Recently I was asked, “What are your interests outside work?“.
TL;DR: “I like bikes.”
Unabridged Version: Originally from the Kansas City, MO area, I attended a small, rural school district where the school districts only provided the minimal high school sports (football, basketball, track, baseball, and volleyball). I loved riding my (very) cheap BMX bike all over the gravel roads around my farming neighborhood. At that time, cycling as a sport was not even a thought in my head but fast-forward a couple decades, I look back and have to wonder what my life would have been like if any form of cycling was offered in school.
After joining the Air Force right out of high school, I was introduced to mountain biking by a fellow Airman in my squadron, Ben. It was June 1997, I bought my first $400 (matte purple) Trek 850 MTB (which I still have today and later aptly named the “Purple Turd” by Ben) and thought, “what have I gotten myself into?” and hit the trails with him. Something sparked and I was immediately hooked. I loved the freedom of riding, the challenge of trying to keep up with Ben, and the countless crashes I endured as I grew into the sport. I remember wishing I was exposed to this earlier in life. I raced my first race series in January 1998 which further fueled my desire to ride and get faster and faster. I continued to expand my skills and dedication to the sport by buying a used road bike for training in the MTB off season. After getting out of the Air Force and starting my professional career in Washington DC, I had difficulty in balancing building the skills necessary for my new, challenging career and my love for cycling. I stepped away from cycling for well over 5 years.
In 2005, I realized I’d grown overweight and rather very lazy. I decided to dust off my old road bike and go for a ride. It felt harder than I remember it being – much harder. After a few rides, that bug slowly started to creep up in me. It took a long time but I was able to attempt and accomplish a bunch of personal records including my first century while ride raising money for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) during the 2007 Tour de Cure. My family and friends thought I was insane for wanting to ride a hundred miles, in one day.
In 2009, I decided to get serious about my health and discovered the Leadville Trail 100 (LT100) when my brother invited a few of us to watch the documentary Race Across the Sky playing in theaters across the country. That triggered something in me. Between November 2009 and August 2010 I started training for the LT100 MTB race in 2010 and lost about 50 pounds. Being from Kansas City and never having been to Colorado, I was scared and feeling completely out of my league participating in such a huge race. In August 2010, I finished my first LT100 in 10:54 and was in the best shape of my life.
In 2011, I moved to Colorado to pursue a better, active lifestyle. Since that time, I’ve continued to challenge myself and learn about myself with each and every event I entered. I’ve enjoyed thousands of miles of trails and gravels roads, many of them with my wife on our full-suspension tandem mountain bike, discovering the single-speed lifestyle, and finishing so many long endurance races, several of them I had no business racing but I did it because it’s what I enjoy.
In 2019, I finished my 10th consecutive LT100 (earning my 1000-mile buckle), breaking a personal record on my single-speed MTB and finishing my 5th Dirty Kanza 200 to be a 1000 Mile Club Inductee. In 2020, I was supposed to have a monumental year since 2 of my biggest, long-term race series accomplishments were behind me. When all of the races were being cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, I found myself riding 15 days along the entire 550+ mile length of the Colorado Trail (CT). During that time, I had a lot of time to think about all that has happened that lead to me that moment, pushing my 70 lb, fully weighted down, mountain bike up a very, very steep section of the CT.
Today, I’ve found myself in a different mindset than this time last year as the pandemic was ramping up. I have a newfound outlook on what cycling has done for me and the relationships and discoveries I’ve had along the way. I enjoy watching others, regardless of age, throwing that leg over the saddle for the first time and seeing them wonder “what have I gotten myself into?” and seeing that initial spark.
Now go ride your bike.
