What is up cycling Oklahoma? Thank you so much for tuning in for another episode. Clearly, july of 2023 is Oklahoma Cycling Crit Month, because this episode, just like the last episode, is talking to some really, really, really fast guys, some of the top racers that Oklahoma has ever seen. And if you did not listen to the last episode, I can't recommend it enough. Go back and listen. Jason Waddell sit down and talk to us about the sacrifices and the crazy chances you have to take to win a race, the sacrifices it takes to train and travel all over the country and pull off a professional cycling career. So I really can't recommend enough to go back and listen to the last episode if you did not. Also back.
Speaker 1:Very early on, we sit down with Evan Bebe, who is one of Oklahoma's fastest crit racers, and just listen to his story of what it takes traveling around the country doing those kinds of things. But today we sit down with the new sensation in Oklahoma Crit Racing and one of the fastest dudes in the country, evan McCurk. He man, he's fast, I don't know how else to say it. He has come from a running background and really come on the scene very recently, got into cycling not too long ago and is just really taken over and when you go out to Wheeler Crits if he is racing, you know which one he is. He is one of the fastest dudes in the country. He is making amazing results all over the place and doing it with a smile and with just an absolute amazing attitude. Between the three guys of Waddell and then Evan Bebe and now Evan, they represent kind of three generations of Oklahoma Crit Racers and they represent us so well and we are very, very fortunate to have such amazing guys around and not only are they fast but they're just really nice guys and so really recommend listening to all the episodes. But today we sit down and talk to Evan. He has some incredible things going on in his life and the things that he's doing and the results that he's getting in some of the biggest races in the country is really, really cool. He recently had a baby, so congratulations, and it was shortly after we recorded this episode and the baby's name is Ellis, so I'm just saying coincidence. I mean you can be the judge of that. But congrats, evan, and I hope you guys are very happy and healthy and can't wait to watch you race, hopefully in some of the wheelers this summer in the fall season. So thank you so much for tuning in. I can't thank all the listeners enough.
Speaker 1:We had some people reach out that are willing to talk about some sponsorships for the podcast, and so we're kind of rounding those things up as we speak. But if you would like to chip in and help on this somehow some way, then please let me know. We can work something out. As far as sponsorships, as far as trying to get you a little bit of publicity and doing all that we can, and if that rolls over into some publicity stuff for the Cape Epic or whatever it looks like, listen, we can write our own rules. We can do what we want. So that's the fun part about this. So reach out, let me know, just trying to cover the cost of the podcast, not necessarily making money out of this situation, but please go play bicycles. Play bikes with all your friends, just like when you were a kid. Tell them about this podcast. Let's get some other cool people on here and continue to have fun playing bikes. All right, evan, you ready to roll, ma'am, yeah absolutely, let's do it.
Speaker 2:Thanks again for having me. This is just a super cool experience to to get together, talk, talk bikes and everything. I think it's gonna be awesome I will and it's.
Speaker 1:It's cool because I wanted to have you on and then I got a recommendation from someone like hey, you should have Evan on. I'm like, yeah, I did and I should have you on. So reaching out to you was a quick turnaround, so I greatly appreciate your time.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So it's awesome that you actually just finished up racing.
Speaker 2:So yeah, absolutely you this weekend, right, yeah? Yeah, I was about to say so. Yeah, this, just like I had. I had briefly mentioned I had just gotten back from US elite amateur nationals there in Roanoke, Virginia, and so I'm actually taking a taking an off week from the bike this week, so this ended up being a perfect timing. Cool Well couldn't, couldn't find a better time.
Speaker 1:Let's jump back to the beginning, because I do want to hear about nationals, because that's something I do have written down here. Most of the time I don't have notes for these, like 99% of the time, but this one I wanted to because there's a couple of cool races and stuff that I want to hear the stories on. So, let's go back to the beginning, where you originally from.
Speaker 2:So I was born in Wichita, kansas. My dad was an officer in the US Air Force and was based out of McConnell Air Force, based there in Wichita. We moved actually to North Texas right around 2000. My dad now is a commercial airline pilot for American Airlines. So that's how we ended up in North Texas and I grew up there. I went elementary school all the way through high school there. I was there from 2000 to about 2017.
Speaker 1:How old are you.
Speaker 2:So I'm 27 right now, yep, so I so, yeah, I was there raised with, with my whole family, my sister, we were all brought up in North Texas, and then I came up here to Oklahoma City, more specifically, the Edmond area, in 2014. And I went to Oklahoma Christian.
Speaker 2:University there in Edmond I received an athletic scholarship to run cross country and track and field. There are now an NCAA Division II school. At the time they were NIA and during my tenure there they made the transition to fall on NCAA Division II. So so, yeah, that's how. That's how I ended up ended up here in Oklahoma City. I had a. I had a great interaction with the head cross country coach by the name of Wade Miller still somebody I look up to to this day for guidance and wisdom and everything. So he was. He was the main reason why I came up here. My sister actually came up here as well. She's a year behind me. She actually was on the cross country and track team as well for two years before she decided to step away from athletics and focus more on schooling.
Speaker 1:So what distance is your running?
Speaker 2:So I ran 5k and 10k, 8k and 10k for cross country and then we transitioned to more 5k on the track.
Speaker 1:Gotcha.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I've, I've been. I was whenever I stopped running right around 2018. I'd been a competitive log distance runner for about 10 years and, after running, after running, huge mileage weeks and just the pounding of you know, non stop on the pavement. My body just decided that it was done and said I've had enough. And that's when I kind of turned to bikes. And now here we are.
Speaker 1:So well, I want to talk about the running, because that interests me. What was like your big training weeks?
Speaker 2:So big, big running weeks that I used to put in when I was in college, and more so like my, my junior and senior year, when I really started to take running seriously and was trying to actually get that college scholarship. I was running in between maybe 50 to 70 miles a week. I got a really I got. I had a great coach when I was in high school who kind of prepared he helped me prepare for the longer distances and I think that helped my transition into college.
Speaker 2:But you know, then we have to talk about the injuries just because that's just part of it. Just, it's just part of long distance running, unfortunately just and you know I I feel bad sometimes because my wife is an avid long distance runner and so, living that lifestyle, I'm able to say hey, babe, I like I understand what you're feeling. You know, keep, keep doing what you're doing Like I love, how you know you take care of yourself and everything like that.
Speaker 1:But what does she?
Speaker 2:run. She is a she. She's not a competitive athlete, she's a recreational runner, but she loves like long distance stuff like half marathon marathon. She actually ran the Tulsa marathon, did the full marathon right after we found out that she was pregnant and ran it in under three and a half hours.
Speaker 1:So she's fast.
Speaker 2:She's very fast, she's very fit she actually put. She puts in training weeks way more than I did. I mean we're talking, she was running 80 miles a week. At one point I mean it's absolutely incredible. So she was putting me to shame, wow.
Speaker 1:So yes, he was me accountable. So so, jeez, your family's like, you guys are like all about it.
Speaker 2:You're yeah yeah, Well, and so it actually starts with my mom and my dad. My mom was a was a fitness instructor for 30 plus years. My dad was was an avid runner in high school and then turned to cycling as kind of a recreational activity and actually got into racing while he was at the Air Force Academy in the late 80s. So, and then that kind of just trickled down.
Speaker 1:So the whole crew is active, whole crews, whole crews active. So still run it all like yeah yeah, she does.
Speaker 2:She doesn't do any like the like the big marathon stuff, but yeah she, she still loves to be active. She runs around Nichols Hills all the time. They live just on the outskirts of town there. So but yeah, come from, come from a really active family.
Speaker 1:Okay, geez the. So on your 5k 10 case. What were your fastest times that you had in that?
Speaker 2:So my fastest 5k. When I was at Oklahoma Christian I ran 1517 on the track so fast, and then my 10k was right around I think 33 minutes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nice.
Speaker 2:So, but but yeah, no, my my best event that I, the best time that I had, was actually my senior year of high school, when I, when I used to focus on the 3200 meter distance, which is right around two miles or so, I ran that in nine minutes and 23 seconds.
Speaker 1:That's such a miserable distance.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, well, well it's. It's so weird because, like from from someone who races like longer distance stuff, racing a mile feels like a paste sprint, whereas if you are in like into that two mile up to about 10k distance, it kind of feels not as fast but still kind of fast, right. And so at the time that I ended up running that time when I was a senior in high school and at the time that was an unofficial class to a state record for the state of Texas- for 2013.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, I was there, so holy cow.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I think that was one of the. That was one of the main reasons why I was able to, you know, receive that scholarship, to, you know, continue my running up up and through college.
Speaker 2:But you know, just just like I was saying, you have like these huge big plans or whatever it's like. You know, I ran this time and I'm going on this progression right now. You know I'm going to try to make it as a pro. You know all this other stuff. Well, you know God can intervene at any time and say you know, hey, I have different plans for you.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And, unfortunately, you know what unfolded at when, you know, during my time at Oklahoma, christian was just a season of life, just plagued, plagued with injury, just constant stress injuries, whether I had stress fractures and, you know, a toe, or I'd had tendonitis in my knee or I'd have a strain in my hip or overuse, injuries and all overuse injuries and I hate to say it, but a lot of it was self inflicted.
Speaker 2:I had a chronic tendency when I was in college to over train, and when you over train long distance running, you have a much higher likelihood of getting hurt just because you're pounding your body so much, rather than when you're on the bike full time. You know you're off your feet, you know in your brain you're able to get a much like you're able to go for much longer because it's not, you know, is pounding on your joints. You know as it was, so did you?
Speaker 1:did you start riding as cross training at all in college, or did you? I did Okay.
Speaker 2:Yes, so that's when I got my first road bike was when I was a. I think it was when I was a freshman. Yeah. So I was a freshman at Oklahoma Christian. I just did it very sparingly and intermittently, you know, when I needed a cross training session or when I was, it was a lot more so when I was rehabbing from injury. Yeah, that way I could stay aerobically fit that way much. When I transitioned back to running, my transition was much easier.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's that. That's when I first started riding road like my my road bike really consistently was, was when I was rehabbing from injuries.
Speaker 1:Was it kind of like like when you got on the bike, you're like, man, I love this, Like this is great. Or was it just something like that just took over and filled the void of running whenever it came to that point?
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, so when, whenever I, whenever I picked it up, I it took me. It was the same with running. It took me a little while to enjoy it because musculoskeletally it's a lot, it's, it's it's same but it's different, right? Because if you're exercising different muscle groups and and and things like that, and so I mean I'm, I'm in, in all honesty, it was, it was pretty hard at first.
Speaker 2:And I mean even going out for a 20 to 30 mile ride. I mean it's, I mean it was, it was taxing, it was, it was tiring, but because I hadn't, you know, used those specific muscles necessary to be efficient on the bike and I hadn't built those up because of all the muscles that I was using from running.
Speaker 1:It's totally different.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's, it's and, like I said, from an aerobic perspective very similar, from a musculoskeletal perspective totally different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's always. It's always fun whenever, like the first, like March, no Carchy gets here the Duathlon, and there's almost always I don't think there was one this year, I don't remember seeing one, but there's almost always like an OU runner or you know, somebody just out of college or something like that that jumps in and does it and they crush us on the first run Right and then about three miles into the bike you fly past me.
Speaker 1:never see them again. They have the fastest run splits by far, but they get crushed on the bike and it's just. But you're like man, they just float when they run.
Speaker 2:No, absolutely, but the bike just it doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1:when you just think, when you just look at it, you're like, oh, they should be good on that, but it's so different.
Speaker 2:No, totally so different, totally different. And it takes. It took a bit for me to get used to, but once I started riding consistently, especially towards my latter years, my junior and senior year, that's when I really started to enjoy it and I started to do it a lot more consistently, gotcha.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. So when did you go full in and be like cycling's my thing, like running's done. Cycling's not something I just want to do for recreation, for, say, fit.
Speaker 2:It's like I think I want to try this Right, absolutely so whenever I graduated from college in what was your?
Speaker 2:degree. So I am, I'm actually a registered nurse, and so is my wife and my sister. So my sister and I both graduated from Oklahoma Christians School of Nursing, gotcha there. So I graduated there in 2018. And I actually started working my first nursing job. I was actually working night shift, so I was working 12 hour shifts from seven seven PM to seven AM, right, right, when I was still trying to get, you know, the, the getting the whole swing of cycling.
Speaker 2:And there there was a little bit of a gap between the time I graduated to where I was studying for my board exam, up until I actually started my job. But in between, then was really really when I started to pick up the bike. You know I say this unfortunately, but you know, people's desires and goals can change I had kind of lost the fire for running, you know when I, when I was getting into my senior year of school, you know I still wanted to finish strong. You know, due to the you know investment that my coach had made in me. He was truly a blessing to our family and so I wanted to, you know, finish hard and and but.
Speaker 2:But after, after I graduated, that's when I really decided to hang up the running shoes and, you know, go all in on the bike and just kind of, just kind of see where I would take it. I was like you know man. You know man, I feel like I could you know, but potentially, you know, at least do do fairly well at this. You know, with my you know 10 year running background, you know both. Both are aerobic sports, you know. I know there's there's some stuff to get used to there. But yeah, I feel I felt like you know man, I like I really want to try to give this a go. I feel like I could, you know, do really well at this and you know it's, it's, it's super funny. The first, the first crit I ever did was in 2018, it was down at Wheeler when it was at the old course there on the old airport strip.
Speaker 1:That's the most perfect place ever to do your first race. Oh, I know, pancake flat you can see the whole course.
Speaker 2:There's no, there's no. You know big, you know it's slight turns.
Speaker 1:It's just yeah, it's just slight turns, yeah.
Speaker 2:And so I, I will never forget I, I had bought, I, I bought a bunch of cycling clothing, but I bought a Stars and Stripes jersey and I was like man, like I was trying to figure out what to wear. I didn't have any bib shorts, I just had regular cycling shorts that kind of look like just regular shorts that you wear. And then I threw that jersey on and I show up to this, I show up to this race and everyone's like who in the world is this guy and how, how in the world does he have the audacity to show up in a Stars and Stripes jersey? Because I think there was either a female rider or a local rider here from the city who had just won a national championship. And so I'm, you know people, people are kind of giving me the evil eye, like who the heck is this guy?
Speaker 1:Bless the catfives.
Speaker 2:So, anyway, I hop into this crit and, um, yeah, and I'm just trying to figure out the flow and you know people are attacking. I'm trying to feel like it's my supposed to follow that like you know how.
Speaker 1:How am I supposed to?
Speaker 2:like just trying to, just trying to just soak in as much experience as I possibly can, ended up getting.
Speaker 1:Second it was it was, it was it was fun, I I.
Speaker 2:I, I who beat you. I lost in the sprint, so Chris holiday beat me at the time. He actually is one of, as far as I'm aware, I think he's one of the co-owners of elemental coffee if I'm not mistaken, so haven't seen him in a long time. But, chris, if you're out there, man, like he beat the champ. Yeah, thanks for thanks for whooping my butt in my first crit and teach me how to sprint that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Anyway, that's a great first experience. Yeah, that's a great one yeah, that's so. That'll be an unforgettable experience that's awesome to look at later. You were from the beginning. Oh yeah, no it was great.
Speaker 2:It was great. I after, after I did that crit, I was actually. I went to Schlage bicycles when this is before Trek kind of you know, did their thing and kind of kind of took over down there.
Speaker 2:But Steve Schlage played a huge role in my, in my success and in my build and you know, kind of coming to this point, he helped me with a bike. There was a, you know he had. He had a real good bike fitter by the name of Dan Chapman, who who really helped me out with a fit and everything like that, and so he really got me involved with my first road bike setup and equipment and everything like that. And so and at this point.
Speaker 1:Were you seeing, like I'm pretty good at this, like yeah, did it happen pretty quickly for you once you were like, okay, I'm in, and when you're going to this you're getting your fit and stuff? Like clearly you had a vision of like I'm in and I'm for it. But were you seeing like this is significantly easier for me starting out than it is for most people? Could you see that early on?
Speaker 2:right and so the the the more wheeler crits that I did, the more experience I got and then I started kind of learning how to race. And then just it was one of those things where, due because of the the 10 year background, that I had had a long distance running.
Speaker 2:I figured out fairly early on that if I attacked early and just rode hard tempo from what I'd been doing all of my running career, you know I had found, I'd found a lot of success in doing that and that's how I, that's how I want a lot of events when I was a cat four, cat five and even into when I was a category three. But I, I did have have that success earlier on by by doing just having a better engine just just just you know, have having that, having that engine that had been built like I said for you know, 10 plus years of being you know and you know you just need like muscles to catch up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah and that's the thing. And so the the the biggest transition was, you know, from a, from a musculoskeletal perspective. I had to now build that muscle that had not been developed because of so many years running, where you say muscles over and over and over again, and so so yeah, but that was in 2018 yes, so yep so how fast did you go from a five to a three?
Speaker 2:so I ended up going from a five to a three in one season, oh my gosh. So one of the so with at the time wheeler was considered a it's and again I'm as far as I'm aware I think it was, it was usac sanctioned, in the sense that I could get upgrade points from racing wheeler because they had a us a cycling official present at the race with a start sheet and everything like that and so that's how I had achieved some of my upgrade points earlier on is by winning the lower categories category fives, category four, events just just based off, you know, practice or whatever.
Speaker 2:And one of the one of the big reasons that I was able to make that jump from a cat four to a cat three was at the time there was a series in Arkansas called the natural state criteria series.
Speaker 2:I think it's still around so it's still around to this day, but at the time it was three different courses in Bentonville, rogers and Springdale and I raced it as a cat four when I had I think I had. I had maybe one one month or so since, since I'd upgraded from a five to a four because, like, if you're familiar with the upgrade system through USA, cycling from a cat five to a cat four, you just need 10 starts, right. So and then you start. You start introducing upgrade points to when you want to go from a four to a three, then to a two and then a one and and so on.
Speaker 2:So but whenever I had upgraded to a four and I went and did this natural state criteria series in Arkansas in the cat four race and I ended up. I ended up winning every day and laughing the field every day and I was like, oh, my gosh but, and again, I'm not, I'm not.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying that, just be like oh, look at me, I'm just it's what happened that's, that's what happened right so, and after that they were kind of like okay, this guy probably needs to be a cat three, they just moved you on right. They just, I was like I submit a formal, you know, upgrade request through USA cycling and thankfully, thankfully, they granted that. And then I'm trying to familiarize myself because this is, like I said, it's been a while right, so trying to familiarize my transition from a three to a two, but so we're, you're very long so I was a cat three for I want to say mmm, I want to say maybe two months and, like I said, I was trying to get as much racing as I possibly could.
Speaker 2:One of the one of the big events that that I was able to get points from to and up and towards. My cat two was at the Gateway Cup which is in the before day event in St Louis great event every year to the end of August going in the beginning of September. I in the in the category two three race, I was able to get a 10th place on my first time on Friday night at one of the what at the time was the fastest criteria might ever done. I mean in the cat two three field.
Speaker 2:I think we average 29 miles or my god I mean, and so you know, all all the best cyclists, amateur cyclists, from all over the US come to St Louis at the, you know, at the end of the you know that's crazy.
Speaker 1:At two, three races that fast?
Speaker 2:no it is, and so and so you know, at that point you can. It just makes you think, you man. I can only imagine how fast the pros go right, you know, right, you know they're averaging 30 31 miles an hour for 90 minutes. Unbelievable. So my god, stark, stark difference in competition and speed. But yeah, no, I was I was.
Speaker 1:You must have been a whirlwind going from the guy that showed up with the stars and strives jersey in the cat five or the sea race that wheeler to now you're rolling with some. I mean, I was at 29 miles an hour, oh yeah, no it was.
Speaker 2:It was such a. It was such a rush, but at the same time, because I was still developing you know, from a cardiovascular standpoint, from just from just being on the bike and in a, in a musculoskeletal, when, if you go that fast for that long, I mean it's, I mean you're gasping for any sort of yeah last molecule of oxygen that you possibly can, so you can just survive so just staying right there.
Speaker 1:What was your training like during that period? So, between a five to a two, three to three months, extremely quickly, right? Was your training continued to progress or were you limited by like I mean, this is all I can do because I'm starting from kind of zero ish like muscular wise, right? How was your training? What did it look like at that point?
Speaker 2:so at the time I actually I did actually have a coach until I was progressing as a category two rider. So from the time that I was a cat five up until I was a beginner as a cat two, beginners.
Speaker 1:A cat two, so to speak yeah, I had.
Speaker 2:I really didn't have any guidance in terms of in terms of what was your training like, certain intervals to do at this time of the year at this kind of power at with this kind of heart rate, things like that. Honestly, I just enjoyed riding my bike. I tried to get out as much as I can. You know doing, doing long. Those, the longer rides, I think, are really what separated it. You know going out, you know and you know riding Ryan with these. You know Ryan with these guys during the summer, on Saturday, and you know Ryan for five hours yeah, so you're just jumping on some good the high end group rides yeah, I was just I was jumping in on some group rides, I was learning what the dynamics were.
Speaker 2:You know, at the time, like I said, I really looked up to and still do looked up to all of the guys down at co op with Evan and Chad and everybody, just being able to get in on group rides with them and kind of learning the ropes from them, because at the time, like I didn't know how to properly rotate in the pace line that's another question.
Speaker 1:We're not to surge.
Speaker 2:You know what you know. You know whenever you pull through, you know back off a little bit. That way we keep the rotation smooth, just just stuff like that. I was just trying to be a sponge and just soak in as much information as I possibly could.
Speaker 1:Yeah and just you know, just riding a lot, yeah, I was just riding so I'm using the races as your. Yeah, I mean stuff. Yeah, absolutely how I mean going from not riding in a race to riding at 29 miles an hour in a crit, like in a high end crit? Yeah, how are your handling skills and your bike skills?
Speaker 2:well, it's so, I, I I rode bikes a lot growing up, like when I was raised like not like road specific, but I did a lot of.
Speaker 2:I did a lot of bikes yes, I just I played a lot on bikes. I did a lot of BMX stuff with my friends. We used to build jumps and stuff like that. So I learned how to ride a bike at a very young age and I did it consistently, more more so in and throughout middle school. I also used to race motocross when I was in middle school, so that's huge, yeah, so so that also comes from comes from that as well and so.
Speaker 2:But, like I said, I had a good grasp on how to handle a bike, how to turn a bike from, from a fairly young age and then obviously didn't transition to specific road type you know technique and all that stuff until I was actually done running and decided to dedicate my time.
Speaker 1:Really solid skills before you start yes, yeah you aren't truly a newbie no, I want truly newbie. You know, throwing a leg over the right over the saddle for the first time. Yeah, I.
Speaker 2:I I done a lot of. You know, just just I just been around bikes for a long time and you know dirt bikes and all that, all that fun stuff whenever you you got to a two.
Speaker 1:So this pretty much happened in a year, in a season, roughly pretty close, yeah, so at that point, had you, were you were so riding independently, or had you picked up a ride with a group or a team or anything like that?
Speaker 2:so at the time, like when I, when I would, when I had first started I, or after I had progressed up to a cat three I believe I was still a quote quote representing Steve Schlagel shop there in Oklahoma City, and there's there's a couple local guys, rob Bell being one of them, and then Paul Pappin, who's been around for a long time, have nothing but respect for those guys and I. I learned a lot from them very quickly just because they had been around for a long time, both category one racers. They had raced at the biggest you know, at some of the biggest events you know throughout the country, and so we actually formed kind of like a three man race team there, there, there's.
Speaker 2:Steve shop, and so you know we represented their shop, and so I was able to, I was able to race with with them, and even more so when I was beginning as a category two athlete we're able to you know, do, do, do some of the bigger races together.
Speaker 2:We're able to do Tulsa tough and and then and stuff like that and some of the some of the bigger like early season Texas races, like I know there's. There's a lot of stuff that goes on like early in the season, like February, march down in Texas, and we were able to do some of that gotcha.
Speaker 1:So how long were you a two before you went to a one?
Speaker 2:so when I was a, when I was a cat to, I had been a cat to for a little bit. I had raced gateway at the end of the year and then the whole pandemic just came in and swept off all of the racing, and so I was a. I was a category two for almost a year and a half, if I'm not mistaken, but because of the fact, that there was no racing.
Speaker 1:So you were you working at this time or just racing by?
Speaker 2:oh no, I, I still had a full time job. So in and throughout this whole process, when I was, you know, beginning to race from the time, I just focused on racing and I was working at the time I still lived at home, just because I was in this weird transition period between housing, actually live with one of my former teammates for for for a little bit. So I had, I had moved out of my parents house and I was living with a former teammate. At the time I, like I said, I was working night shift at the hospital. I was working 7pm to 7am. I was working three days a week, and so that's one of the reasons why I was able to dedicate that time was because I'd had four days off a week but at the same time, I was still working a full time job as it had equated to about yeah, just you know close to 40, yeah, yeah, so that's perfect.
Speaker 2:So so I was still working full time and still work full time while while, while trying to do this and boys at a balancing, so no kidding. So so anyway, but at the same time, you know there's a lot of stuff that I've learned in and throughout this time about. You know time management, yeah, you know priorities and everything like that. And so you know, and it's it's hard to, because sometimes man, like I I'm not going to lie it's it's hard because you know, sometimes, like man, all I want to do is race my bike. You know, especially like now, like with, with what I've been able to accomplish this season and look at some of the results that I've been able to achieve so far as like man, how much more could I do if I had a full like schedule dedicated to this completely. How close is?
Speaker 1:well, I don't want to jump for too far. No, no, that's a happening.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I, honestly, I can't give, I can't give a solid answer on that, and it's one of those, you know, I, I made, I made a promise to myself and in, and a promise to my wife, especially now that you know we're, we're about to have a have, have a kiddo. I mean, for heaven's sake, she's 37 weeks pregnant, so you know we're, we're gonna see our baby girl here in a couple of weeks, and so that's, that's added. You know, without jumping too far forward here, that's, you know, that's been, you know, a very surreal experience, you know, and I've, I've, I've wrestled, you know, with some serious thoughts as to, you know, how far do I need to take this? Because I, I made a problem. I made a promise to myself and a promise to her that if I were to do this full time, that she would need to be Completely taken care of, right, in order for me to do this and so in the US, no it, especially, you know, with a paycheck on a US professional cycling.
Speaker 1:Is that right gig?
Speaker 2:right, right, right, that's yeah it is, but at the same time you know it is, it is doable, it's doable for sure. It is doable, and so you know, but anyway, well, well, we'll get there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was about to say we'll be able to jump more into that here. So after, after, team Schlegel yeah, where where did you go next?
Speaker 2:So I had. It was funny. I actually the first shot that I ever came to when I was here in Oklahoma City Was Charlie's bicycle laboratory, which is now the bike lab Okay, see, owned by Tony Stewart. Great guy would not be where I am today without him, and so that was actually the first shot that I that I came to. They actually they they worked on my first road bike and got some more information on them from growing on, on group rides and stuff like that. And so After, after I had ridden for Schlegel's for a season, I ended up because they they were a little bit more north, because I lived a little bit more north at the time, and so I went. I I ended up going and using their shop for for a lot of my maintenance stuff and like Getting nutrition and you know all your basics all your basic stuff.
Speaker 1:And so.
Speaker 2:At the time they developed a program still have it to the state. Okay, see Velo, which they they started as a way of helping the more the the the upper tier Cyclists who were very serious about it your category one and your category two riders that were just striving to race at a high level and kind of, you know, make their, make their stamp and kind of break into that, into that. You know, pro circuit, they wanted to. You know, make a program to Provide athletes with opportunities to get to races. You know, provide them, help them with housing and coaching, and you know, training and and things like that. And so that's when I was introduced to Brandon Jackson. Oh yeah, I have the most respectful one of my best friends. To this day we talk, you know not weekly.
Speaker 2:I mean, yeah, just just a phenomenal guy and he, he was my first coach and so I I Was coached by him when I was a category two and had I'd raced for a little bit, but this was kind of in between, like the 2019, 2020, like kind of the whole pandemic like we're just transition period.
Speaker 2:But but at the same time he was on the board at okc vello with Tony and some other individuals and they, they really, you know they, they came to me and they said, you know, hey, we're, you know, really want to, you know, get this program going. And it was me, couple of guys, it was me, and then Emerson and Dempsey Sufentes were in on that as well. So so, yeah, we, we did a lot of road stuff, a little bit of gravel stuff as well. I, I personally don't race gravel anymore, but we did, we did some of that at the time and they, you know, we're able to help, you know, with a little bit of compensation. You know a couple of kits, you know, and some, you know, some training time your first time to get a taste of what yeah, no, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that was, that was kind of my first taste of kind of what you know what the level looks like you know kind of the next level looks like and and, like I said, I'm I'm forever grateful for not just their organization but for for Steve and you know his shop while he was, while it was still here in downtown, and then Tony, with you know, the Bike lab up there on Hefner.
Speaker 1:I, like I said I kind of made your rounds with ever yeah, like we talked before we even started this. How clickish the community can be right. You're a true example of how, like you learned from capital and oh yeah, group rides. You hung out with Steve shop and some guys there. Oh, for sure, I'm not with some guys there, like you totally were, just like this is where I need to go to get this experience and, yeah, I don't care. No, no, no, I'm on the door absolutely.
Speaker 2:And so awesome when no it it it is be no, no right, and and absolutely, and you know, to this day I have, I have nothing but respect and I have a great relationship with, with, at least as far as I know, you know, I've. I've had. I have nothing but respect for each and every one of those guys.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I'm super, super thankful and here, but we hear me when I say would not be where I am today without their help. That's so it's just, it's super humbling to be able to look back on that and just realize everybody played a good part everybody everybody has played a part and it's, it's honestly man, it's just, it's truly humbling.
Speaker 1:What was it like whenever you Upgraded to a one?
Speaker 2:whenever I upgraded to a one, I finally so that was. So I, when I, when I upgraded to a cat one, I had it was, it was during the time where I was still racing for, okay, c Vel, but I was, I was kind of doing it In. Like I said, we had a small group and so some events I had to do independently, but some with some of the results that I had gotten, and some and some of the races More so, more so like locally and a little bit down in Texas. This is where United comes in. So Grayson Kepler and his wife Lauren own and run United. I had never heard of Grayson up until, I believe where are they based.
Speaker 2:So they're, so they're based out of Dallas, fort Worth, so primarily Texas based team they have. They have some riders in different states, but their, their hub is kind of Dallas, fort Worth Metro and so at at the time Grayson was, I Say, good buddies, but he knew Brandon Malott who, who lived up here, of course, call him, call him be money.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so so Brandon had had a lot of influence on the cycling community here in Oklahoma City, well known national champion mountain biker, you know, huge shout out to him as well because he also helped me a lot with you know tactics and kind of helped kind of foster my growth.
Speaker 2:But but they they had known each other from from previous events that they had done, I think, is category two racers, because a lot of those a lot of those guys from Texas came up here a lot, especially Before Tulsa tough because, okay, c pro am was typically the weekend before Tulsa and you know a lot of, I think, riders. You saw that as a good tune up going into Tulsa and so a lot of the Texas riders came up here a lot and so there was kind of a relationship that was formed With some of those guys from Texas in between you know us up here, and so Grayson knew Brandon and actually asked for my number.
Speaker 2:And Grayson reached out to me just individually and we had a phone call and he asked me if I'd be willing to guest ride for United because we were going into Tulsa and I think this was in 20, this was in 2021. Okay, yeah, and so I, after some, after talking with him I was talking with, you know, brandon Jackson, who's still my coach at the time, and you know we were like, you know, hey, this could turn, you know, this could possibly turn into something like because, I mean, they, they had, you know, they have a Lot of influence, especially the real deal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah on the scene and so I, you know I had seen some things about United and I was like man, you know they have a good team. Like I like love to be a part of that, and so Grayson gave me that opportunity and I was able to race for them at Tulsa in the, and again, I wasn't in the I, since I was still a category two. I was in the category one two field. So that's kind of my first experience racing against category ones who were trying to break into that.
Speaker 1:P1.
Speaker 2:Into that P1 field and circuit and everything. So I got a really you know good taste of that. Didn't have a, didn't have a great Tulsa tough experience, but I was able to get a top 10 on crybaby hill. After was one of the One of the craziest stories that I still have in my cycling career my chain hops off on the first lap of Cry Baby Hill in the category one two race. Chris Siemens is a he's from Tulsa great guy. Chris. I love you man and I will be forever grateful for you lending me your bike.
Speaker 1:No way.
Speaker 2:So he's just a bystander watching the the the cat one two race, my chain hops off and all of a sudden, like my bike is toast. Like my chain was all torqued and it was like a chainsaw into my frame, and so I didn't have a bike.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And so, and Chris is just sitting there with a bike, it wasn't even my size and he was like. He was like you know what, hey, take my shoes and my bike and go back to the pit and hop back in. I'm like dude, you're crazy. Like are you? Are you 100% sure about this? And sure enough, I take did you know him?
Speaker 2:No, I didn't even know him at the time. Oh my God, yeah, and so you know, we still follow each other on social media to this day and I still, I still think about that sometimes.
Speaker 1:What a wild story.
Speaker 2:No, it was crazy, and so I hop back into the race and I ended up getting 10th.
Speaker 1:How far off was the fit?
Speaker 2:Oh it was. I mean it was, I mean it was, it was pretty it was. I'm gonna say it was super far off.
Speaker 1:Close enough.
Speaker 2:It was close enough that you could definitely tell the difference.
Speaker 1:How sketchy was the first. Like two or three laps on this bike. That doesn't fit. You have no clue how it's going to handle your steer Right.
Speaker 2:No, it was. It was absolutely crazy. But after, after about 10 laps, I was like okay just for now I think I got it. You know we'll be able to kind of, you know, do what we can here, and I can't remember if I made any more adjustments to it, if I adjusted the seat or anything like that. But, anyway, all jokes aside, that was. This was my premier weekend guest riding for United.
Speaker 2:And I'm like, and I'm trying to make a good impression and I have this catastrophic mechanical at one of the most important races in the U on the U S calendar and some random dude gives me shoes in a bike and saves the day for me, and so that was just a wild experience.
Speaker 2:That's hilarious, but what that did going forward was after. After my performance at Tulsa on, I think, mainly on cry baby Hill, they they had a spot on the team and Grayson asked me to join the team, and so that was. That was a huge, that was a huge deal for me, but at the same time it was hard too, because of all the connections that I established, you know, through KC Velo who I was racing for.
Speaker 1:But everybody knows that that's, that's the goal, but, but but right.
Speaker 2:And so you know their goal is to get guys you know in, out and up into you know that us domestic pro scene into those you know cap, you know those top tier cat one field. And so that was when, you know, I was able to make that jump and then I ended up, you know, racing with them at some of the more bigger regional events.
Speaker 2:Joe Martin stage race being one of them, things like that and so I really started to establish a great relationship with the guys going in to the 2022 season where I was able to, you know, meet, meet all those guys from Texas Kyle Walker, of course, grayson, and then one of my teammates now who I race with on United, doug Frenchek one of he's.
Speaker 2:He's he's my best friend, and so we've had the opportunity to race together.
Speaker 2:You know, when we were on United in 2022, and then we were able to race really well together, we were able to get him some great results. You know, him winning the overall Omnium at Tulsa, tough and the cat one two field was a huge deal for for not just him but for United's program and that that whole season, that whole 2022 season, as a team, we rode I mean, we rode so incredibly well and because of that I was able to gain a ton of experience and just be a sponge. Of course, there were some hard lessons to be learned, but at the same time, you know, I was able to get that, that basis for, and get a taste of what it's like to race at these really top tier you know, category one, two crits and then transitioning. Once I was a cat one, now being eligible to race in those in those P one specific races to where you're racing against the fastest students in the country, who ride 30 miles an hour for 90 straight minutes.
Speaker 1:So so, whenever you went from like so when that, whenever you because I always have a question, thought on this whenever you do a guest ride, do they just basically pay your entry and give you a kit? Is that kind of like your incentive and then it's like a yeah, audition.
Speaker 2:Yeah, fairly, fairly. So not, it's not an audition every single time. And again, I there's a lot of guys that I that I don't know personally, but I know of that have guest written for teams and it's more so they're looking for, you know they had a guy get sick or they had, you know someone had a scheduling conflict come up and they needed a rider to come in and supplement so they could have a full squad, because at some races, you know, you have to have a squad of at least six riders to be eligible to compete in the, you know, in the, in the, in the P one field. So sometimes guys who are more independent or who are, on, you know, more top amateur teams that are, you know, trying to, you know it can't exposure, for them, no matter what 100%, and they're just getting a free race and a kit.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So, so, so. So essentially that that is what a guest ride is. And again there's there's a little bit more stuff that goes into that, but from a you know, from a general perspective, yes, that.
Speaker 1:That is what you got on.
Speaker 2:The team in United is a well known team especially in the part of the country, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:They like. At that point, when you're on and you don't have to give me specifics, let's keep that confidential. But at that point do you start getting paid to ride your bike, or is it still more of like?
Speaker 2:well, I'm just getting some gear and some free races and so at the time we, we, we were not getting paid. You know they, we, we were able to get some, some, some kit type stuff and some supplies and a lot of it with the sponsors that United had brought in. There was a lot of discount codes on product. You know beat root pro, for example. You know we get a coupon code for 25, 30% off at this and then you know you know discounts at at other. You know venues who had, who had, you know, brought in, you know, sponsorship money for our team.
Speaker 1:But they're covering races and travel.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but there there were some events to where we had a lot of our housing taken care of because of some sponsorship money that had been brought in from you. Know how did you?
Speaker 1:guys do it, because I know it's different. I know Evans told me some stories and some of the other guys that have raced pro in the past Right Told me stories. How did you guys do prize money within that team? Did you guys everybody got their own or did you guys pull it?
Speaker 2:So we, we, we pulled it and split it. You know there was, there's, there's times to where, you know, guys will, guys will say you know what, I'm going to go ahead and opt out of that if they didn't feel like they contributed to the overall team result, and so you know so. So, for the most part, what we did is we just, you know, we, we, we pulled it together and then we split it. You know amongst, you know how, however many guys that you know that obviously played a director and it's still the same case to this day.
Speaker 2:You know, with with me being on Butcherbox now you know, we, we, we pull that prize money together and then we, you know, we distribute that. You know accordingly. And then if someone says, you know, hey, I want to opt out on this, then you know, we obviously leave them out of the equation. And then you know keep going.
Speaker 1:So you were with United for a year and then is Butcherbox just that next level of team or did something is just like hey, it's just time for me to go somewhere else. No yeah, how did that happen? Because you were. You were at United for a year and it sounds like you guys had good results?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, no, absolutely so it was. It was interesting how it kind of came about, was you know with with United and Butcherbox? They're actually on a very on a level playing field in the terms of of licensures, so they're both US or USAC domestically team and so what.
Speaker 2:what that entails is it's basically money up forward and it's basically a license that we are, that we are eligible to compete. So it's it's a little bit different because some proteins in the US you know teams like Legion of Los Angeles, project Eshalon, they have a UCI pro continental license and so that is a further step up. But like they, they aren't able to compete in races like I just attended. Like USA amateur elite nationals they are not allowed because they have a UCI pro continental contract.
Speaker 2:So it's all about licensures and like a down payment for for money up front to be able to, you know, be eligible for for that.
Speaker 1:So that's what was considered an amateur, because they had that.
Speaker 2:They have that UCI license.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I was just a domestic license.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, as of right now.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, cool, yep. And then so what made you switch over to Butcherbox?
Speaker 2:Well, it was. Honestly it was I mean it was it was a very hard decision for me to make because of the the relationships that I had, that I had developed over the course of that time and at the time, I was still pretty sold on on staying with United going into, you know, the 2023 season and I had worked with Grace and a lot to, you know, to bring in some, to to bring in sponsors for the oncoming season, and I still stand by, you know, doing that to this day. And because, like I said, I have the most respect for him and for Lauren and the opportunities that they gave me personally and I know that they gave a lot of the other guys on the team.
Speaker 2:And so I was reached out to by one of the performance directors at Butcherbox in late November this was when it was pretty late in the year because a lot of a lot of guys have their teams going forward basically lined up already, and so typically that happens, I would say, September, October so at this point, were you still planning on being with United, are you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was, I did, I didn't really I didn't have any expectation going forward and I was. I was reached out to by Dino Pizca Panas and Stephen Ramirez, who are two of the performance directors at Butcherbox. They got in touch with me somehow and they, we had a, we had a phone call interview and you know, because at the time, whenever, whenever sports directors interview riders, they have to make sure that they, you know, their type of writing fits the program, to make sure, you know, hey, you know, if they can, you know, make an impact on the program. You know, because obviously, I mean, they're not going to bring somebody in If they don't feel like they'll be able to contribute to the team and bring success to the team.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And so, and again, I'm not just saying that, you know, but everybody's like play their part.
Speaker 2:Yes, so like everyone has to fit, everyone has to fit a role.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can't have like 10 sprinters. Yeah right.
Speaker 2:And so so, anyway, so I was fortunate enough that they felt like I could bring success to the team going forward and they ended up offering me a contract, and so I was in that at the time. That is, you know, that is something that, that was, that was life changing for me to this day In terms of, you know, the amount, the amount of support that they're, you know they're offering, offering me was just, was just a huge was just a huge blessing.
Speaker 2:And so I went ahead and moved forward with that, and again, it was not an easy decision to make because of the relationships that I had formed with.
Speaker 2:Grayson and Lauren and all the, all the riders on United, you know. But but at the same time there, there, there wasn't understanding of, you know that they, they had now put at the time now they they had put you know me and then ended up putting Doug as well into kind of that, into that pro circuit. And so you know, obviously, you know that's that's going to. You know, obviously look good for them going forward, you know because they have.
Speaker 2:they've had riders come through their program and, you know, have helped grow the program and now they have, you know, riders wanting to race for them and they have to, you know, go through all these rider applications because you know well in every team knows their role in the in the ecosystem, like some are developmental teams and some are the top of the food chain and everybody knows their spot. Right, no, no for sure.
Speaker 1:So whenever you went to Butchbox, it was just that next level up into your career as far as compensation and kind of who you were going to be racing with and opportunities there.
Speaker 2:And so, and with with the guys that I, that I ended up, you know, realizing I was going to be racing with, I was like man, I have been following these guys for years.
Speaker 1:How cool is that.
Speaker 2:I mean it was just a phenomenal experience. I mean, guys who have raced over in Europe, who have raced, you know we've had, I mean, for heaven's sakes, you know we have, you know, riders on our team that are on, you know, and in the running for, for, for the US National Track Team. You know, you know my teammate you know, eddie Huntsman is.
Speaker 2:You know competes in world championships on the track for the for the USA Cycling Program and my other teammate, ryan, is, you know, competes on a UCI Track Team and is able to compete in China and, you know, england and you know, it's just yeah, and so it's. It's guys who have had a ton of experience, who have been riding basically their whole lives, ever since they were juniors and, have you know, made their way and gone through the USA Cycling Pathway and, have you know, are making a huge impact on, you know, the track scene, the road scene, everything you know.
Speaker 1:So before I want to get into a couple of your race results that you've had recently, but before we do that, I'm always like intrigued and you don't have to give. I know some guys don't care and some guys do, so give what you want.
Speaker 1:But as far as your training goes, whenever, from difference from whenever you were a cat to to where you are now, did the hours change? Does intensity change? Does structure change? Like what does that look like? As far as like, what you feel like is like man? This is the things that have really helped, and or this is just organically what I have to do now to stay up with where I'm at.
Speaker 2:Right. So so there, there, there are differences and I, I, going into this season, I, I, I made a tough decision to go ahead and change coaches and again, like I said, I have to this day and will, for for the rest of my life, have the utmost respect for Brandon and what he did for me, for the goals that I had going forward. I, I, I felt I was ready to take a next step in terms of, you know, one-on-one engagement with training and more specifics, and really, because once you start to break into that cat one scene, that's when it starts to really make a difference like very structured training.
Speaker 1:Every little thing makes a big difference.
Speaker 2:Every little thing makes a big difference, and so I reached out to Chris Carlson, who has been around for a very long time, very well-known regionally all throughout the US, has done work with the US national team on the track, a very well-known individual pursuit rider and time trialist, and my goal going into the season, even when I was still planning on racing with United before the whole Butcher Box thing came about, was going all in on trying to win a national championship and time trial. And so why?
Speaker 2:is that Just that fits your right, so it just it it fits your style, but it fit my profile just from you know having to run at high threshold for a long time, and so I felt like I was would be decent at that, and so I went forward and I had a conversation with Chris. It was a real positive conversation and we ended up moving forward, and so that's who I've worked with all throughout the season.
Speaker 2:But in terms of, in terms of the training, you know, especially even looking at last year and and through through this year, it's a lot more specific, and people call it like it heard of polarized training and so it's a lot more. It's a lot more specific in the sense of, you know, on on, like, on longer rides I'm not, I'm not trying to go out and I'm not trying to, you know, put the hammer down, you know, and go all out for five hours you know, there's a time and place for that.
Speaker 2:But at the same time, what you have to add, I've had to ask myself, okay, what is the goal of each session here? Like, what are we trying to accomplish here, whether that's through 30, 30 sprint intervals to get ready for criteria and efforts, or whether that's long strength efforts like your two by 20 minute efforts, your two by 25, two by even two by 30 minute efforts, you know, to get ready for time trials, and so that's been a lot more of the specific stuff. I actually haven't done near as much criteria based or specific training in this season, which kind of seems weird because I mean all I've done is race crits.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Basically for the most part, except for, you know, this past weekend when I did a TT in a road race. But because of my goals of training were more towards time trialing, I personally have done a lot more strength type sessions, you know, with not short poppy intervals like you would typically think would be for crits, whereas I did a lot more of that last year.
Speaker 2:But at the same time last year, on some of my longer rides I used to go a lot harder on, and so I think because of that I didn't get the most out of that training because my body wasn't fully recovered and the specificity wasn't to the point to where it was conducive to where I was. I was progressing and getting stronger, but it wasn't like as sharp as it probably could have been.
Speaker 1:Have you seen because now you've been into it a handful of years, right, clearly you went from from your five to a two. It was just right in the bite more and you saw a huge, steep increase in fitness, right? Has that really leveled off now where, like, gaining every watt is like really hard, or is it still like ticking off fairly?
Speaker 2:No, it's still. It's still. It's still ticking off, not at huge chunks like it was, but at the same time I was able to increase my functional threshold power by, or say, my 20 minute power is able to have that go up by 10 watts, like this season. So yeah, so that's big right and so. But a lot of it too that I didn't do last year, that I wasn't consistent about, was consistent gym work. So a lot of lifting, not like lifting four times a week, but at least right around two times a week.
Speaker 1:Is it actual strength training or is it more band work, mobility training?
Speaker 2:Well, it's mobility and band work, but it's also sprinkling that in with doing like your Olympic stylist at the gym, like your, really like your strength, your true strength.
Speaker 1:How often are you doing that?
Speaker 2:So I haven't done gym work. I haven't done a lot of it within the last months, just because I've been racing a lot Racing, so much yeah. I try to do about two times a week.
Speaker 1:Then once you have your like kind of off, season is it more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so whenever now after I'm on this off period, I'll probably get back in the gym a little bit, start kind of getting some of that strength back and then transition to a lot more not huge mileage, but back to hopefully regular mileage on the bike, while incorporating that gym effort to get ready for the second half of the week?
Speaker 1:How many hours a week are you training Like? So, when you were at your peak this spring season, what was like your long hours?
Speaker 2:So I was putting in around 15 hours a week so, but it's not like I it's so much, but a lot of intensity. Yeah, but you know it's a lot of specific sessions there, but right now I don't have the time to-.
Speaker 1:You're also working full time job, right, so I?
Speaker 2:still have a full time job and throughout this process, and so I don't have the time to ride 25 or 30 hours a week, but a lot of times what can happen is when riders do that, especially at a young age, they're not able to recover because they're riding so much volume. And so, due to the specificity that I've had while training, you know, in anywhere between 10 to 15 hours with the specificity, I've still been able to see a lot of gains from that, just with consistent training.
Speaker 1:Which you just cut out all the junk miles and are doing work.
Speaker 2:Work, yeah, absolutely For sure.
Speaker 1:So jumping into some of your races there's a couple here I wanna I mean we've already hit on you're having a baby and the baby is due when.
Speaker 2:Due date's July 10th. I don't know. Let's just say Maddie is ready to have this kiddo so she could come at any time now. But I had some people ask me so like hey, are you gonna go to Knoxville and do pronats? I made the decision to not go to pronats because of how close Maddie is and I'm not gonna miss the birth of my child.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, and so.
Speaker 2:I had to make a judgment call on that, and so, yes, I still wanna do pronats, but not gonna be this season.
Speaker 1:Well, let's jump back to your first really big breakout and we talked about it before we started recording, because there's a couple of them I wanna touch on, but Speed Week.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was. Is that the pinnacle so far. Oh yeah, I mean Speed Week.
Speaker 1:I mean it was For people that don't know what Speed Week is. Give it quick update on that.
Speaker 2:So US Speed Week is a very long-standing race series that has been around for say, 20 or 30 years. It's right around the same time that Athens Orthopedic Twilight Criterium is, which has been around for even longer which has been around, for I think they celebrated, I wanna say 40-something years.
Speaker 1:And that's part of the big series, like part of Tulsa Tough Series.
Speaker 2:Right, right yeah and so they sprinkle in race series, specific races, to be a part of the actual, like the American, criterium. Cup Series so this season going forward, athens Orthopedic Twilight Criterium was actually our first race as a team, but it also happened to be the beginning of the US Speed Week Series, which is a beginning of the season series. But one of the events of that series was part of the American Criterium.
Speaker 1:Cup, if that makes sense.
Speaker 2:And so you know, going into Athens that's like one of the crown jewels of American Criteria is Athens Twilight. If you went Athens Twilight, everybody knows who you are. Who you are and everybody knows Athens, twilight, and so you know, going into that, you know our team directors were like, hey, like we wanna win, like we wanna put a guy on the top step, because they had put guys on the box in third place the previous two years. And so they were like, hey, we really want to win Athens.
Speaker 2:And so you know, obviously there's some pressure there because, it's our first race as a team and you know, obviously we wanna, you know, do really well and that what unfolded was something that was totally unexpected and a position that I'd never been in before and probably won't let's say, won't ever be in. Hopefully we'll be in again, but was something that I had never experienced before is now. I was in, I had made the breakaway. It was a 90 minute crit it's at 830 at night, so there's 10,000 people out.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:I mean it's an absolute, just banana scene. You know speakers and DJs and there's live music and all that. I mean it's just absolutely so fun. It's a whole vibe. So, but anyway, what happened was I ended up making the breakaway of nine guys and we lapped the field and so, but I was the only one. I ended up being the only one from our team who made the split, and so whenever we made the catch to the field, you know my teammates, who, most of them, are sprinters- we're like okay, now we're riding for you, and I'm typically the leadout guy.
Speaker 1:So now you see, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:So now I'm in a weird position being like.
Speaker 2:I've never been in this position before and so you know there was crazy fireworks, you know, with late attacks trying to go up the road and stuff like that, but I ended up able, I was able to get sixth place, which for me is a huge result. Top 10 at Athens, I mean that's a big deal. And I mean obviously, you know we wanted to contest the podium, but I mean, personally, I'm very happy with that because, one, I've never done Athens before and two, it's one of the biggest races of the season. So I was like, okay, you know, and I wanted to.
Speaker 2:So, you know, I wanted to prove that you know, this wasn't just a fluke this was just a one-off, you know, going forward, and then you know what ensued over the course of the week was just consistently being in the right place at the right time and with the riding style that I am, which is a breakaway rider. That's what happened every day, except for Spartanburg was a breakaway and I was in it, and so that ended up playing into my hands.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And so I ended up ninth at LaGrange, which was the day after, and then we had a rest day. And so after the rest day, day number four we had Peach Tree Corners, which is more of a Kermess style criterion. It's a really hard course, really hard climb. Like you're looking at a 30-second, you know VO2 max effort, every single lap for an hour, right and so same thing.
Speaker 2:Race of Attrition. You know there's a natural split that happens me and a teammate are up the road on the front half of the split, which is where we want to be. You know, a rider sends a flyer up the road late in the race, ends up staying away and then I attack with the tie ended up being Ty Magner, one of the best criterion racers ever in the US and so he and I are in a two-man chase, trying to chase down the solo flyer and going to the last lap I try I've made a rookie mistake.
Speaker 2:I let Ty out into the bottom of the climb and then I tried to attack and he just sat on me and then whooped me in the sprint. But he liked trickies. So, but anyway, so a lot of learning points. But I was able to get on the podium.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And so you know that's more points and cured for the overall Right. And so then going into, you know, spartanburg, we were able to actually put guys in second and third place and so we had two guys from Butcherbox on the podium, which was huge, but I was the lead out guy because that was the only day that it came to a bunch sprint and there was a lot. There ended up being a large crash.
Speaker 2:I would say, a large crash at the end of there on the last lap and that kind of shook up the whole dynamic, and but I was still able to finish inside the top 10. And so now I moved into.
Speaker 2:I think that's when I actually took the lead as far as the overall in the Omnium going into the last, going into the last two days, which was Haightville and College Park, and so and it was the same thing, the last two days breakaways. I was able to sneak into a five man break at Haightville and Danny Somerhill, the best overall crit racer in the US right now, wins the day, but I'm still able to get third. And so, but I'm still, I think I still had, I think, 20 something points on him going into the last day, but I almost missed out on the podium on the second to last day. And if I don't edge one of the it was a, I think it was a rider from Miami Nights, one of the new NCL teams but if I don't edge him out to get third, I lose the series.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:And so essentially, the race for me was decided the day before when I was able to take third on a bike throw, because what happened on the last day was I just played defense the whole day. So a large break goes up the road, but we're only separated. I'm only separated from Danny by about it was less than 10 points and so one mid-race points frame, excuse me, and that decides the series, and so thankfully we're able to finish together in these mid-race points frames.
Speaker 2:But I mean teams are doing lead outs for their riders for their riders to get these mid-race points frames during the middle of the race, like it's a finish, and so I had to have a head on a swivel and to recognize what's going on, and that's where I learned a lot about tactics and stuff super tactical. But long story short, a large break went up the road and neutralized the rest of the last two mid-race points sprints, so nobody could gain any time. So then all that needed to happen was I needed to just finish with or just slightly ahead, and that ended up being what happened, and it ended up holding on by four points. So it was such an incredible rest and experience in a position I did not anticipate to be in at all Team must have been pumped.
Speaker 2:Oh, they were so stoked because, as far as I'm aware, our team is a fairly new team and they had never won the overall at US Speed Week which is a big deal for them, and so and one of the big things, that one of the with our title sponsor being ButcherBox being a high-quality meat distribution company. We had a call with Mike Salguero, who's a CEO, and he was like he's super stoked for us and he's like man, I wanna see you guys win.
Speaker 2:And so feeling that and so winning that series for me was a huge weight off of my shoulders, because it felt like I wanted to prove to our directors and staff that they made the right choice in investing their time and resources in me and so that was a huge weight off of my shoulders.
Speaker 1:That's huge. Yeah, Now you can just ride.
Speaker 2:Now I can just ride.
Speaker 1:That's so cool.
Speaker 2:And just ride, you know, ride free, you know For sure. And so anyway, that was a big deal for me.
Speaker 1:And then you rolled that into, you had the Armed Forces Classic. Yes, that's correct so you got some really cool results there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just, and so and that was fairly recently, right? Yes, it was. So Armed Forces was the week before Tulsa Tough and then Tulsa Tough was two weeks ago, and so going into Armed Forces I'd never done the event before. It was cool, being our nation's capital. You know, I'm a big military guy you know, with it being the Armed Forces Classic.
Speaker 2:I love our military and it was just a really cool experience to be a part of, and so you know my teammate Dussain ended up getting second on the day before, so he's sitting second overall in the Omnium and then so, going into the second day, it was 100K crit, so 63 miles, oh my gosh. So we did something like Waddell was telling me about races like that. This is crazy so it was something like seven or 800 corners or something like that. And so it's just absolutely absurd. How long is the course? Well, it was on a one kilometer loop.
Speaker 1:That's what he was telling me about. It was a one kilometer loop. He was telling me this very similar story.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I'm just like mind numbing.
Speaker 2:Oh it was. I mean it was long, but what? When you're in the moment, it does go by pretty fast because, you're like, you're just life after life. I'm not gonna go in 29 30 miles an hour like I said, so yeah so I mean we were done in just over two hours.
Speaker 2:Crazy yeah, and so anyway, what ended up happening with that is it was the same thing, kind of what happened in speed week. There was a split early, I didn't anticipate it being that early so in about 85 laps into a hundred you know, hundred lap or, excuse me, 15 laps in to yeah. So a split goes up the road. It has all everyone's represented. So Legion had to American cycling had to a Danny summer hill. There was one CS fellow rider and then there was a German team they're also DCC, they were at Tulsa, tough, very strong team. They also had to in the move. And so what happened was I with, with 65 laps to go. There was a time where I just got done taking a pole, going through the long straight, going through the start and finish line, and everyone just kind of sat up and looked at each other was really odd. And I had a 20 meter gap From when I just started, when I just finished my pole or whatever.
Speaker 2:And I look back and I just I made a split second decision to just attack, just small out and I was like, well, they're all looking around, I could get some serious daylight and maybe I could take somebody with me and we could rotate really well. And you know we could, you know, really put some you know serious time into this breakaway. Mm-hmm. And what happened was, as I ended up being off the front solo for 30k- so brutal not a.
Speaker 2:I Stand by that move, but at the same time and that's a, that's a, that's a hard, that's a hard move to make, especially, you know, when you have, you know, other teammates to play. But anyway, what ended up happening is I tried to, I tried to make the catch by lapping the field, because what happens when you Lap the field in that situation is they. You have now teammates to work with and so, once you make the catch, your teammates can help you navigate through the field and then your whole team can get on the front and go full throttle.
Speaker 2:To right the chase group from catching and now you have a really big likelihood of winning the race Right. But unfortunately I wasn't able to make the catch and ended a fifth on the day. But what I ended up getting was the most aggressive rider jersey. That's well. It was such such a cool experience, you know, being able to, you know, shake hands with the race directors and the sponsors who you know sponsored, you know sponsored the event and stuff like that. It was just, it was such a cool experience, not just for me but for our program too. I, like I said, I I'm as far as, as far as I know from our teams history, I don't know if we've had, you know, the opportunity to win, you know, you know, when the jersey speed week, win a jersey at Armed Forces you know, you know when, when, the overall, you know, add a lot of these at a lot of these big events.
Speaker 2:But yeah, those, I mean those, those, those two results for me, especially speed week, have been career changing results for me going have one last career changing result.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just happy. Yeah, this past weekend, yeah, absolutely so I made a.
Speaker 2:It was kind of a tough decision too because I didn't have any teammates, but I ended up going to you sack elite amateur nationals in in Roanoke, virginia, and I've I get asked sometimes is like well, are you a pros like you know? You know, because you're, you're, you're competing in in the amateur, you know Quam quote, amateur field. But if, if you look at this, it's it's category one specific and due to the, to the you it, to the USA cycling rules with the whole licensure thing, technically we are eligible because we do not have that UCI pro continental contract which enables teams like the Miami Blazers to show up or CS Velo or Trying to think of you know, trying to think of other teams Kelly benefit strategies, you know teams, teams like that.
Speaker 2:So, even though they compete in the men's pro fields, you know they are, they are eligible. Because, they don't have a UCI pro continental license and so anyway, may the decision to go up there goal is actually the time trial. Like I didn't, I wanted to do well in all three, but the my training was tailored towards the time trial and, unfortunately, the my legs had other ideas you know, it just happens sometimes, right?
Speaker 2:and so just coming from off off of Tulsa, you know Three days are really hard, racing in Tulsa tough and then 15 hours in a car over two days. My legs were not having it. So, I ended up eighth in the time trial, which which which was respectable, I felt like, and then going into the road, race and crit just. I Naturally race aggressive. I like to make the race unpredictable, because if you don't like, you don't know if something is able to happen and so fun it's, it is it's absolutely more fun.
Speaker 2:And you know it was a hundred plus mile road race which I had done a long time. So I was kind of interested to know, like, how my body would sort of kind of react to it. But I Made the days break away. We had two minutes on the field. I'm like you know hey, it's like, hey, this could stay away only to figure out like hey, our gap is somehow dwindling and so you know we were caught with two laps to go because we did six laps of, I think 17 something miles.
Speaker 2:So anyway, but you know there's a Rider from Miami Blades sent a huge, massive solo flyer inside of 10 kilometers to go, and then that's when kind of the chaos Happened and I just kind of followed some moves and then I attacked out of the main field, all out with about 5k to go, ended up in a two-man chase group and we were gaining time and we had If five seconds might not seem like a lot, but when you're going that fast, it's a long ways, it's a long ways, and so we had a decent gap going into the, the final climb, which is 500 meters of straight uphill, the. The initial grading was greater than 8% and it was just. It was brutal and yeah.
Speaker 2:Just from having a long day in the breakaway. Unfortunately, I did cramp my legs. Oh and I so, but I put myself in position when I just couldn't get it done right and so you know, two missed opportunities, and so then the correct.
Speaker 1:So the guy you're with when?
Speaker 2:no, the, the the field caught him. And then all, all the sprinters who had been able to sit in all day.
Speaker 1:They unleashed you know, yeah, 1800 watt burst, and then you know it wouldn't matter to stay with that guy.
Speaker 2:But anyway, it was, it was you know. I was at peace, knowing like hey put myself in position to win again.
Speaker 1:You tried and so yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So, going into the crit, it was the same thing. Goal was to race aggressive, getting a breakaway. The crit course did have, did have kind of a sharp incline. It was only about a five second effort, but it was. It was it was. It was hard enough to where it was gonna force a selection. So I ended up again making the break a force in a selection. I ended up up the road with six guys and then there was a chase group of three that had Michael Hernandez, a defending national champion, and then Brandon Fieri who ended up winning the race. They were able to bridge across to make a final selection of nine. And so, you know, I and I'm the only one from our team at this event, right. So Miami Blazers had three guys in the break, you know, and everybody, everybody, every other team had two riders. So Texas Roadhouse had two in the break and CS fellow had two in the break.
Speaker 2:And you know so anyway. So I'm outnumbered and outgunned, and so whenever you're, whenever it's that way, you have to be very calculated in your efforts and you can't do anything stupid. And so there was a late flyer that went. But at that point, with there's so many like, with the amount of guys, you know the amount of teams that were represented no breaks were getting up the road.
Speaker 2:And so what hey? What ended up happening is I ended up making a position, making up, I think two wheels on the back stretch going into the last two corners, which is basically a you, because they were so close together. They were basically just kind of went and just made a big you. I was actually on brand of Fieri's wheel coming out of the last corner and he's he's been around for a long time, he's a former pro continental rider, has raised on, he raised on project Deserlon last year and he's he's he won the American Criterium Cup overall last season.
Speaker 1:So he's, he's a phenomenal racer, right and so he.
Speaker 2:He had a lead out from one of his teammates with about 300 meters to go. He jumps first and then I jump. You know, I jump with him and had had had some decent momentum. I felt like I was gaining, but I there was just not enough real estate to get there, and so I ended up. I ended up getting edged by. It was a round about about a bike length or so, but ended up taking second. So tough pill to swallow, especially since it's since a national championship Jersey is on the line.
Speaker 1:But man, you got to get that Stars and Stripes and wear it back to a wheeler. Oh, I know.
Speaker 2:It's got to be full circle now so. But you know it's it's. So coming up empty on a weekend like this is Harvard. At the same time, you find peace walking away from a weekend like that, knowing that you left it all on the road right and that you're a piece, knowing that you put yourself in position to win. Yeah, more importantly, but you just weren't able to, to to make it happen which is fine, like 100 winning at this level is so few and far between, because everybody is really really good and wants to win.
Speaker 2:But, just like I was telling you before we started here, if you continue to put yourself in position to win by Grace's, you're gonna win by Grace's. Yeah, it's just a matter of time, even though the the one that you win may not necessarily be the national championship right. But you're still that the concept remains.
Speaker 1:You know, and you got, you got beat, it's different.
Speaker 2:I'm losing. Yes, right, right, I got beat. That's the way I am. I'm like if I ever I.
Speaker 1:If I get beat, totally fine with it, right, but if I lose it, I'm not okay with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know two completely different things. Yeah for sure result, but they're two totally different. Totally agree, yeah, yeah, so all right.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you've listened to an episode or not, but we always wrap up with a Section called yard sale and so yard sale which hopefully you've not had too many of them and you stay on the road. So hopefully it hasn't been too bad Into the sport, that it's not gonna be horrible, fair enough, or it hasn't been too horrible you wouldn't still be going, I guess. Right, but the question we ask everybody some of these and they're just fast questions Okay, but they don't have to be fast answers, but okay.
Speaker 2:Favorite piece of equipment that costs under a hundred dollars, favorite piece of equipment that cost under a hundred dollars. Oh that's, that's a tough one, I have to say my arrow socks. Oh, nobody said that yet. What brand are they? Velotos our team. Our team has a has a sponsorship with velatoes and they have they make some of the best arrow socks on the market.
Speaker 1:So that's a good one. So arrow socks Um hardest event you've ever done hardest event I've ever done. Oh Gosh and it could even be running.
Speaker 2:It has not been cycling hardest event I've ever done was probably a tour of the Gila as a. I was on United still and I was racing as a category one to, and I did that race solo, which is a five-day stage race at altitude with hundred mile road races, a time trial and a crit over the course of five days with thousands and thousands of feet of climbing, and my body just basically just gave out on the last day because I was so exhausted from training and racing so hard at altitude, so that is definitely my father hardest Favorite place you've ever ridden.
Speaker 1:A bike doesn't have to be a race, just favorite place you've ever ridden.
Speaker 2:Favorite place I've ever ridden a bike man Malibu, California. Oh yeah, we had we with. When I was, when I was on United last season, we had a training camp in. We were bait based in Calabasas, but the, the, the weather is not only phenomenal but the climbing is and roads are just stunning. So yeah, that's, that's tough to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's hard to beat. Favorite event so far favorite event so far as we were, besides wheeler.
Speaker 2:You know it's, it's. It's easy for me to say speed week. Just just just because I had that experience, but also because I'd never done it before. Yeah, and I've had the opportunity to do some of the events this season that I've never had the opportunity to do before. So, yeah, that'll be my answer on that.
Speaker 1:What's a bucket list event?
Speaker 2:a bucket list event for me, us pro nationals. I've always wanted to make a make, a go at that, thought we, you know there was a chance that I was gonna do it this year. But, like I said, with the timing of you know, with our, our, our little girl coming into the picture here soon, it just the timing and did just. It didn't end up working out this season. So, yes, us pro nationals is to try to contest a podium at us pro nationals.
Speaker 1:Last one. I have a couple other questions. The last one on the yard sale Advice for a new crit racer advice for a new crit racer Do not become consumed with structured training.
Speaker 2:Immediately enjoy time riding the bike. Because, if you do not enjoy riding your bicycle and you try to progress through the ranks, it will be absolutely miserable and you won't enjoy it. What's?
Speaker 1:the what's the one technical piece of advice should give for, like in an actual race setting.
Speaker 2:Oh, positioning is everything. Typically I tell people at most races it's a good, it's a rule of thumb that I've tried to go by even racing to this day you want to be in an active position, you want to be at the front of the race, but not on the front of the race. So typically I say people stay within the top ten wheels. Okay, because if something goes up the road you're able to respond to it. So, technical piece of advice positioning is everything, especially in criteria and racing especially. More so if you're a sprinter. Positioning is everything. Again, I'm not a sprinter, so I can't attest all the technical technicalities was sprinting.
Speaker 1:But for for ten, for technicality, for racing, these crits, positioning what's the biggest difference you've seen as you've gone up the levels being clearly everyone's just faster, right, but inside of a race, what are some of the things that you've seen there?
Speaker 2:like man, I did not think this was, yes, gonna be such a thing people are willing to take risks that you've never seen before, and the amount of aggression in a race is a very real thing and the amount of times that I personally I have really never raced this way, but I'm learning to navigate it and I'm learning to not necessarily it's not fighting back, but it's holding your ground is the amount of Shoulder bumps and hip checks, and you know the fact that you're I mean you will get moved. If someone doesn't like the position that you're in and You're on a wheel that they don't like you, that they don't want you to be on, they will physically move you out of the way. Does that?
Speaker 1:like, just make you mad or frustrating. No it cuz it's extremely uncool and unsafe. Well, even though it's kind of part of it, it's it's, it's, it's it's part of racing. Yes, but it's so scary.
Speaker 2:Right it it is and there's, there's a right way to do it and there's a wrong way to do it. No, but a lot of the times you know, like it's advertised as the wrong way to do it, right, right. And so, yes, it is frustrating because you're like, hey, I'm right, here there's a gap that's clearly not big enough and that you want to fit in. But also there's there's an underlying amount of people, certain riders that have been around at this game for a long time and that have gotten the big time results, have an underlying respect from everybody else, and so Sometimes teams, even rival teams sometimes will even actually give them a little bit more space because of the of the reputation, right. And so you know, racing against guys, I mean, it's, it's really hard racing against, you know, teams like Legion of Los Angeles and American cycling and all the other big teams around, because they have guys that have won national titles Mm-hmm, they have so people won't bump them.
Speaker 2:Well, no, they will. But, at the same at the same time. I'm not I'm typically not one who is one to you know. Try to move people around now. Some of my teammates will and feel comfortable doing that.
Speaker 2:But what I've learned at this level is when, when you have, when you have $10,000 worth of prize money on the line, you find out really quickly that people are willing to take a lot of risk In order to go for that, because a lot of them I mean half of the field that that, that, at least that I, that I compete with on a daily basis All they do is race bikes like they get paid to race their bike, and so their paycheck depends on that and so sometimes you know they they're gonna take a lot of risk that, frankly, I'm not gonna take right because.
Speaker 2:I don't feel comfortable doing it, yeah, and I don't have enough experience to be able to flawlessly execute a tactical move like that so yeah, and so I think so it's just, it's, it's a whole. It's a whole different ballgame. But at the same time, I'm becoming more comfortable with it, you. You become more comfortable with it when you race in that environment often enough that and then it starts.
Speaker 2:It starts to become normal, but at the same time it raises your game right and so you know, you learn how to take a shoulder check or somebody checking your hip, and not panic. Hmm and you know, stay upright and still stay focused without crashing out half the field and sending 20 guys to the hospital, right right. Yeah so so you learn and it's. It's kind of a trial-by-fire thing, to be honest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's you know but you have to.
Speaker 2:Whenever there there's a concept in psychology called it's, systematic Desensitization is where you consistently expose yourself to an uncomfortable stimulus you naturally become more comfortable with it because you're exposed to it, so right and so that's what I kind of refer to, that this whole experience, as is Getting more used to an uncomfortable experience right for sure.
Speaker 1:So, right before you say all your thank-yous, what's, what's the what's the goal if you have, like everything works out perfect, it's all goes as planned. This is my big picture, right Like what's the end goal for all of the bike racing Journey yeah, man that's are you living it?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, no, I'm, I was there more well, I, you know it's. It's hard because I feel like there is more to be had, especially because I've only I haven't been, I haven't been racing for a very long time.
Speaker 2:You're still rookie, yeah, so it's at least in the pro ranks I'm good, so I'm still considered a rookie and so with the results that I've gotten, as it's kind of like you know, a taste of what could potentially, you know, become something that you know I'm able to do for for a long period of time and again, a lot of that is dependent on you know other variables, like my personal life, like right, my marriage with Maddie. You know, my, my ability to you know raise a.
Speaker 2:You know Raise a child you know, there's a lot of stuff that depends on that. But, and again, when I started, my goal is like okay, I want to do everything I possibly can to make it to the pro level, mm-hmm. And now here I am right. And so you know, there there is, there is more gain to be had in terms of, you know, elevating your, you know racing to potentially going over to Europe. And you know, the people can, we, can it Introduce that topic at some point. Is that in the cards? I very, I don't know at the moment, but at the same time, I am.
Speaker 2:I am but dream scenario that would be the dream but possibly possibly yes, but at the same time, I have really grown to enjoy racing domestically here in the US as well and doing all of these big you know a dot, you know racing these you know Criterium series that I've never had the opportunity to do and so and even and that's that's the American style of racing. Here there's more criterion focus whereas in Europe.
Speaker 2:They, you know, I heard at one time compared to in in Europe, it's it, it's a symphony, right, you have the tour, you know, you have the giro. Right are three weeks and they play the strings and it's long road races in the mountains and stuff like that. But in America it's loud, it's like punk rock on steroids and everyone jumps up and screams and you're going 30 miles an hour Bangin bars with guys for an hour and a half and it's you know, so yeah, it's totally different.
Speaker 2:But at the same time, whenever you're brought up in an environment like that, long enough you would, you eventually are. You know that's what you get used to, right. And so at the same time, you know I've grown quite fond of this, the style of racing here in the US, and so you know if, if, if, god willing, you know there's an opportunity to you know, stay here, also for the sake of my family and everything like that.
Speaker 2:You know I'd be more good I'd be. You know just as content you know staying here in racing you know, I'd, I'd love to continue to, you know, compete at this level and do you know all the all, the all the biggest races? You know, here, here, in the US? But you know at the same time, you know it changes the whole dynamic when you're not just doing it as a hobby anymore. And again, I love riding my bike and racing my bike.
Speaker 2:But at the same time, whenever you start to introduce the possibility of, you know, providing for somebody, providing for your family, that changes the whole that's different, changes the whole dynamic, which is why I've never stopped working full-time and will not stop working full-time. Unless there's an extreme circumstances because, I have to provide for my family and I'm okay with that because just what it is.
Speaker 1:It's just it's just.
Speaker 2:It's just, it's just is what it is, and I have something that I look forward to off the bike and it keeps my life balanced a hundred percent and so, and I think a Lot of guys, you know they, they live the quote-unquote, the pro lifestyle to where all they do is go on coffee rides, you know before races and right can ride their bike 30 hours a week and they don't have any, you know any responsibility.
Speaker 2:Whatever I'm like, you know what? Hey, great, that's great for you. Man, like, like more power to you, like sometimes I wish I could do that right, but at the same time I have a wife who loves me, I have the privilege of having my own family, I have a house, right, I have you're not living in a van with three other guys exactly, and I have a stable source of income. I have insurance.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't have to bump bars, right? Yeah, so yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't nest, I don't need this, but at the same time, I really, really do enjoy and love what. I'm doing and it's, it's, you know it's, and so that perspective, I think, has kept me, kept me grounded, moving forward and so. But, like I said, I want to take this as far as I possibly can, because very, very few people get opportunities like what I'm getting to do right now.
Speaker 2:And I intend to take full advantage of that and to give everything that I possibly can in order to have you know, have that success and not only that, but to prove that guys like me who work full-time- mm-hmm. Can make it. Yeah at this level and in my and my hope is to Inspire others to get on bikes, and not just bikes, but to pursue big dreams. Mm-hmm, because you know it like it's, it's, it's okay to have Outrageously big goals. Yeah, I Go out and try to make it happen. You know there are dreamers and there are doers.
Speaker 2:Like you could have dreams, but it doesn't mean anything if you don't go out and do it right, like do Just, you know, continue to put yourself in position, you know to, to, to set yourself up for success, and so that's, that's been my whole kind of mantra. You know, just moving forward and all this is, you know, we had a saying in college where we are grateful for everything and we are entitled to nothing, a hundred percent. And that mentality going forward is when, when people see that they have that, they, that you have, that you have somebody who has that kind of attitude going forward, people will bend over backwards to help you and that's what I've experienced Ever since I started.
Speaker 1:Well, you don't have from the outside, looking in, you do not have the typical Rody personality, which is a breath of fresh air. It's wonderful.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, it's wonderful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I appreciate it, it's fun because we're starting to see more and more runners locally and it's a lot more on the women's side, but also in the start.
Speaker 1:A lot of runners are now starting to come into the multi sport scene, which I have not sure, and it's just kind of it's all sick, look like in a cycle that happens all the time, right, right, but right now, in that the runner personality coming into cycling and endurance and multi sport is refreshing, right, it's much more positive, it's much more inclusive, it's much more happy and smiling, right for sure, fun filled instead of serious and yeah, and like thinking they're bigger and better than they are right, and I don't know what it is about that running World beforehand. That is coming over, but it bleeds over and it there is something to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure refreshing. No, it's so nice to see that. Thank you, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1:Thank you for taking time out to come to do this.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely so, especially a quick turnaround. Yeah, I appreciate it Absolutely, I know.
Speaker 1:I mean, you've said thank you to a lot of the local guys, but any of your teammates or sponsors or anything else, yeah, I want to say wrap up with yeah, no, absolutely.
Speaker 2:You know, I want to say you know, want to say thank you. I mean, I could sit here for another 45 minutes and say thank you to each. You know everyone, you know individually, but I have been blessed by so many people who have both, who have contributed me to my success with time and both financially. And you know, I, like I said that I alluded to earlier, I would not be here today if it weren't for this Oklahoma City cycling community who has believed in me. Well on, that thing.
Speaker 1:I will say that they are very. It is noticed and appreciated when you come back and do Wheeler.
Speaker 2:Oh, well, that is come from several people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm not me, from several people that you race with right and they're like man. It is so cool that he comes back on races with us right, like we love whenever he shows up.
Speaker 2:So yeah, they may not say that to you, but it is very much appreciated that, that, that that truly does mean a lot and you know it's, it's, it's cool just to to to talk to people like we're having this conversation right now.
Speaker 1:Like I'm just an average guy like I mean ride the bike yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm just, I'm a guy who likes to ride bikes like that, and that's that's the whole. Like that's the whole. You know. Reason that we're here is we love. We love to ride and race bikes. And so, and it's cool to share that with other people who also love to race and ride bikes Mm-hmm and and so.
Speaker 2:But you know, and when it comes to you know the, you know the team, I can't thank the management team enough Dino Piscopana, steve Ramirez, steven Jetty, ted Horowitz as well. Like they, the management team, they, I, I felt like they, they, they, they Wrist something on me because I hadn't had the experience of racing in this P1 Propelleton before and they took a chance on me. Seems to have paid off. Well, I mean, I, I like to, I like to think so, but the I, I like. I said I would not be here Doing this wearing, you know, the jersey that I'm wearing now, having the opportunity to race at these big races, if it weren't for them and it weren't for their willingness to take a chance on me and I am utterly honored, humbled and grateful Just just for the opportunity, regardless of what you know I'm able to do, going forward here, this I've, this has been such a huge blessing for me personally and you know to.
Speaker 2:To Look who's our bike sponsor. They provide us with the best bikes, the, you know it's the, the highest quality bike brand on the market for for Mike and the whole butcher box Organization for giving us, you know the the opportunity and the financial backing to be able to do this and providing us with, you know, very high quality meat products and, you know, the, the fuel that we need to race at this high level. You know, and all of our, all the other sponsors that we have on board soldier, unlimited ride, a hundred percent, bird sport, lactigo, good year. I mean all of all of these, all of these companies have played a role in my success with the, you know, with the confidence that they place in us, and to be able to give them a return on their investment is Something, something truly special. It's pretty cool. Oh, it's just, it's utterly amazing.
Speaker 1:Thanks, thanks so much. Keep the amazing attitude. It's so refreshing. Thank you, it's so noticed and it's been a pleasure to meet you. Oh, yeah, yeah, story.
Speaker 2:No, absolutely. Thank you again for for having me and I hope, I hope people are able to you know and enjoy this and, you know, not necessarily learn something, but just being being able to it, to enjoy a different perspective, just just on all this. So thank you so much again for having me.
Speaker 1:I love it. Thanks, all right, thanks.