Imagine pedaling through the thrills and spills of competitive cycling with a rising star as your guide. That's exactly what we're bringing to your ears as Ryan "Ry Ry" Drummond, a prodigious cyclist from Oklahoma City/Bentonville, joins us to share his journey from mastering bunny hops to conquering international races. Ryan's narrative isn't just about the bike; it's a family affair, with a National Champion dad, Pro Racer sister and mom who is working to help develop the next generation with USAC. Together, we unpack the contrasts between American and European cyclocross, with Ryan's firsthand experiences highlighting the unique demands of each racing culture.
Turning the gears through the episode, we get an intimate look at the mechanics of what drives a young cyclist. Ryan's evolution through the ranks, from junior races to elite challenges, reveals not only the physical trials but also the mental fortitude required to excel. His musings on the technical acumen needed for cyclocross, his unwavering passion, and the juggling act between fun and competition offer a candid glimpse into a racer's soul. Moreover, Ryan's reflections on the cycling communities of Oklahoma and Arkansas showcase how regional dynamics can shape a rider's path and personal growth. Through injuries and racing discipline transitions, he has emerged with a broader, more rounded perspective on the sport he loves.
As we cruise to the finish line of our chat, Ryan's enthusiasm shifts to his future aspirations and the practical steps he's taking to achieve them. He's ready to share the strategies behind his adrenaline-fueled 24-hour races and the rewarding experiences he's had mentoring young cyclists in Bentonville's bike school. With sights firmly set on the USA team and the professional circuit, Ryan doesn't hold back on his dreams or the hard work ahead. His European racing tales are just a precursor to the goals he's pedaling towards, with each pedal stroke fueled by dedication, strategy, and the sheer joy of cycling. For enthusiasts and dreamers alike, this episode is not just a window into an athlete's world; it's a pedal-powered inspiration.
Instagram @Ryan_drummond
Imagine pedaling through the thrills and spills of competitive cycling with a rising star as your guide. That's exactly what we're bringing to your ears as Ryan "Ry Ry" Drummond, a prodigious cyclist from Oklahoma City/Bentonville, joins us to share his journey from mastering bunny hops to conquering international races. Ryan's narrative isn't just about the bike; it's a family affair, with a National Champion dad, Pro Racer sister and mom who is working to help develop the next generation with USAC. Together, we unpack the contrasts between American and European cyclocross, with Ryan's firsthand experiences highlighting the unique demands of each racing culture.
Turning the gears through the episode, we get an intimate look at the mechanics of what drives a young cyclist. Ryan's evolution through the ranks, from junior races to elite challenges, reveals not only the physical trials but also the mental fortitude required to excel. His musings on the technical acumen needed for cyclocross, his unwavering passion, and the juggling act between fun and competition offer a candid glimpse into a racer's soul. Moreover, Ryan's reflections on the cycling communities of Oklahoma and Arkansas showcase how regional dynamics can shape a rider's path and personal growth. Through injuries and racing discipline transitions, he has emerged with a broader, more rounded perspective on the sport he loves.
As we cruise to the finish line of our chat, Ryan's enthusiasm shifts to his future aspirations and the practical steps he's taking to achieve them. He's ready to share the strategies behind his adrenaline-fueled 24-hour races and the rewarding experiences he's had mentoring young cyclists in Bentonville's bike school. With sights firmly set on the USA team and the professional circuit, Ryan doesn't hold back on his dreams or the hard work ahead. His European racing tales are just a precursor to the goals he's pedaling towards, with each pedal stroke fueled by dedication, strategy, and the sheer joy of cycling. For enthusiasts and dreamers alike, this episode is not just a window into an athlete's world; it's a pedal-powered inspiration.
Instagram @Ryan_drummond
What is up you beautiful cycling people? Thank you so much for listening to another episode. This one's pretty fun and we get into some really good stuff on this episode with Rai Rai, or Ryan Drummond as he is known at this point in his adult life Not the bunny hop wizard that we all in Oklahoma City have known him by for many, many years, but sitting down with Ryan was super fun. I went to Bentonville to ride and the Drummond family is just an amazing group of people and I absolutely love them. They're one of my favorite families, seriously, that I've ever met and I know we've done an episode with Chris and if you have not listened to that, please go back and listen to it. He's a national champion and I don't even know how many times state champion in Oklahoma works for Ally. He does some really cool stuff. Vanessa Mama Drummond she works for USA Cycling is doing incredible things. He's really plugged in on the inside scoop of everything and the inside grassroots of all the things that are going on in cycling in a Bentonville and youth development those kinds of things. Aubrey is out racing pro women's racing all over the US and actually has gone to Europe recently and we will hopefully have an episode with Aubrey coming really, really soon. I just got to get back out to Bentonville and sit down and do that before she gets too busy with her race schedule, so I know that's coming fast, so but Ryan, we sit down.
Speaker 1:Ryan is 17 man. He is an up and comer when it comes to crushing souls, and especially in this part of the country and probably everywhere in the US. Ryan I knew Ryan since he was little bitty guy just trolling around at the tour to dirt races, bunny, hopping on everything, jumping on everything, bouncing off of all the rocks on his bike, and we were just like what the heck? This kid's like 10 years old and I don't even have a clue what kind of skills he has. Well, ryan has grown up into a big young man and those skills now have a lot of power behind them. So it is going to be extremely exciting to watch what he continues to do. He wants to be a professional and I think the sky's a limit for for him and everyone in his family. So this was his first podcast. This was his first version of doing anything like this, so it was really cool to be able to to sit down with him and talk to him and just kind of hear how how his goals are developing and how he's going to chase those goals. He gets to go. He got to go to Europe recently this winter and race cycle across. So we really get into the differences in racing in Europe compared to the US and the style of racing and the cool things that he got to see over there, and so it's really really, really fun to sit down with Ryan.
Speaker 1:So I hope you enjoy this episode. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, please let me know. We have some great episodes lined up. The next couple are going to blow your socks off. We're recording them this next week so they will all be loaded up and ready to rock through March. You're gonna be super pumped about the episodes we have.
Speaker 1:Next episode we'll also have an announcement with the next progression of cycling Oklahoma. I hope it will be an amazing resource for our community and I will be open for any feedback and suggestions once this project launches for ways that we can make it better and serve our local cycling community in Oklahoma better and give more resources to get people on bikes and get them out exploring the world on two wheels and enjoying what our amazing state has to offer. So please look for that. Please tune in for the next episode, and the next episode will have a special guest like when I say a special guest, I mean like a real special guest, because it will be conversations that we normally do with Dumb and Dumber me and Alan and but we're bringing in a special guest for that episode. And so if you have any suggestions, any topics or anything that you want to hear three fools ramble about, please send me a DM, slide into the DMs, let me know what you want to hear. Or if you want us to make fun of you or anybody in your group that we need to talk, trash on. We are open to suggestions and topics.
Speaker 1:So this episode, just like all of our previous episodes, is brought to you by more overhead door amazing company. They are supporting us. They are the ones that are really allowing us to do these extra things by being able to sit down and record remote podcasts, record with multiple guests and to be able to launch this next project. The sponsorship dollars that they do give we are putting right back into the cycling community. That is not going into my pocket in any way, shape or form. It is going to grow our community and develop this amazing sport that we do and to help people get out and play bikes.
Speaker 1:So more overhead door. I cannot thank you enough if you have any garage door needs. You're building a new house, you need repairs, your door just sucks and you want a new one. Please give these guys a call, because without them, we would not be doing what we're doing and the projects that we have in the pipeline would not happen, because I would not be able to flip the bill for him. So more overhead door. They're supporting us. Please support them.
Speaker 1:Phone number is 405-799-9214 405-799-9214. You can Google them more, just like the town overhead door. They will take care of you and please let them know that you heard, heard it here, or you got their name or recommendation from the podcast and that will help continue their sport. Know that their dollars are are working for them. So greatly appreciate you listening. Thank you so much again. If you have any suggestions, any recommendations, I am all ears. Follow us on social, leave us a review on anywhere that you listen to this podcast and hopefully this will continue to grow and we will reach out to more and more crazy folks that are out there exploring. And remember, be nice, go play bikes and enjoy some life. Alright, rai Rai, this one's gonna be good. We're gonna get the whole family done before long. I didn't realize sister was in town, so maybe we'll get hers done soon too. But we're gonna get the whole drumming clan on the podcast at one point. Really, we need to have a mama mama drumming on the podcast definitely that would be.
Speaker 2:Actually, she would probably have the most stories for sure. Yeah, that'd be good to have her take on. She soaks a lot of the stuff in, more than we do.
Speaker 1:Yeah it'd be good to have her take on the on the, the behind the scenes of a race, and family. Yeah, I had to do that. Maybe we can do that whenever we do your sisters. So, for those who don't know, you know Rai Rai, ryan drumming, we're in Bentonville, sitting here and you just had an amazing experience in Europe which we're gonna get back to. But I want us to kind of go back, like I said when we started, or me and you were start talking tonight, you have basically been on a bike forever. Yeah, do you remember a time you weren't riding a bike?
Speaker 2:not really, no, and you're how old now 17?
Speaker 1:17, that junior yep man, this is yeah just your junior, yeah, okay, when did you start, like when was your first race?
Speaker 2:because I've seen some of your pictures at your dad posts and they're hilarious yeah, I really don't know what my first race was, but I know I was on training wheels. It was probably like a Twitter kids cup or something like that yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:The when did you finally like realize like man race, like bicycles is the kind of like my thing um, probably when I was old enough to like actually like sign up in like a category, I said I'm out my grace, I've always like. I've always like racing and been a competitive person always mountain biking. Yeah, it was mountain biking. We didn't get in the cross until I was a little bit older, so then you never really have done road or crit stuff yeah, just local stuff yeah oh, actually your crit, it's crit state champion.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just remembered that. Uh huh, that was this year, right?
Speaker 2:yep, cat for, cat for yeah, arkansas wanted to do three but couldn't get the upgrade points in time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good thing mm-hmm, are you cat three now? No, how many more points do you? I have no idea.
Speaker 2:That didn't give that way a lot of. I don't know well, if you cat up, it just gets harder yeah, I don't know if I'm gonna be in the cat three race or not.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm, scary yeah, just keep winning, cat for until I make you go up, yeah so you guys started in Oklahoma City, mm-hmm, and that's kind of where you kind of started racing and and getting into doing all the things did, and then you guys move to Tulsa. How old were you when you moved to Tulsa? Um 10 or 11, I think okay and then you guys were there for I don't know, three or four years yeah, four years, okay and then moved to Bentonville uh-huh, how long you guys been out here.
Speaker 2:I think we're going into year number four already yeah day or four. Wow, do you like it here? Yeah, it's fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I bet it's like well, especially like in Oklahoma City, really didn't have anybody to ride with yeah, I like Michael Watkins, but we lived really far away so we didn't get to ride is he the tall? Is he the kid in Tulsa?
Speaker 2:he's in Colorado now. He's in.
Speaker 1:Colorado. Yeah, who's the people? He was long-haired blonde kid, I think. He was in Tulsa and he was a cross guy. He would show up into the mountain bike stuff too, he's. He meant he's a little bit older than you, but I always remember there was always a couple of kids that were really fast at the Tour de Dirt stuff, but I cannot think of his name um, yeah, I don't remember I don't remember.
Speaker 2:I don't remember his name either, so whenever you start Tate and what is it?
Speaker 1:Tate and Parker yeah, that's it, yeah, yeah. Whenever you started on your Tour de Dirt stuff in Oklahoma City, what did you start in the kids stuff, or did you kind of jump in to the cat three?
Speaker 2:I started, I did the junior races probably for two years, and then I jumped in the cat three. What, how old were you when you did cat three? Um, eight or nine probably.
Speaker 1:Oh really yeah, I do remember before you guys left, and I was really excited that we weren't in the same age group, because I, because it was getting close because I was cat three and I was like we're getting he's like starting to catch me and I just cannot get beat by this like little kid for sure. So yeah, that that would have sucked. I'm glad that you guys left before that happens, or you cat it out. I think you cat it up before that was gonna happen. I think that's what happened. You do that. You like the endurance stuff or the short stuff.
Speaker 2:I like the short stuff, I like racing endurance, but I like racing shorter stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a lot more do you any short track stuff or just like the XC stuff?
Speaker 2:um, there's not like a ton of short track racing like I go to. I'll probably do more this year, but mainly XC yeah is.
Speaker 1:And then once you got out here, you did some Enduro or downhill kind of things. Yeah, I did.
Speaker 2:I tried to do Enduro right when I moved here, but I broke my arm and then my wrist, so I missed two seasons and then I finally got to it and I did bike. One was a bike accident and then one was playing basketball yeah, is that okay?
Speaker 1:let me ask you this. So is it always just been cycling, or have you played other thing, other sports?
Speaker 2:I played soccer a little bit when I was younger, but it was kind of just like to entertain me because I wasn't riding my bike like a ton then because I was younger, but yeah, it's pretty much just been yeah and the and the scooter, yeah.
Speaker 1:I did ride scooters a lot yeah, I remember seeing all the videos of that I like going to the skate park and stuff on my scooter.
Speaker 2:You still do that, not as much. I crashed like a year and a half go and hurt my knee pretty bad and I was like that was the end. I yeah, I don't want to.
Speaker 1:I don't do this again. Hmm, what was like the best trick you could do on scooter?
Speaker 2:I wasn't that good I could do like a double tail whip. That was probably the best I could do.
Speaker 1:How many times did you just send that thing right into your shins?
Speaker 2:I. I know that's like the main thing for scooters, but I really never did it. Really, if I knew I wasn't gonna get my feet on, I kept it far away.
Speaker 1:So Did you? When did you pick up the scooter, cuz I remember seeing it on social.
Speaker 2:Um, a while ago, like I remember, I had a razor scooter and me and my dad spray painted it to make it like look cooler. So I rode that for a while and then my parents could tell I started destroying it, so they got me like an actual scooter and then okay, I started. That's when I actually started like going to the skate park and Gotcha and then whenever.
Speaker 1:When did you get into cross? Was that still when you were guys were in Oklahoma City, or was it when you got it? Got into Tulsa? It was when we're in Oklahoma City. Okay, and then what made you get into that? Just thought it'd be something else fun to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think my dad just started racing it, so I mean. Aubrey just followed along.
Speaker 1:Did you which one you enjoy more the mountain bike or this cross?
Speaker 2:Um, I like racing cross more. Why is that? It just I Don't know it kind of sucks, it's really hard, but I just I just like find enjoyment, especially like Every lap you have to like pick new lines, you have to raise smarter, like. That's why I like about it. Yeah mountain bike.
Speaker 1:You kind of just go through everything once and then yeah, yeah, do well, just kind of like we were talking with your sister before the started, do you? Is it fun while you're doing it, or is it just more fun when you're done? It depends on the race, like cross, because, because I feel like it's fun when I'm done.
Speaker 2:I have a lot of fun when I'm racing cross, but like if I'm just having a terrible race, then it sucks. It's definitely one of those like if you're flowing and like doing good, then it's fun, but if you're not, then it's it's not fun at all.
Speaker 1:I mean, I kind of suck at it. So I think maybe that's why it's not as fun, because it's like I'm riding as hard as I possibly can, I'm going so slow, yeah, and I'm on the verge of like wrecking in every corner. It feels like I haven't done it in quite quite a few years. So now I spent more time on the mountain bike. I think it would be better, but it's just so hard.
Speaker 2:You have to be dialed in for sure and fitness has to be good, or it's kind of be really hard, like, yeah, the really high-end fitness is not my favorite.
Speaker 1:Like that explosive Anerobic is not my favorite feeling in the world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you can't stand out every turn, it's, it's gonna be rough.
Speaker 1:Do you enjoy that feeling more than, like I'm just wiped out an exhausted feeling more Because you know what I'm talking about?
Speaker 2:So like if I.
Speaker 1:I enjoy kind of like a longer Stip and I think it comes from because I started in this with multi sport, so like doing like a Hard zone three, zone four for as long as I can possibly hold it. I enjoy that kind of like misery way more than like a really hard short climb. Yeah, I don't think I don't think I enjoy the long.
Speaker 2:You don't like the like long steady-state stuff. Afterwards I'm like that was a good effort, like I feel good about it, but in the moment I'm just like I get I get bored. I'm like I want this be over.
Speaker 1:Do you when, when, when you guys move to Tulsa, you were finally getting you know a little bit older and and kind of developing a little bit More? Is that when you kind of realize like man, I'm actually like I want to continue to push on this, or is it, was it still more of just like playing and fun?
Speaker 2:It was like kind of both. I was like starting to get old enough to like actually be training, but I was also like at that age I wasn't like pushing it super hard. I started training with Mark Terukin when we moved there and he was really good about just like keeping it fun, not like we I would do like rides that would keep me in shape, but not like kill myself going and doing intervals.
Speaker 1:So I like an example of so you, because you were, I mean when you were like 12 or so, you were there, yeah, like that was right before you guys moved and you were you working with a coach, then no, I wasn't okay.
Speaker 2:When did you start working with a coach? Probably when I was like 13, like getting close to 40 and what kind of like workouts was he giving you? It was more just like he'd give me like ride, just go like playing the sand, or like I would go ride with him.
Speaker 1:We do like hell repeats, or like go Do like a mile as hard as I could stuff like that gotcha, because I'm sure there's people that listen to this, that have kids, that you know that the parents ride, and so they want to get their kids riding, or and they don't really know how to get Because you have to walk that fine line of like pushing the kid but not, yeah, pushing them too far.
Speaker 2:Really like back then, like me and Malachi Jackson would go riding and we just like spring each other the whole time. So, like we were getting intervals in, only we didn't even notice it and you're just having fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're just playing bikes. Yeah, yeah, when did it start getting structured?
Speaker 2:Really, this past year was my first like four-year of structured train.
Speaker 1:So everything really to this point has been like you need to go out and do a long day today or you need to go like do some climbing today or that kind of stuff. Okay, how does a coach coach you with that kind of loose plan?
Speaker 2:Um, I think it was kind of just like more like me like saying I had a coach, like he wasn't doing a ton, but he was definitely like keeping me going. Yeah, there's just like accountability. Yeah, okay, it's just like kind of getting me used to like the Structure training stuff gotcha.
Speaker 1:When did you start seeing like result? Cuz, whenever you were in Tulsa you were kind of that 12, 13 year old age group what. What category were you like in cross and mountain biking at that point?
Speaker 2:Um, I was probably. I was three, four for cross, then Mm-hmm at a mountain bike.
Speaker 1:I was probably a two yeah and then Are you one on the mountain bike? Yeah, and then one on the cross, yeah. Okay, when did you move up to a one on the mountain bike? I think this past year I moved up to one on which you're here, okay, Um, going from the Oklahoma scene to the to Arkansas, what have you seen as being the biggest difference in the races?
Speaker 2:They're not that much different. Like the Oklahoma, races are definitely a much bigger crowd and there's really yeah, there's a Lot more community. That is there like it's weird up more and like people come out watch here. It's kind of just like the family's come and the only the kids that race will come and stuff.
Speaker 1:I would have never thought that. Yeah, is it because everybody out here is just Tourists and there's other people just don't really race as much?
Speaker 2:I think it just like XC isn't the biggest scene here like a lot of people ride, but not that many people actually go race, so it's like weird. Yeah, why do you think that is? I'm not sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you guys have Enduro race or downhill and Duro Enduro. Yeah, okay for people that don't know what's the difference between, like XC and Enduro.
Speaker 2:So Enduro is like you ride to each stage, which it's like here, like a 30 second to a minute stage, and You'll do like 10 stages of downhill trails and you're going as fast as you can down them in their time, like just the downhill segments time, but you ride from stage to stage and they could be, however far apart.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's just you have. Do you have to just get there in a certain time frame, or is it just get there when you get there?
Speaker 2:The races here is kind of just get there. When you get there, like I end up finishing most of the races like in 40 minutes to an hour because I just go ride it, but a lot of people like party and like wait at the top of each stage for like 10 minutes, which I can't do. I get too bored.
Speaker 1:So, and they're just kind of there for it's more of just like a fun thing and yeah, I mean I guess you could ride at the top and wait, get your breath back and get settled in and then yeah, kind of the more like Like the EWS, like Enduro World Series and stuff like those races are A lot more challenging because they like climate, mountains and stuff.
Speaker 2:But yeah, here it's more just a party.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've watched a few of those. I watched the pink bike stuff on YouTube, which and the pink bike Academy and yeah, I like super cool. Yeah, I don't know anything about that world, but it's super entertaining to watch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that show my dad hates it, but really yeah.
Speaker 1:I think, it's.
Speaker 2:He just thinks it's corny. I hate frown town.
Speaker 1:Why does he? Why do you have to German? Why do you have to hate things that are that are cool? I know what pink bike Academy. But it's like In that kind of stuff, is it? Do they have to be at the top in a certain time frame? Or like why can't? Why do they ride uphill so hard?
Speaker 2:That, that I think it was just like more like for the show entertainment. Yeah, but they normally are just like cruising at the top.
Speaker 1:But and then you get there I think those bigger races.
Speaker 2:There are time cutoffs and stuff like.
Speaker 1:Enduro is like it feels like a Bunch of like Bros that wanted to make it a race. Yeah. Where the downhill is like sketch, yeah, those Courses are like those guys are serious.
Speaker 2:I freaking you crash on that and you're, you're bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but the Enduro is like a bunch of bros get together like let's just see who's faster and like just gonna play around. Seems like a much more chill vibe yeah.
Speaker 2:I liked it, but I Like. I like head-on-head racing a lot more so, because you don't know who won.
Speaker 1:What are you doing here, Puppers?
Speaker 2:because you don't really know who went until like later huh, yeah, which that's what sucks for me is like a lot of kids will just like cruise around, but I'll get it done super fast. I'll like go home, take a shower. He come back and they're like just now getting in.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, that sucks. Yeah, they do a little Enduro thing down at Madison Park Every year, but I've never gone down there because I'm scared of that place.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not, definitely not gonna ride downhill. I haven't been there in a long time, but I don't remember great stories.
Speaker 1:No, you need a downhill bike for that place, because it's so rocky and, yeah, yeah, it's nasty as far as. So when you, when you guys, moved out here, how did that change your cycling?
Speaker 2:So when we first moved here, I was like an Enduro bro, for sure, I just don't wanted to go on do jumps, so I lost like a ton of my fitness from racing and and then we had been here for like a month and that was when I broke my arm Okay, and I was off the bike for three to four months. I got back on, I did a full cross season and I was like I was out of shape.
Speaker 1:I was just going relying on my skill and then I broke my wrist and I was off for like two to three months from that and Then once I got going from that is when I did my first Enduro Okay season whenever, whenever you guys, since you've been here, have you fallen in love with a bike more because there's more of a community here, like there's more kids your age that are race with, or is it just kind of like continued and it's just been Fun just to slide into a community?
Speaker 2:Um, I mean I definitely have found, like I like lost my racing spirit. I feel like when I got here, like my competitiveness, like I just like when I broke my arm, I just like I got kind of lazy and like it was just kind of depressing, like I just moved a bit and Bill and I was off the bike for a year and a half, pretty much Right. So this past like year and a half I've definitely like got back into racing and it's definitely helped me like start training and get motivated.
Speaker 2:Is there is there a big group of kids that ride out here? There is. It's like it's not we. No one really rides together that often. It's kind of like it's really like spread apart. That's weird yeah. There's a lot of egos in bit and bill. So, that's true, it makes it hard sometimes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, is it? Is there? Is it really competitive, like with your within the kid group? Um, like under 18, I guess?
Speaker 2:I would say it's like, you mean like our speeds against well, like in your group.
Speaker 1:I mean, is there like a handful of kids that really push each other? There's a good group.
Speaker 2:I would say like there's like three different groups within that, though.
Speaker 1:Okay Well, because there's there's the teams out here, right yeah, because I mean in Oklahoma it's really like everybody, there's not really a team. I mean really yeah, or there's definitely not two.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there's no competitiveness there.
Speaker 1:Everybody's kind of like against each other. But here you have several junior or development teams, yeah, and so you got a little bit of separation there. Is that like good for the sport or do you feel like that's kind of like a little bit you? You get a little bit of the roadie scene into the dirt scene. That's not yeah, it's the way, the spirit of the dirt, the local races.
Speaker 2:You can definitely tell like they separate each other, which I've never been in, that I don't really care, I'll be friends with everybody. But yeah, you can definitely tell there's like some separation there. It kind of sucks, yeah.
Speaker 1:Is there a handful of kids your age that really push each other? Yeah, do you enjoy that, or?
Speaker 2:like yeah, I enjoy it sometimes yeah, sometimes it can. The ego is getting the way.
Speaker 1:Like I said. But is it? Is it mainly on the mountain bike?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Okay, no one here like they. Some of the kids do some like gravel stuff, but really mountain bike is the main.
Speaker 1:Okay, it's the main thing, but is it the Enduro or the XC?
Speaker 2:XC, xc. I don't really like. I actually sold my Enduro bike so I don't even have an Enduro bike anymore. Okay, I don't really like do any of that that much anymore. Right, I don't even go jump my bike that often. But yeah, it's definitely more towards XC side of that, okay, the.
Speaker 1:And then how's the cross scene out here?
Speaker 2:There's not one. Weird Like we tried we put on that race here and we had a few like like weeknight races. There'd be like 20 people that came out, but yeah, there's not really a scene.
Speaker 1:Do you think that's something that'll build it over time, or do you think it's just not the place?
Speaker 2:for it? I don't, I don't think it's really the place for it, like. Maybe they brought the World Cup to Fayetteville, yeah which was weird because like people came and watched, but no one wanted to. Like continue that. Interesting, so it's like a lot of people like to do the cool thing around here, which mountain biking is the cool thing.
Speaker 1:Well, now they're getting really wants to try something new. Yeah, now it's becoming the gravel thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of people are going towards gravel and off the trails, yeah, interesting the.
Speaker 1:And then you'll have, you'll hosted, a race out here this year and it's actually part of the Oklahoma series. Yep, yeah, how was that?
Speaker 2:It was good. We actually had a pretty good turnout, but it was a lot of like just people curious and bikes. It wasn't like like a. There wasn't really any juniors like. My. Jet came out like me and Isaiah had a good race, but yeah there wasn't really any local juniors that came out to it Gotcha.
Speaker 1:All right, so let's talk about some of your fun races that you've done, because you've done some cool ones. Actually, before we get into your races, let's talk about your job that you recently had. Was that your first job? Which one You're well at Allied.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was my first real job, big kid job, first real job, yeah.
Speaker 1:So you got to work at Allied. This was just a summer job. I'm still working.
Speaker 2:You're still there.
Speaker 1:Yep, okay, so what? What all have you? What tasks have you done there?
Speaker 2:I've done a lot. So I started off in the sanding booth like hand sanding bikes, and then I moved to the presses, which is like the molds and stuff. I worked those two for most of the summer, just like helping out in different areas. And then recently my main job is running, like there's a sanding robot there and I run that and stuff. Do you love it? Yeah, it's fun working there.
Speaker 1:It's pretty cool, yeah, like your dad hooked me up one time when I came out and I got to go see I mean I've never seen a factory. Yeah, especially, you know, like anything like that, especially man, it is so freaking cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's overwhelming, for sure, now it, now that I'm there, it feels a lot smaller, but when I first started working there, I'm like, oh my gosh, this place huge.
Speaker 1:It's. It's just it's amazing how much work it takes to put and make a frame. Yeah yeah, and then all the supplies that goes into that. It's crazy yeah.
Speaker 2:And it seems like it all seems like so much easier now that I've worked there for a while, because it's like I've kind of like helped with everything. I just like I'm that person. When someone like needs extra help, they come and ask me yeah, I don't have like a designated job.
Speaker 1:It's just fill in wherever it's needed, which that's actually more fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's cool because I kind of get to learn everything, everything, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's not boring.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. Booth the old man out and take his position at some point. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Do you think that you're?
Speaker 1:my boss right now.
Speaker 2:So it's kind of nice.
Speaker 1:You better be nice. He's in the other room. You're good. Do you think you want to stay doing something in the bike industry?
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely Like, my goal is to go prone by gracing and make my living off of that. But yeah, I definitely want to stay in the bike industry and then after that.
Speaker 1:Do you see yourself like after it? Say the pro career works out and you get to do that and at some point it's over, you know at 35 or 40 or whatever it ends up being. Do you see yourself wanting to do Like a gravel I mean, who knows what's going to be around at that point but a gravel, privateer kind of vibe. Or do you want to go back into working like in a shop or like in a factory, like how you're doing now, like what do you see happening long term? Or what's the goal long term after the after? Say everything works out on the pro career.
Speaker 2:Um, I haven't thought about it at all, but I've always kind of had in the back of my mind I'd like to be a coach one day, maybe.
Speaker 1:Well, that's a perfect lead in, because you guys were helping with bike school Bentonville with what I called this past year, last couple years, and you were coaching juniors and stuff like that. How did you, how did you enjoy that?
Speaker 2:It was fun. It was like working with little kids, so it was. It was really cool taking them on trails and just like getting a pass on the knowledge I have to them. How old Um, I worked with pretty much every age, so starting with like five to six to 10.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, I mean I asked you for tips whenever we started. So I'm probably going to Bentonville 10 year old skills range, so I will take all the all the knowledge and help I can get. I mean, that's such a need and it's going to continue to grow out here, so I think it's going to be huge. You want to do, you want to continue to do like the skills thing or you want to do like training plans and all that kind of stuff too.
Speaker 2:I probably like training plans, like I could definitely see like doing like one on one stuff maybe, but more like training plans and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you plan on going to college or do you want to try to race?
Speaker 2:I'm not not in my side right now. Yeah, it's not what it's all in on the bike stuff.
Speaker 1:So, getting into the, into the races, um, and we well, you pointed out, and it's a great one I feel like it's going to be a great thing to talk about, since I'm talking about mountain biking Did the 24 hours and old Pueblo. You guys did as a team, yeah, and was it five person team? Four person team? I don't remember what it is? Five. And your dad was part of the team. Yep, yeah, you guys went out and had a pretty good day. Uh huh, how many miles did you guys ride?
Speaker 2:Um, I have no idea. I know I rode like 40 to 50, but I don't know by yourself and everybody did you all take?
Speaker 1:and it's basically 24 hours same course. Whoever rides the most miles wins essentially. And you guys won, yep, which is ridiculous. To win that race, uh huh. Did your dad win it with Malot one time, I don't know, like him and Troy, and then went out there, but I don't remember if they won or not. I don't. Yeah, I don't remember if they won but they went out there. Um, how was that experience it was? It was really cool. Was that your first 24 hour race? Yes, What'd you think about?
Speaker 2:it. Um, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, but I was doing a five person team, so I had like three, four hours in between each lap.
Speaker 1:How did y'all do it? Just one lap at a time? Yeah, okay, but yeah, it was.
Speaker 2:It was super fun. It was how long was the lap? Um, right at an hour for me pretty much Gotcha.
Speaker 1:Is it fast or technical, or how was it?
Speaker 2:It is like super flat. Pretty much there's like a little bit of climbing, but it's pretty much just flat like pedaling all out. It's like dodging the cactus. It's fun though.
Speaker 1:No techie, it's just corners, yeah, yeah, and they're like isn't that like the final, like little drop hill, kind of sketchy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's probably like the only technical bit to it and it's really not that bad. It's just like going down in the dark, but just like a little rock roll down and then there was like a little like rock on the left side you could jump. So I was like jumping that and everyone was going crazy.
Speaker 1:Even in the middle of the night.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it was just like flat dirt on the other side, so I'm just like hoping there's not like a rock or something all of a sudden there, but do you so when every how was riding in the middle of the night?
Speaker 1:How did you like that?
Speaker 2:Um, well, it was kind of weird because you're like just waking up so you're like foggy the first half lap. Like once you get going it's like you always have that like thing in your head like I'm going to turn this corner and something's going to be standing there. So like half the lap you're like kind of nervous and then you start getting tired till you stop caring about that. But it was fun Like you like this yeah.
Speaker 2:You ever ride at night? Ever. I used to ride at night quite a bit because, like when I would go coach a bike school, I'd ride home in the dark, but coming home from school I used to get out at 355.
Speaker 1:So, like this time of year I would have to go yeah, right out, yeah, I'm not a fan of ride, I mean road bike and all that kind of stuff, gravel, and at night it was super fun. I've only done it twice and it was like really, really entertaining and fun and enjoyable. But man, mountain biking, dark, I don't like it yeah. Me either. I feel like I'm on the edge of hurting myself at all times.
Speaker 2:That's not what I'm scared of. Like it's scary.
Speaker 1:I'm just scared of stuff out there. Me too.
Speaker 2:I will admit that in a heart I never feel like I'm like that scared of the dark, but like when I go out there and you hear noise and you're like, so I just I ended up just putting both headphones in and just riding as hard as I could the whole time. So I'm like, yeah, I'm scared of all things.
Speaker 1:I'm scared of being out there in the middle of nowhere. I'm like what is out here watching me because I can't see it, yeah, and then I'm like always scared. I'm like man, I'm just going to feel like I'm going to clip a tree or I'm going to go off something. I did the 24 hour at Paladero one year.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I did a lap when it was like almost sunset and I went back out for another lap and of course you've been riding at that time for 12 hours or 10 hours, so you're kind of screwed up anyways. But I almost went off one of the edges and I'm like nope, we're done, I'm going to bed Like this is. It's not worth it.
Speaker 2:Out there. It wasn't too bad though, because there's like a stream of lights. But the one thing I remember riding in the dark the most is there was like a ton of dead mice like on the trail, like you would just see. A bunch of people kept running over them. Yeah, there's probably like 40 towards then you want to go out and do the 24 hour solo. No, never.
Speaker 1:Never.
Speaker 2:I won't say never, but I don't highly doubt, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, would you do it? Can you do like two person?
Speaker 2:team or three. Yeah, you can. I think there's a two and a three, but oh no, I think right now three would be the yeah. Yeah, I don't think I would want to do two. Yeah, you would have to do like two or three laps each and it's pretty tough, it was. It was nice being able to go to bed for like two, three hours. Yeah, that's a huge help.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, the. Let's see After that, you guys, what other races to have.
Speaker 2:I feel like there was another race I was going to ask you about.
Speaker 1:You've done a couple of national championships, uh huh. Any of them that you want to talk about? I remember watching one that was super muddy. That was a couple years ago, I think. Yeah, that was probably Washington, I think so, yeah, it was like crazy muddy, uh huh. I watched that one online, and then this year. How did it go this year?
Speaker 2:This year was a tough race, Like it was an Louisville. Okay, I going into it I felt really good, Like I could have got top five for sure. But I got two laps in and rolled the tubular and ended up running like half a mile to get to the pit. That's so I was just like my race was over.
Speaker 1:There's nothing to do. I just did. You guys travel and do a whole lot of big races this year. Yeah, yeah, how did those?
Speaker 2:go. It went good. Some of the UCI races I just had like bad luck, just like little mistakes and stuff and ended up missing UCI points. But I got a few like six and top 10 stuff.
Speaker 1:Well, and that's the thing that I learned from actually from your dad and Malat, whenever they were kind of chasing that national championship dream Like getting a point in the UCI is harder than anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and this year was really hard because I would say there's 20 kids my age and we're all like super close in speed. So it's like one mistake and you're out of the group.
Speaker 1:And how? What place do you got to finish? Usually to get a point. Top 10, top 10 gets a point for junior and stop 10. Okay, and you got to end points, determine your starting position. Yeah, and that's everything across for people that don't know, yeah, yeah, and then how many points did you end up with this year? 16, I think. Okay, so you would get a decent starting position.
Speaker 2:I was like third row. I didn't get great points, but I missed a lot of like the early season races like up in New England area when a lot of kids got points up to those points, carry over to the loser. You lose them, I believe I'm going to you 23. So I'm going to lose them, but if you stay in junior, I think you keep them.
Speaker 1:Okay, and juniors only goes up to 18. Yeah, okay. So next year is you 23. Yeah, stepping up with the big boys? Yeah, oh man. So let's talk about the whole reason we want to sit down and chat about this is you got to do like a trip of a lifetime, so you got to go to Europe and race cross is in the December.
Speaker 2:Is that when it was? Yeah, in December and to January?
Speaker 1:Yeah, how did you? How did that come about? How did you get on the team to go to Europe so that?
Speaker 2:was kind of my goal the whole year. That's why I was chasing UCI points is I wanted to make the world's team, and then we knew about this trip. It was with your across Academy, so I was like is that an? American group. Yeah, okay, it's led by Jeff Proctor and Roger Asphalm, I believe, is how you pronounce his name. But yeah, I was chasing points and just like trying to get results and stuff to get selected for that and I ended up getting selected to go with them.
Speaker 1:How do you get selected, for that is just based on points and performance. Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2:I'm not really quite sure how many kids get to go. There was six boys and six girls.
Speaker 1:Okay, wow, that's pretty freaking awesome, and then it was just like a phone call.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, you send in an application and then, yeah, I don't know, my parents, my mom like acted like I didn't make it and then, like she like was a weird setup, like I opened an early present and then it was like the letter that I had made it in. So that feel it was. It was good. Yeah, because I actually had asked her earlier that day. I'm like any emails back because we're like it got delayed like two weeks because they like just like had it make the, made the selections, I guess, and I asked her and she's like I would just focus on nationals because it was next week.
Speaker 2:And she was like I don't think you made it. And then I opened that present that night and it said I had made it, you got it. That's pretty cool, super excited.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no kidding. So what was, what was the trip like? I mean, as far as just he never been to Europe before. So what was the trip like, just getting to Europe and and like the cultural differences. And then I want to get into how the race stuff went.
Speaker 2:Well, it started off. I had never been on a plane before.
Speaker 1:Oh, you've never even been on a plane, yeah, so I was a little nervous about that, but it's a really big first step, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really wasn't that bad, Like my sister like made it sound like it'd be scary but like taking off and stuff was fun.
Speaker 2:But yeah, like I really didn't get to experience Belgium as much as like I wanted to, because it was a lot of just like we were racing every other day. So it's like going to the race, going back to the house, gotcha, but yeah, like just getting to see everything there was really cool. It was like it's every town is like kind of old timey that each like they have like a huge castle. It's every town, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Did you know the other 11 kids that went?
Speaker 2:I heard like two of them, but we weren't like we all kind of became friends over there. Yeah, was it, debbie? Do you say in touch?
Speaker 1:with them now. Yeah, that's cool. So how long were you there before you started racing?
Speaker 2:So we got there. We had one day where nobody raced, and then the next day was mole, so the girls raced there, but we didn't, because it was elite only. So I was there for two days, three days, and then I started racing. That's not long, did?
Speaker 1:you have jet lag.
Speaker 2:I don't really know. I feel like I was just like so excited. I like I didn't pay attention to anything.
Speaker 1:Oh, you would know if you had it. I've had it one time and you know when you have it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was like kind of tired the first day but I was like just jacked. I just took some melatonin that night and I was out, did you guys?
Speaker 1:did you get to go ride anywhere else besides the race courses?
Speaker 2:We rode around town and stuff and then we got to go to low and how the forest. How was that. It was super fun, was it?
Speaker 1:was it everything you thought it would be? Yeah, so for people that don't know what that is, explain what it is.
Speaker 2:It's basically where the world champions and all the best cycle cross racers go to train. It's like mountain bike trails, but like for cross bikes, and then huge sand pit areas.
Speaker 1:Why, why. What makes it different from a mountain bike trail and kind of a cross trail?
Speaker 2:It was just it's way smoother, and then it's like the all American trail here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, through the trees.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then there's like there's features along the way, like stairs and like logs to hop over and stuff. That's cool Like steep, like punchy, like Sven Hill and stuff.
Speaker 1:How many, how many miles of trail is?
Speaker 2:it. I don't really know, we didn't ride a ton of the trail, but I would say there's like eight out there Like a big loop.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, that's cool. Does he have his training facility here, sven Uh? Huh, he has the ball course, but that's all I know of OK, I think I've seen some of that stuff on GCN or something like that. I've seen some of his videos on that. That dude's a freak. Watching him ride some of the stuff that he rides is like freaking wild People just need to YouTube. Yeah, it's crazy. So, going to your first race, what was I like? How many races did you do? Let's start with that.
Speaker 2:I did six, I think OK, but the first race. So it's kind of like a B race, so like a local race for them, but like everyone looked intimidating. Like you know, I'm just pretty, I am like everyone looks so intimidating, but it was funny because like I don't think they dislike Americans over there, but they're not, they're just like, oh, americans. So it's like prewriting and stuff like in their place.
Speaker 2:Yeah it was like prewriting and stuff, everyone just staring at you, which like I thought it was funny because I would just like talk to random people which everyone knows America or English over there. Were they friendly? Yeah, ok, most of them were friendly. There was a few that were like like teenagers and stuff over there that I don't think they liked us, but like teenagers on the streets.
Speaker 2:The racers were all super nice, gotcha, but it started off it was off at UCI points, so the whole front row is Americans. Oh, wow, yeah, like I got a front row call up Holy cow, that's awesome, yeah. And then we started off and it was like to there was two Belgian kids that went off the front, but then it was just like Americans running the race pretty much. So it was on a dirt bike course, which all dirt bike courses over there are like super sandy, but it had dumped rain, so the sand was like the thickest stuff you could imagine. So like it took me like half the race just to figure out how to get through it and then I ended up battling for third with a BGAC kid, so he ended up getting me.
Speaker 1:I got fourth, but first race in Europe and you got fourth yeah.
Speaker 2:It was like I got fourth but it was like it was a smaller race. But yeah, it was definitely like the course was way different and it was just.
Speaker 1:It was all really cool, but you had to be like if you, if somebody told you you'd finished top five before you started, you would have taken the heartbeat yeah, yeah for sure, yeah. Like.
Speaker 2:I definitely didn't expect it. Like even starting front row, I'm like, yeah, these kids are probably on a bullet pass and everybody was about your age, yeah.
Speaker 1:OK, it was a 17 18. Ok, and then how many days off till your next race? One, ok, and then how the next one go.
Speaker 2:The next one was about the same. It was a little bit bigger of a race. Different race course, different race course. The first one was in Netherlands and the second one was in Belgium.
Speaker 2:That's so cool, but there was super narrow Like everything was like. The start was probably like supposed to be like four or five people wide, but it was eight people wide and this one we had dead last call up because they were going off their like their point standings over there, I guess. So we had nothing, so we were all like last row there's 60 70 kids, wow. And it was the narrowest course I've ever raced and it I was just like passing people the entire race. That was pretty much all it was, but I ended up getting 16th there, wow, that's great from a last place start. Yeah, it was. It was hard to get up there for sure, because there was like three sections to pass on.
Speaker 1:But so you just have to like, when you got it open, you just got to gun it. Yeah, pretty much.
Speaker 2:Man, and it's like everyone else is gunning it, so you just have to, like, put that little extra dig in. Yeah, that course had, like these two hills and it was like a rut you had to follow. That was super bumpy, and if you came out of that rut you're going straight into the canal. There's like a canal right there. There's nothing like stopping you from going in the canal. So it was like you stay to that right and if you go out and you're going into the canal, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:I got close once because me and a kid went down it side by side and he wasn't in the rut, so he like bumped me at the bottom, but yeah, I didn't, I didn't. Did he go? No, I think he might have crashed, but he didn't go in the canal.
Speaker 1:Did you see anybody go in the canal that?
Speaker 2:would have been awesome.
Speaker 1:I didn't see anybody. That'd be great GoPro footage, so. And then you had six races total. Yeah, ok, your third race on, did it was kind of the same thing.
Speaker 2:You started in the back, or how does work, yeah so that was his older, which was the biggest one we ended up doing on the old F1 track, and that one I started like 80th, which that one was like a massive yeah.
Speaker 1:that one was like a World Cup level.
Speaker 2:So it was like a lot of faster kids Gotcha. But I started pretty far back on that one just because I didn't have that grid of UCI points, like most Americans were like second or third row, ok, but yeah, that one was a lot harder, which I didn't feel the best there. But it was like just ton of pedaling, like ton of open sections, but then it was also like some of the hardest, deepest downhills ever Was it? Were you like getting fatigued at this?
Speaker 1:point, with all the travel and racing three or four or five days in a row. Were you just like wiped out or are you just still running on a treadmill?
Speaker 2:I didn't feel like it but like I probably was, because at this point I was like a little tired at that race. I could tell I wasn't 100 percent Mm. Hmm. That race was like really hard, though, because there was like a ton of pinch points, so it was like the whole first lap.
Speaker 2:I mean I bet top 20 got a two minute head start on me, golly. So I ended up getting like 50th or there or something. Definitely not my best. Your best race yeah, it was a result. Definitely didn't play out how my race went. Yeah, you felt like you raced way better than a 53rd, yeah, yeah. Is it normal for them to have?
Speaker 1:that many races in like. Do they race like? Yeah, I think so All the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean we definitely were doing more because we were there for a week and a half, right, but like I think there's races like that all the time.
Speaker 1:So it's like Tuesday and there's a big, freaking race going on. Yeah, do they have many other races? Because I mean, is it just cross?
Speaker 2:I mean, I don't like any of that stuff. I really don't know if there's like mountain biking. I know there's mountain biking in Europe but like in Belgium and stuff I don't know what's mainly just cross?
Speaker 1:Yeah, probably road to yeah, and those kids are just dialed because it's all they do.
Speaker 2:Really like they were strong, but their skill did not impress me Like those kids like riding behind them. It was, which that's what I did, like the first like 10 years of me riding a bike. They just messing around doing skills Right, but like yeah, they were not as skilled as I thought they would be Interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what do you think? Did it that make you feel more confident in your future? Yeah, your life only, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can't like hang in there, there's all. There's that question period from you 23 to elite when I'm like, are they just training, Are they taking some stuff? So it's like that's where it's like. You're kind of like just funnel into the how all the other Americans do, but like right now it's like the level between us juniors and European juniors isn't that different. We have David Thompson. He's like fifth and you see our World Cup standings right now. So he's right there. He got second at one of the World Cups.
Speaker 1:Do you think it's? They just start Racing harder earlier, so they're just like a little bit of a head.
Speaker 2:I don't know really what it is like.
Speaker 1:I don't want to say there's so many like.
Speaker 2:I feel like there's some, but there's so many of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that I mean when you have in the US that you go to these big UCI races and there's I don't know how many kids in your race is 30. Yeah, so 30 kids I mean does not break deep pool, and you over there there's 80.
Speaker 2:Yeah like it definitely could be them, just like getting faster off one another.
Speaker 1:But yeah, well, you know what they do.
Speaker 2:I don't know what their secret sauce is yeah, but they have a faster yeah, yeah now the ones in Belgium.
Speaker 1:They'd freakin have it. Yeah, comes across. What was the biggest difference in the style of racing between the US and Europe, did you know? Like was the courses? Significantly different.
Speaker 2:The courses were a lot different, they were just like Some of them, like the bigger races were super wide, open, hmm, but like the smaller races were like super tight, like a lot more single track type stuff interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah huh, Was the the style of racing much different? What do you mean as far as like how they attack and how they like ride certain?
Speaker 2:I Didn't really notice that seemed all pretty much like everyone does kind of file into the same line which, like that's I made a lot of my passes is like just like how some stuff super wide and like that single track stuff you can go off of it like it's not marked, mm-hmm. So I like I made a lot of passages like in unique on my lines and stuff and everybody else just kind of follows the leader Followed that main line.
Speaker 1:Yeah, interesting Hmm.
Speaker 2:That is kind of interesting, yeah, which I think I picked up on a lot of that from my dad. Like I think a lot of people race like that, but I just my dad has always done that, so I think I just picked up on that.
Speaker 1:Did you feel like it was? What was the biggest takeaway that you had from from racing over there?
Speaker 2:Like you from in those races you can't stop, like you can't Final or you can't like settle into a pace.
Speaker 1:How long was your race?
Speaker 2:45 minutes or I think they're all 45. Okay, like you can't like settle in, though, you just you have to keep going the whole time.
Speaker 1:What is it that you feel like you need to work on now that you've come back from that experience?
Speaker 2:um, I Don't really know if there's like anything specific, like I definitely just like need to improve my speed, but like like your top in, yeah, just like acceleration, like punchy stuff, like yeah, I think I was a little behind on that.
Speaker 1:You're you're training this year, going into that, was that something that you worked on or was it something that you just kind of did like an all-around Training plan and that was just kind of like mmm, that's something I just need to improve on.
Speaker 2:I was super out of shape going into this past year, so a lot of it was just like getting in shape, like I still don't think going into Europe, like I don't think I was at the shape I could have been, yeah, but I think it'll be a lot better next year. But that'd give you some motivation. Yeah, yeah, cuz I'm like I was in good shape but I'm like I'm not where anywhere where I could be right. I know I knew I wasn't. So that definitely gives him motivation for next year.
Speaker 1:It's good, you're in good shape, but not you need to be in like yeah, great shape.
Speaker 2:Yeah for that which. I knew that going into it, but I knew I could do good enough to like get some results I wanted. But I feel like I definitely could have been further up do you?
Speaker 1:so the whole trip in itself was do you feel like was a Good experience? Yeah, like worth the worth doing? Uh-huh, yeah is it. Do you guys get to do anything else fun besides race?
Speaker 2:We went to a few pastries or bakeries, but that was about it was a good. Yeah, it was really good and everything was super cheap over there. Really. Yeah, like you go buy like a coffee and a pastry for like three euros.
Speaker 1:Oh, like eight dollars over here, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:You're always in. Dollars are pretty close yeah that's awesome.
Speaker 1:It was, everything was super cheap. Do you see, like that you would have to move to Europe to race.
Speaker 2:I don't think you have to, but I think if you wanted to go there and you had a place to stay, I think you could go over there for a cross season and get a lot better, because, like the first few races we did like the B races, it was like 10 euros to register, mmm, and like the bigger ones were like I don't know, like 40, when it'd be like 80 or 90 over here, probably right.
Speaker 1:So everything's right there if you don't have to travel.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like the furthest drive we did from where we were at was probably An hour an hour 15. Okay, I get that everything is super close, yeah. But yeah, so is that the goal to Europe? I don't know if I want to like go there permanently, but I definitely want to make more trips back over.
Speaker 1:So is there more programs that allow will allow you to do that in the 23 section or not? I think it's really just like the USA team.
Speaker 2:So, and what do you got to do to make that? You know Pretty much, make the worlds team. You have to get like just top UCI points and then so going into next year.
Speaker 1:We're in what? Almost February of 24. What's your schedule look like this year?
Speaker 2:I'm planning to do a full UCI XC mountain bike season so I want to make the worlds team for that on the mountain side. Yeah, when does that start, pretty?
Speaker 1:much March, middle March, so yeah, that's my plan a little bit of a break and now you're firing back up.
Speaker 2:Yeah In coach you have a coach. My dad coached me all last season, but I'm gonna be starting with Grant Holicky with forever endurance. Okay, so he's. He's like Eric Brunner, scott Fungson's coach. He's really good about like getting people from the junior U23 to elite and without burnout, so that's the goal.
Speaker 1:So and then we, how much we have to travel for the UCI mountain bike.
Speaker 2:There's quite a bit of travel, but it's not as bad because, like, we have Fayetteville here, which is one of the biggest races, so I came to that last year. Man, it's super cool. Yeah, it is a really cool race. There's a ton of people like home, mm-hmm. So there's definitely like quite a bit of travel, but I don't think it's quite as bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you do what, you do that with some friends or some, or, but like you and the family, loading up and head now, yeah, I'm gonna be solo this year.
Speaker 2:I was trying to get on some teams, but it was. I just didn't get it done. Yeah, how?
Speaker 1:How do you like that? The way because I have had this conversation with a couple people that the way that teams and it's just it seems like such a broken system to me, like from the outside, looking in, not growing up in this world, yeah, it's a. It's a terrible system like that. The teams just rely on sponsors and the sponsors change all the time because the teams burn out the money and they don't get a return. There's got to be a better way to do it. Nobody does it and everybody does it the exact same way. So, being an athlete trying to get onto a team, how is it politics, is it? Is it just you got to know the right person? Is that you got it or you just got to be an absolute rock star athlete?
Speaker 2:I feel like there's a lot of programs are like they say their development team, but it's more like we want the fastest people, mm-hmm. But yeah, I feel like we. I think some of it's knowing people, some of it's having the money to pay for it, but like if you have this beat, there's no doubt you could get on whatever team you want, mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:So that's my goal. You think it will take for you to get on a team after this year.
Speaker 2:Just results yeah, pretty much like I Took like such a big break from like Competitive racing. Like I feel like people knew who I was kind of from junior, just cuz I always like it was up there, mm-hmm, but when I took that break, no one, really no one, knew who I was. This year, mm-hmm, which I definitely feel like I caught some eyes, but not enough to really get me need another year of good results.
Speaker 1:Yeah, having your sister take the step that she's taken the past few years is that Motivated you or changed your outlook on it at all?
Speaker 2:carrying her experiences and watching kind of what she's doing it definitely makes like, it makes it seem more possible, like seeing her get on a team where she gets paid and mm-hmm, it makes it all seem and feel a lot more possible.
Speaker 1:Yeah okay, so the next step is UCI mountain bike and then falls into cross Yep and the crosses, a fall winter sport. When does it start? Like Um September? Yeah, that's kind of thinking September okay, and then you'll do the UCI stuff there and see what happens. Mm-hmm, okay. Yeah, are you continuing to work at Allied Yep? Okay, mm-hmm, and Somehow go to school and all of that as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have internship with my school so I get out at 12 a and get school credits to go to well, that's nice. Yeah, I get paid to go to class pretty much.
Speaker 1:Freakin bomb. You were limit. You're kind of living the like the Pro cyclist gig already.
Speaker 2:Yeah, trying to kind of at that point, or I have to start doing Like a professional training loads.
Speaker 1:How much? What do you know kind of what your training loads gonna be?
Speaker 2:I don't, I'm starting with this new coach, so like when you guys start together. We actually just did so nice. Yeah, he just put stuff in today, so it's gonna be just kind of like base stuff for a while, but yeah, it's all new. I'm not 100% sure. Gotcha Still bunny hop wizard. I Changed Instagram. Make it a little more professional. Yeah, people can call me that they want to okay, so now it's just your name.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, that's boring, my email.
Speaker 2:Still that I got stuck with that. Still do YouTube. I don't. I might pick it up at some point again. You're gonna have to get the sponsors looking at you.
Speaker 1:It's all Instagram now. I know you got to bring the bunny hop wizard back out of retirement, mm-hmm. Well, I appreciate you sitting down. I know you thought we'd be hard to fill some time, but we talked for almost an hour, yeah. So is there any stories or races that you want to talk about before we wrap up? I?
Speaker 2:Don't? I don't think so.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, if you've listened any episode you know that we do the yard sale. So I almost yard sailed it today, numeric Well, like three times. So I Favorite piece of equipment under a hundred bucks.
Speaker 2:I Don't know the name of it, but oh let's be on, okay, your dad just chimed.
Speaker 1:I said you never paid for anything. So, well, yeah, but that your dad's paid a hundred dollars for what's your favorite piece of? Let's just go.
Speaker 2:Favorite piece of equipment I would say, well, I'm gonna do under a hundred dollars, because I Don't know what the name of it is, but it's probably my saddlebag. It has like the boa strap on it and I don't know. It's super nice, I like it a lot. Okay, hardest event you've ever done. I Want to say something other than watch the challenge, because I feel like everyone says that on your podcast, but I feel like that's got to be it.
Speaker 1:That was brutal when I haven't done it yet. Favorite place you've ever written? Probably Europe, like was it the forest? Yeah, I'm part of work out you've ever done.
Speaker 2:I Don't really know like I feel like I've had definitely had some workouts. I were more like mentally challenging because I just like wasn't there that day, but I don't really know a specific one.
Speaker 1:You can't say allied, because you can't be a company man. So what's your dream bike? Um, it could be cross or mountain, it doesn't matter, or road, I don't, it doesn't matter I.
Speaker 2:I really like specialized bikes, so probably like a specialized epic, hmm, yeah.
Speaker 1:Add a couple other ones. Let me see Bucket list race. If you could pick any race, it doesn't matter, just just say you're at that level of whoever or whatever race it is, what would it be?
Speaker 2:Probably just world championships for mountain bike or cross, which?
Speaker 1:one, if you so. Okay, let's say this going pro now. People are crossing over and doing a little of everything. If you were gonna pick one discipline, would it be XC or would it be cross Cross? Okay, why is that?
Speaker 2:Well, I can't really say because I haven't done it like a X, like a UCI mountain bike season yet, but Probably cross I just, I like the racing more Okay.
Speaker 1:It. Well, you gave me advice when we were here earlier, but we'll be a vice for not say not a kid rider, but a new rider in cross and then a new rider in mountain biking.
Speaker 2:Just have fun, go like, mess around, like don't take it too serious at first, just go have fun and figure it out.
Speaker 1:Same for cross and mountain biking. Yeah, okay, if you were gonna give one technical skill for mountain biking, what would it be?
Speaker 2:Or technical thing to work on Um just like flowing, like not trying to plow through everything, just like Taking it a step back and just like learning to flow through all this stuff. Okay, I like it.
Speaker 1:Because that's something I definitely have to work on, because I watching when your dad took Me and Saxby to the pump track, watching you ride the pump track, and then watching Saxby and me ride the pump track Completely different things. We look like stiff mannequins and you guys look like noodles. It's totally different. So, right, thanks for sitting down and doing this. Yeah, I appreciate it and Good luck, man. I can't wait to follow the career. Thank you, appreciate it, you.