Cap'n John Ende: "There is no reason to rush a masterpiece."

We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cap’n John Ende.

He's literally saved our asses.

You may not know this, but he’s the fellow widely credited with discovering the tenacious power of Lantiseptic.

After a major breakthrough like that, you’d expect the Cap’n to rest on his laurels. In fact, he rests on his sofa. His laurels are in the shop.

The Cap’n’s nickname dates to 2004 when he commanded Team Flèche Wound. The label has stuck ever since like… well, like Lantiseptic to chamois.

Cap'n’s ride reports are recommended reading. Check out his PBP report here and his Cascade report here. They’re less about where he turned left or right and more about the characters he befriends along the course. Also, he has a knack for finding the humor in human suffering -- usually his own.

I joked in an earlier post that Cap'n is an enthusiastic undertrainer. There’s a reason for that. He and his wife Amy have three great children. Parenting is their first priority. Always.

While we’re out training on the weekends, Cap’n is working the sidelines as the coach of his kids’ soccer teams. He has a wall of end-of-season appreciation plaques to prove it.

By virtue of location and necessity, his training rides stress quality over quantity. We're talking ear-popping altitude gains. Cap'n lives in Asheville. One of his favorite routes takes him UP to the Blue Ridge Parkway, then UP to Mount Mitchell. At least there's some downhill in the return leg.

Cap'n likes challenging rides. Put the word "EPIC" in the brochure, and he's in. Ende's the guy who talked me into the inaugural Cascade 1200K. An article about the ride showed intimidating photos of Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier.

Ende e-mailed as soon as he saw it. "Hmmmm...this looks interesting..."

Oh, have I mentioned he shaves his head? Not sure why. Something to do with Telly Savalas and the "Battle of the Bulge."

Research Trailer Park managed to pin down the elusive Cap’n for his first-ever Internet interview. It follows.

How’d your soccer team(s) do last season? Great. All three kids progressed well and had fantastic seasons. This coming year I'll probably only be coaching one team (instead of three) since my two oldest are progressing beyond my knowledge of the game.

When you choose which brevets to ride, do you purposely look for profiles that resemble a healthy EKG chart? Sinus tachycardia is a pattern that draws me in. See the profile for the Cascade or the Nashville "Tail of the Dragon" 600k.

Finish this sentence: “Head hair is for ... pretty boys.”

To date, what has been the hardest ride in your randonneuring history? PBP 2003 was probably my hardest ride to date. (Here's the link.) It was not the most difficult course and the conditions were primo, but I had a very difficult time due to gastrointestinal illness at the end of day one. The fourth day of the Cascade had some very low lows. The recent Tennessee 600 was very difficult, it was likely the most challenging course that I will ever see.

Why are you going back for your second PBP? As long as I can ride a bike I'll go to PBP. It is such a special event. The only bad part about doing PBP is that it will spoil you. I really didn't want to do other rides after coming back from PBP in 2003. I really enjoy riding a bicycle in a country that respects riders. It is also reassuring to see that there are at least 4000 other people in the world that do what you do.

Do you have a time goal this year? Yeah, I'd like to get a little closer to 90 hrs. In 2003 I couldn't go over 84 hrs because I chose the Tuesday morning start. This time I'm doing the Monday night start and I plan on using as many hours as possible. I want to enjoy the ride as much as possible. There is no reason to rush a masterpiece.

If you had to have your knee replaced, would you go with carbon, titanium or steel? I don't think that I'd trust Carbon fiber in my knee. Steel is right out because of the rust factor. Titanium is definitely the way to go.

How much elevation gain does one of your typical training rides have? I have a nice 20 mile loop from my house that goes over Elk Mountain and has 2400ft elevation gain. If I have more time I'll do a 70 mile ride to Mount Mitchell and back, 8,400 ft.

Pasta or pizza? Yes.

Beer or wine? Beer. Greenman Oatmeal stout is my favorite here--brewed in Asheville and served at Jack of the Wood. My all time favorite is Guinness in Ireland.

What’s in heavy rotation on the home stereo? Of Montreal, Michael Franti, Jonah Smith, Wilco and the White Stripes.

Your favorite cycling book? “Metal Cowboy - Tales from the Road Less Pedaled.” by Joe Kurmaskie.

How much have you paid your friends to call you Cap’n? Nada, they do it out of sheer respect.

What question(s) do you wish I'd asked? What are top three brevet meals that you have ever had:

* #3 Michelle's south Georgia Buffet Day 1 and 3 of the Bonifay 1000
* #2 Breakfast at Mazama Day 4 at the Cascade
* #1 2 a.m. 16 oz ice cold tall boy Budweiser at the end of Day one of the recent Tennessee 600. Slept like a baby.