right. It was a deal. And I'm sorry that I crossed the finish line first, that I didn't hold up my end of the bargain.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
He drives like this really like revved up, like I think it's a Jeep or a pickup truck or something. And you could like hear it like rumbling down the street, like you can hear him pull up. And I mean, I was like kind of nervous and he came up and he was holding the jersey and he gave it to me right away. He looked me in the eyes and he said, sorry. And I said, thank you.
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
Like, he had talked about, like, he had, I think he had even called, like, the governing body and asked them if there's any way that the actual results could be changed. And, like, yeah, he was just, like, every effort to make it right. I was just like, wow, like when does that ever happen in someone's life?
This American Life
668: The Long Fuse
I mean, I don't even know when I've ever done that, you know, like just like made something that I did wrong right, like decades later.