He enters a dark room, overwhelmed by the reek of alcohol and of something that had been dead for a few days. He glimpses into the darkness, a single shaft of light penetrating through the gap of the curtains. He flicks the light switch, but of course, no light is forthcoming. The place looks long abandoned to the rats, but he knows better. He scours the room, but does not find what he is looking for.
Suddenly, he hears the door creaking open, and a man stumbles in, drunk as a vicar, cursing, not even noticing him. He peers at this dishevelled, dirty man, hoping the information he'd been given had finally ended his long chase .
“Do you know who I am?,” he spoke to the man. The man seemed barely to notice, as if in a dream world of his own.
“I said, do you know who I am?”
He realised this was useless. This flabby, pathetic man could not be who he was looking for. He turned to leave.
“Wait.”
He turned around, and the two locked eyes.
A brief flicker of recognition in that gaze. But that was all that was needed. He'd finally found him. A brief smile crossed his lips.
He'd finally found him.Edited by Crommy on 20-02-2010 14:28
The man woke up, head thumping, eyes burning from a sudden influx of light.
“Good morning.”
The man looked at the source of the noise, but he was sitting in the darkness, hiding his face.
I have come here to you with an offer, and 'll make this short and sweet, given your current predicament.” The man put his hand to his temples, head throbbing, struggling to recall the night before.
“Let me tell you a story. A young, ambitious man once came into a position he had coveted, he had dreamed of all his life, and excelled in that dream, it became more than he could ever hope for. But dreams can all too easily become a nightmare, and that man took the sudden loss of his dream hard. He became obsessed by it, toying with is mind over that lost dream, destroying his body to try and forget it.”
Heavy words for a hangover, but the man had no choice but to listen to him.
“This man had nothing more in life, his dream destroyed, his plans in ruins: his life over.”
All too true the man thought.
“But what if it wasn't over? What if there was a chance to retake this dream, to relive it, but better than ever? What if there was one more shot for him. One chance to save his life. What then? Would he take it? Would you take it?”
Hangover or not, the man's attention was fully focused on this stranger, although he'd already realised this was no stranger at all.
“We've been here before, you and I, and this is the last time we shall be here. You're dream can start today, you know what I'm offering you? What do you say?” he questioned.
The man stared into space in silence, contemplating the offer.
“What do you say!?!”
“You already know my answer.” the man said.
“Of course I do. Let's go, we've got work to do, Allan.”
It's something only old members of the fourm will remember.
When I first joined here, I wrote a story, and it was about a fictional manager called Allan Smile
www.cycling24.co.uk/latest_news/
Surprising Faces Returns London, England – 15/1/2010
By M.J. Caboose
Today, the hotly anticipated launch of Team Raleigh took place overlooking the 2010 Olympic Park. It was an apt place for a team that has already billed itself as the, “future of developing British cyclists.” Of course, such a claim looks foolish in the face of the overwhelming presence of Team Sky, but team owner Alan Finden-Crofts is adamant that developing from a small Continental team is the way forward.
And the launch reflected that – a low key event, the riders were presented, and as you'd expect, there's some decent cyclists (such as team leader Dan Fleeman, acquired from Cervelo Test Team after a disappointing season) and promising youngsters, a good mix to bring on the young talent, but you can't help but think this will be a development team for Sky, who'll muscle in and take the cream of the crop as it develops.
However, the launch took a twist which launched a media frenzy, which nobody saw coming. As the compère went through the riders and the new staff, there was a noticeable absence of the team manager. Then Finden-Crofts delivered his wild card, something he'd been promising would make his dream becoming a reality a certainty. Allan Smile had returned.
A media scrum ensued to capture his photo and his words. This was a person who'd led Cycling24 to glory days, taking Dario Cataldo into the form of his life and the maglia rosa, only to see those days quickly vanish in a messy legal case which saw him declared bankrupt. A series of short managerial stints followed, but unable to hold down a job, he was cast out by the cycling world after the infamous Buxton Water Incident, where Smile, managing a small British team at a race near Buxton, Derbyshire, following in the team car and apparently well over the drink drive limit (although this was never proved as Smile fled the scene of the accident), manage to wind up miles off course and ended up in Fernilee Reservoir. The disgraced Smile then left cycling, never to return. Until now, it seems.
Of course, there's no Smile (who is now 29) without his loyal assistant by his side, Dave Jones. And while everyone is expressing doubts about Team Raleigh's prospects, if Smile and Jones can re-find that maverick streak that took Cycling24 into the ProTour within one season, well...
Well, folks, lets just say this is going to be one very, very interesting future that will unfold.
Team Raleigh
Team Manager: Allan Smile, 29
Director Sportif: Dave Jones
Riders:
Dale Appleby, GBR, 23, Fighter
Tom Barras, GBR, 31, Puncheur/Time Trialist
Michael Cumming, GBR, 19, All-Rounder
Daniel Fleeman, GBR, 27, Puncheur
Richard Handley, GBR, 19, Northern Classics
Liam Holohan, GBR, 21, Sprinter/Puncheur
Julian Rammler, DEU, 22, Puncheur
Daniel Shand, GBR, 22, Time Trialist/Sprinter
Peter Smith, AUS, 23, All-Rounder
James Stewart, GBR, 24, Sprinter
