Cycling Oklahoma
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Cycling Oklahoma
Balancing Bikes and Life: Vanessa Drummond
You're about to find out what life is like being the CEO of Team Drummond, as we sit down with Vanessa Drummond Vanessa shares her incredible journey from her early life in Kentucky and California to becoming a pivotal figure in Oklahoma's cycling community. Her transition from basketball to motocross, and finally to cycling, has not only shaped her personal life but also positioned her as a mentor and leader within USA Cycling. Discover how she balances her responsibilities in the cycling world with her family.
Get ready for some thrilling stories as Vanessa reveals the highs and lows of participating in 24-hour relay events, from the physical and mental challenges to the unique experiences of nighttime riding. She recounts heartwarming and humorous anecdotes about family involvement in competitive cycling, highlighting the supportive community built through mountain biking. Whether it's organizing race weekends or overcoming the struggles of integrating into a cycling-centric community in Bentonville, Vanessa's resilience and passion for the sport shine through every tale.
You'll also hear about Vanessa's favorite and least favorite mountain biking trails, memorable encounters with elite cyclists, and the evolution of their racing teams. From the joy of reconnecting with family after moving back to Oklahoma City to the bittersweet moments of rediscovering a familiar place, this episode captures the essence of a life deeply intertwined with the cycling world. Vanessa's journey offers valuable insights and inspiration for cycling enthusiasts and anyone passionate about balancing family, career, and personal pursuits. Join us for an episode filled with inspiring stories, practical advice, and a celebration of the cycling community.
What is up? Cycling Oklahoma? Thank you so much for tuning in for another episode and I'm not going to lie, this is my second time to do this intro, which it's the first time that I've re-recorded an intro, because it sucked. Let's be, honest.
Speaker 1:So here we go again. Again, thank you so much. This episode is great. I say it all the time because they're all great and clearly you think so too, because you keep coming back and listening. So thank you so much for doing that.
Speaker 1:Uh, in this episode we sit down with the CEO of team drumming uh, miss Vanessa, and it was great. We wanted to hear her story here, her adventures, uh, and hear all about her and not, uh, her family's racing and their endeavors. So I think everyone's going to like this one because it's a, it's some, maybe some. You don't know Vanessa. You just see her at events, you see her around, but you never have heard her story. So I really, really, really think you're going to love this episode.
Speaker 1:Um, I didn't realize how many 24 hour races she has done in her life, so super cool. Uh, and Vanessa lives cycling as much, if not more, than any human on the planet, and she's done it for many, many years. She's raised two really wonderful children and raised Chris to be somewhat of a good guy, let's say, just kidding. The whole family is amazing. I love all of them and I can't say enough great things about them, and definitely the CEO of the family and of the team is Vanessa and she keeps it all running and she has a really great story and she's done a lot of really cool stuff and I'm really happy that she took time to sit down and talk to us and share her story and share her side of all the things. So Vanessa not only races and rides and is at all the events and cheering on and supporting everyone is in the background of her kids success and Chris's success. But she also works for USA Cycling and is involved heavily over the years with development of young athletes. Now she is at national championship races, working with pros when they go overseas and so mean she lives it more than anyone can possibly live it.
Speaker 1:So, vanessa, thank you so much for your time and sitting down to do this. Plus, vanessa is she can't get enough cycling, so now she's helping with our social media, with cycling Oklahoma. So if you now see that the posts like don't suck and they look like pretty good, that's because Vanessa is doing them. So again, vanessa, thank you so much for helping out with that. So I'm so thankful and so appreciative of everything. And guess what? Guys, we have a new sponsor like yeah, no more overhead doors isn't did not go anywhere. Hopefully they don't go anywhere anytime soon. Uh, more overhead doors is the og sponsor of cycling oklahoma. We love them, so thankful for them. They have some really cool exciting news coming in the future uh from some things that they're doing in the cycling world outside of cycling Oklahoma and so hopefully we can have them on here and have them explain uh what they are doing now and doing next for expanding cycling uh in our communities. So we'd love to see a company who supports cycling, supports their hobbies, and puts their money and their time where their mouth is, and more overhead door does it.
Speaker 1:Some of you may have heard winter is coming not cross, but winter is coming. So if you need some renovations at the house, you need some repairs, you need to get the house updated and get ready for the cold weather that's coming, give more overhead door call. If you're building a new house, you know rates dropped and all that good stuff. So people are buying and building and all those things again. So give them a call Let them help you out with any of that.
Speaker 1:But our new exciting news is Mr Wayne Edgar, who some of you may know, especially if you've been in cycling very long. Wayne used to ride a ton and now has stepped back a little bit from his personal writing to focus on career and family and those kinds of things at that stage of life. But he stepped up into supporting Cycling Oklahoma and become a sponsor. I think Wayne will probably be a sponsor of things in the future. I think I just put a little bit of pressure on him for that. So sorry, wayne, but thank you for that. And Wayne is an attorney.
Speaker 1:So Pope and Edgar attorneys of law. They are in Oklahoma, they're in Texas. They can help you out with so many different. They're wide ranging, everything from estate planning to business and corporate law, bankruptcy stuff, real estate, engineering, construction. I mean these guys they kind of do everything. To be honest with you Firearms, native American law there's anything and everything that you have questions on. Check them out. I have a really great website. It has everything laid out there Popeandedgarlawfirmcom. Pope and Edgar Law Firm. Go check them out. Wayne is a cyclist. He supports cycling. He's supported a lot of races over the years, um, with his, with his money, not only his legs and lungs. So, um, we love people who, who support the community, um, that are not just riding and, and, and they're involved in every single way. So, wayne, and thank you so much. Pope and Edgar, attorneys at law, check them out If you have any, um, any needs there.
Speaker 1:Hopefully we have some really exciting news coming as we go forward on all the things that we have irons in the fire. We did just shoot our first video and that went really really well. Hopefully that will be out in the next couple of weeks. We'll make sure to share it on all of our socials and probably on a YouTube thing and anyway, and every way we can get it out there so you guys can see the vision that we have for, uh, showing our amazing state by bicycle and learning a little bit about these amazing routes that we have that we get to ride in gravel, uh, and in the mountain bikes and, uh, you know, if you can go out and learn a little bit of amazing history about our wonderful state are very unique. Enjoy riding your bike. I think it's a win-win for everybody. Hopefully that video will be coming out soon.
Speaker 1:Mr Ryan Brantley was is he's a massive help in doing this. He's helping shoot the video and editing it, um, so thank you so much, mr Brantley, for your time and your expertise on that, and so by saying that we still need more sponsors, I know you keep I'm tired You're probably tired of me asking for money already, but we have so many fun projects coming and we I'm tired You're probably tired of me asking for money already, but we have so many fun projects coming and we, at this point, need big sponsors and small sponsors. So anything and everything. If you know somebody, if you work for a company that might help, if you have a connection to somebody or a grant or something like that who might help us, please let me know. We need to get some money so we can get Vanessa paid, we can get Ryan paid for their time and all their energies that they're putting in to help and grow our cycling community. That's the goal here is growing the community.
Speaker 1:And last announcement, before I let you listen to Vanessa, is by growing the cycling community, cycling Oklahoma presents the first ever gravel state championship bike race fall of 2025. Put it on your calendars. The date is not set yet. Um, a lot of the details are not set in stone yet, but a lot of balls in the air, a lot of things to work out If you have feedback of things that you would like to see, ideas that are even like moon shots, that we might not be able to do but still would be cool to talk about and think about. You know, text me, shoot them over to us on the socials, send me an email, whatever you want, um, but I want to hear them and we want to make this race really, really awesome. There will be a state championship Jersey. We are going to do it right, you are going to love it, but cycling Oklahoma presents the first ever gravel state championship. Fall of 2025. Market down. We'll see you there and thank you guys so much for listening. All right, vanessa, I'm super excited about this one.
Speaker 1:I say it all the time on most of my episodes, but this one, I have been saying it publicly for a long time that I want you on here. Oh, boy, I told everybody in the family and now we finally have. And today I was at the bike shop and dropping my bike off and I told Perkins which he gets a shout out clearly every episode. Now I was like Perkins, I'm gonna have the real Drummond on today, and he's like oh, oh cool. And I was like, no, like Vanessa, he's like oh, oh, cool and I was like, no, like Vanessa.
Speaker 1:He's like, oh, whoa, yeah. So the real general, the real CEO of the Drummond race team, is here and I greatly appreciate your time.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1:And we'll get into it maybe later, but you're helping do the social media stuff with Cycling Oklahoma.
Speaker 2:Thank you, you bet, I absolutely love it. Good because I absolutely hate it.
Speaker 1:I reshare stories and that's about all I do, so thank you for making it look decent.
Speaker 2:No, it's super fun, it did not look decent before, now it looks great. What you're doing with that is so amazing. It's so cool to see where everything in the community can be in one space. It's the hope, it's the dream.
Speaker 1:We'll see You're going there. Thank you for helping with that. Hopefully we'll make that happen. I we talked a little bit about kind of what we're going to, how we're going to do this one. So first off, when I told Chris that you were coming, he's like she's really going to do it.
Speaker 2:She's really going through with it. It's not my thing, I know.
Speaker 1:That's what he was like. We're going to make. We're going to make this happen. So thank you for doing this, cause I know you're not. You don't like to be in the forefront and you don't like to like be front and center and all eyes on you, but this one, nobody sees you, so that's true, that'll help.
Speaker 1:Cause I want to hear your side of everything. I want to hear your story. I want to hear what it's like to be a mom and a parent and a spouse on the backside your journey with now USA Cycling and running events and being behind the scenes there and putting things forward. So I'm excited to hear it from a completely different point of view.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I hope you share all the things. Let's start with your story. So where'd you grow up? And all that kind of stuff, sports, any of that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I born in Kentucky. I'm from Kentucky. My both of my parents, um grew up in a very small town in Kentucky, um. My dad was in the military, so he was in the air force, and we um did move quite a bit. Whenever I was younger, um most of my memories as a child was in California at Edwards Air Force Base, where's that one?
Speaker 1:I've heard of that one.
Speaker 2:So Mojave Desert basically it's a decent drive to anything cool, but right in the middle of nowhere. And I played a lot of basketball. That was my thing, me and my dad he was my coach for many years and we would travel played basketball pretty much from the time I could until the beginning of high school. I got interested in other things.
Speaker 1:And can you still? Surely you can beat the entire family in basketball Unfortunately. Can.
Speaker 2:Rai Rai, even dribble you can beat the entire family in basketball, unfortunately. Can Ry-Ry even dribble?
Speaker 1:I can't even really tell, because Ryan and Chris's arms and legs are so long that there's just no hope it's true.
Speaker 2:Good point, yeah, so what?
Speaker 1:else did you get into?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so then we moved to Oklahoma City. My dad got stationed at Tinker and still played basketball A couple years after I moved here. I was very young. I had a good friend in high school that raced motocross, and I was 15 years old when I started going to the motorcycle races, and that's when I met Chris and everything else was out the window, basically you guys met when you were a teenager, uh yes, I did not know that. Yeah, I was 15 when I met him. How?
Speaker 1:so is he older than you, he is older than me.
Speaker 2:He's an old man um, he's almost four years old okay, gotcha.
Speaker 1:Oh, he's a creep yeah, so he was like 18, 19 you, you were 15, 16, like somewhere in that. Yeah, yeah, I mean. I was like at the end of 15, turned 16, basically, and he was racing motorcycles, mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Gotcha and we were just like we just kind of hung out in the same group for a little bit.
Speaker 1:It was a fairly popular scene at that time, right Like there was quite a few people that did that.
Speaker 2:It was, and they had um weekend and night races at 59th and douglas, which did bring a lot more of kind of like that local more oklahoma city. Um, you didn't have to travel, so it was kind of a thing that a lot of teenagers and even people who didn't race would go out and watch races out there and stuff, yeah.
Speaker 1:So you just went and were hanging out and like just became your social circle a little bit, not for long. Did you ever get on them?
Speaker 2:Oh no, not really. I mean no, let's just say no. I can remember one time that me and Chris and a couple of friends went out to like a local closed track and rode around and I feel like the girls just crashed a bunch.
Speaker 1:And then I don't think.
Speaker 2:Chris, really let me on. And we were on pit bikes too, not not anything like. I've never been on a big bike like that yeah, that's okay, for sure.
Speaker 1:Have you guys ever had like a street bike? No okay, um always been dirt bikes always been dirt bikes.
Speaker 2:Chris's dad um has and my dad does that. We've like hopped on occasionally, but yeah always motorcycles too just I mean my dad's more of like a old school harley, I'm gonna go cruise around?
Speaker 1:yeah, was he into motorcycles when you were growing up, or was this something he got into? Kind of on and off, okay, yeah so you'd kind of been around that world yeah, at some point nothing like racing them, though, yeah yeah, man. So what was it like going and having a boyfriend who raced motorcycling. That had been like the coolest thing ever, yeah.
Speaker 2:I thought he was pretty hot stuff. And then I you know I learned that he was just Chris Drummond.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that could be a lot of things. Could be a lot of meetings yeah.
Speaker 2:But yeah, we had a lot of fun racing we did. He was very much into the scene, kind of how we are with our kids. Him and his dad were super close when he was growing up and they would go to races together every single weekend, travel or local, whatever it be.
Speaker 1:They were always together and I kind of squeezed myself into that. I don't know if I was invited or not, but I made sure I was at the mall and yeah, that's what we did for a long time.
Speaker 2:That's all that we did was just travel around and race motorcycles. I had no idea you guys were like high school. Yeah, so funny. And so where did you graduate high school?
Speaker 1:from Moore High School. Okay, gotcha.
Speaker 2:Is that where he went to? He went to Westmore, westmore, so yeah.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, and then did you play sports or anything in high school.
Speaker 2:I played basketball my freshman year and I played softball for two years and then my senior year. I didn't play any sports at all, Did you go to college anywhere. I did not. I went straight out of high school to my mom, worked for an ophthalmologist for a long time and I was super into that. I always have been.
Speaker 1:So um, I worked at Dean McGee Eye Institute for a long time um and did like glaucoma, um research and stuff like that. And yeah, what in the world got you interested in eyeballs I?
Speaker 2:don't know. I mean, my mom worked for ophthalmologists forever and so just hearing, I think, the logos that she would, you know, lingo and all that stuff and, um, interesting, yeah, it was a good opportunity at the time because I really wasn't interested in anything else. Honestly, my mom probably was like, hey, you should do this. Um, but yeah, it really when you were growing up.
Speaker 1:What did you want to do? What was like the dream, like when you were a kid?
Speaker 2:a veterinarian.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, Interesting Well I mean kind of went down the medical rabbit hole, yeah, a little bit um.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I really always liked animals did you have animals growing up?
Speaker 1:yeah, okay, for sure, like dogs and cats and all the normal things yeah, and I did.
Speaker 2:I, I did work for a veterinarian for a while, um, but yeah, it's a good thing that I don't do that anymore. I would always bring animals home, and chris well yes, I was at the shop today and there was two little pups outside and they were.
Speaker 1:One was like looking in the window and I was like I can't go out there. And of course evan's like well, I'll go pet him, and I was like I can't go out there.
Speaker 2:I'll go home with two new dogs don't tell the girl, like aubrey and sammy, they keep, uh they. They have this little deal going on where there's stray puppies that show up and well this one.
Speaker 1:When evan went out to pet it, the owner came by. Okay, they walked off with their owner. But yes, like I can't, I can't do it with dogs.
Speaker 2:Okay, like oh yeah, I'm such a sucker. It is sad, it is so sad um.
Speaker 1:So then, when did you and chris, did you guys get married early on, or we?
Speaker 2:did get married very early on. I actually had Aubrey when I was 17 years old.
Speaker 1:Oh, I didn't think I realized that. Yeah, golly, you guys are close. Yeah, I didn't realize that.
Speaker 2:So I did have Aubrey when I was 17 years old and then we got married that same year after she was born. So we have been married for 21 years, which is crazy to think about. But I can barely remember life not being married to Chris.
Speaker 1:That's true More than you weren't. Yeah, oh man, you are a brave woman.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Goodness, gracious Little did you know what all this was going to entail.
Speaker 2:I know. Well, it's so funny too. You like, you think of things and I never really thought. Like. When we were into motorcycles, I was like man, I never really thought that I would be doing this and my parents were like what in the world, you know? Like?
Speaker 1:yeah, how did you end up in motorcycles? Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then we jump over to bikes. And oh, I remember the very first mountain bike we were raised. We went to I you get so used to motorcycles, right, you like the smell, they're loud, the start line is like intense um. And then we went to a mountain bike race and the whistle blew and I think I laughed out loud because, like everyone, took off and there's no noise.
Speaker 1:This is cute. Look at all these guys playing bicycles.
Speaker 2:I was like I even told Chris right after his race. I was like that was so funny when you started.
Speaker 1:And everybody there was like, yeah, we're so intense, I know, and you're like, oh, bless them.
Speaker 2:And even, yeah, even when we first got into like cycling and when Jeff Minor was a big part of us, you know, starting to race and Jeff Minor was a big part of us, you know, starting to race, and when they would start showing up to race and stuff, it was very much like, well, we're going to do this, but we're never going to wear the tight clothes, you know that was how it started.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, especially those two coming up from motocross.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, but now look where we are. So.
Speaker 1:Can't get enough of it. Right, family lives in spandex.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:The whole group.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:So yeah. So what was it like so when you I mean, clearly you were a teenager, so it was probably a little different than if you were doing it now but like seeing him race, and I know we probably had wrecks and all that kind of stuff so what is it like as your significant other is out there doing an activity that's like so sketchy? Did you even think about it since you were so young, or was it like it's just what he does?
Speaker 2:I really didn't think about it, because when I met him he was doing all of the moto stuff and that was by far in my eyes it was more dangerous I think it's probably you scared when he raced moto. I didn't feel like it because I I I hate to say this, but I felt like very confident in the skills and he was always very smart when he raced, um, like there were friends that we would race with, like jeff minor, that I was always terrified when he raced just because you know, like you watch, someone get hurt, or you watch, and this was before Jeff actually got hurt.
Speaker 2:But Jeff would crash a lot before he actually got hurt Just because he was just so brave yeah, and I think he's still that way. Yes, oh, I know. Yeah, I'm always like Jeff, don't text me those videos, like I tell him like I don't want to see that stuff, or Like I don't want to see that stuff, or it's okay to send this, you send it to the boys. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, I've always been really pretty comfortable with Chris. I feel like he's always been really smart with his decisions.
Speaker 1:Whenever he got into doing bikes, did you enjoy getting out of going to the motos all the time, and now you have a new thing.
Speaker 2:Or were you just like, ah, we're just trading one for the other. It took some getting used to. Um, for sure, I I missed watching the motorcycle races. Um, but the friendships that we like when we first started going to mountain bike races, like, I feel like I could be completely wrong, but I feel like the very first mountain bike race that we went to like me and Chris, I feel like the very first mountain bike race that we went to like me and chris.
Speaker 2:I feel like we met brandon and lindsey and like, from that point on, I really can't remember anything besides. Like us and brandon and lindsey, malott, and like curto and caleb, and like we would, like we were. We were all probably so broke that, like we, we camped at every single race. We ate the same exact thing, we did the same, but it was just that's what for me, like that's what mountain bike racing was, and it was like we would camp and we'd go hang out and stuff like that. And then the racing was just kind of at first, the racing for me was just kind of like the sidekick or whatever it really I didn't care. You're like, oh, you have to go play now, but yeah, yeah, yeah, and the boys would like pre-ride on saturday and like me and like the girls would all ride together and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:So that was always like a really good time.
Speaker 1:You guys have built-in group right from the start. Yeah, yeah, and we great group for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we didn't know anybody and you know chris didn't know what he was doing like we and I like that group which, now that I think about it, I think Brandon and Lindsay were probably pretty new at it as well at that time but they really, like they helped us, you know, they introduced us to people and stuff like that and it was for me it felt like that kind of took over what we didn't have that much in motocross, Like we did have friends there and stuff like that, but the girls never hung like it.
Speaker 1:It wasn't the same right, it wasn't quite as family yeah, yeah so when did you get into riding bikes?
Speaker 2:just basically like I would just ride around like I would go to draper. We used to man many years ago we would do like um, dirt crits, like Thursday night dirt crits, and so I would enjoy doing things like that and just riding. Probably I feel like a couple of years after Chris started racing I would just ride here and there.
Speaker 1:And you were mountain bike pretty much.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, only mountain bike, only mountain bike.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, is that all you've really ever really enjoyed the most and done the most of um, I do have a gravel bike and I do really like riding gravel um.
Speaker 2:So I would say, like I like gravel, I do not like riding road, hardly at all. Like um and cycle crosses as much as we live and breathe cyclocross. To me, I think cyclocross is like the dumbest, hardest thing that you can. Yes, drummond.
Speaker 1:I hope you heard that I agree. When I took my bike in today I was like so hard Chad was sitting there looking. He's like what is that? I was like it's my. It's a trainer bike. It's like I don't know what else it would be used for. Everything else is stupid and hard. Yeah, it's like the original version of gravel bikes.
Speaker 2:That's what it is I'm not calling it what the other thing no I hate to that I say it so hard and then like I yell at my kids and like cheer them on like do it better go harder we're gonna get into your mom's style later, don't you worry.
Speaker 1:And so did you ever race whenever you guys were getting into this world. So I did, or did you just ride for fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when the kids were, I mean maybe I feel like they were maybe racing Kids Cup. They were a little bit older but I did do like maybe even an entire series of Tour de Dirt.
Speaker 2:I was like super stoked about it and there were a couple of girls that I chased, but I did most of the races, which I really had a lot of fun. But then we started going to 24 hours in the canyon, which is a 24 hour race in Amarillo, Texas, and I really found my passion, like I really liked the long stuff, and so every year I would pretty much like almost like make a deal with Chris, like okay, if I do this, this and this, can we go again?
Speaker 1:Is it just because you like the atmosphere of it or just that you could just get on? It's not about going super fast, it's just about like going forever.
Speaker 2:It's. It's really nothing about the atmosphere, but it is more about like you can go and you're not, like you don't have to go fast, you pace yourself, you make your own plan. So, like I love the scheduling out, like, okay, at this hour I'm going to do this at this hour. I like all of that organization stuff leading up to it and then just being just you for so long and it's only up to you. That's what I liked.
Speaker 1:How many times have you done Palo Duro?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I was thinking about that the other day and I feel like four.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But not so. I did it once by myself, for sure. Okay, maybe twice. My memory is not good these days.
Speaker 1:You have to be an old lady, that happens.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I did it a couple of times, we did it a couple of times as a team, okay.
Speaker 1:Do you like the solo or the team? Better Solo.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think solo is easier.
Speaker 1:Oh, interesting.
Speaker 2:Because it's when you start, when I start and stop, start and stop, start and stop. It's like I could never rest, like thinking, okay, I have two hours to sleep before it's like I might as well just go time you wind down.
Speaker 1:It's time to get back up and put your kit on, yeah, yeah I did a 24-hour relay run two years in a row like that, and first year we did it where we were in two hour block, I think I like I think we did it two hour blocks and the next time we did it in three hour blocks and it was just long enough that you could wind down and get comfy. And then you gotta get back up and because we didn't, stay on site because it was here in oklahoma city so I'd go home.
Speaker 1:So I'm like I'm gonna sleep if I'm better if I go home. That makes it and I'm gonna get better food and I can take a shower, but by the time I made the transport back and forth it took up 40 minutes of my rest time. So, and then the next year we did it in three hour blocks and that made it better for resting, but still the same thing You're like you never really get to unwind and relax.
Speaker 2:I would never be able to do it and go home. One year, me and Katie McGuire went together and together and we had a camper and a campsite and everything, and we still chose. That night we slept on the finish line and our sleeping bags on the ground, knowing that we were going to get soaked because we didn't. We were like, if we get in the camper and go to sleep, then we're probably done. So that's crazy that you had the you like, went home and got your own bed.
Speaker 1:Cause we had a tent set up out there. I'm like I know. I'm not going to sleep here because there's too much going on. People are going to be coming and going and sounds like at least if I had to go, do that, at least I have a chance. It wasn't any better. And then I always got the worst shift. I had the worst shift in the middle of the night, every single time.
Speaker 2:What do you think is the worst shift?
Speaker 1:I think if you're doing them, the worst one is getting the one that's like around midnight starting.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Or like between midnight and two. Starting is the worst Cause you if cause I normally go to sleep between like 10 or 11, so I don't get to go to bed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, You're still thinking about like I should be thinking, hey, when he.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're still thinking about like I should be, but my body's thinking, hey, when you just calm down, but then you get that shift, say you start at midnight or 2 am, somewhere in that start, so you get like the dead of the night. So you get none of the sunrise, you get none of the sunset. Everybody at that point looks like zombies and is on their deathbed. You can't really see anything and by the time you're winding down and done is about the time the sun's going to come up, like in the next hour or so.
Speaker 1:So that brings new life to everybody.
Speaker 2:But you don't get that. Yeah, that sunrise shift is the best, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you don't get that part. So I think that's the worst shift. That one starting after midnight is the worst.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would agree that is hard. So how?
Speaker 1:did you do it? Did you guys alternate every lap or did you guys do like you go for two or three hours?
Speaker 2:So we did a four person team. The last time that I did as a team and we did, I feel like we did two laps in the daytime and then at night. We might have changed it up a little bit.
Speaker 1:Do you like riding at night?
Speaker 2:I do at night I do. I really have only ridden at night at Draper and Thunderbird when we were like training for that, and at Palo Duro Canyon. So they're not technical spots, but I would find that I would like ride better, with more confidence, because you don't see like all of the peripheral stuff that like would scare me out there and you're seeing everything kind of last minute, so you're writing it whether you think you're going to or not.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause it's when it shows up. It's too late, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I also find it like it's almost like it was kind of almost like writing something new too, because you write something for so long and then when nighttime comes, then you see like the little mice or the bugs and stuff like that, and it's kind of entertaining. Yeah, so many eyeballs, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:The only time I did the 24 hour, I got lost on my night. I was like going to do one lap at night and I went out there and is in the middle area where it's just like the big open field kind of area and you know. You know the route in the daytime because you can see. Yeah, and you know you know the route in the daytime, cause you can see, but at night there's really like no trail. There is, but there isn't.
Speaker 2:It all kind of looks like rock yeah.
Speaker 1:And I got off and I just like showed up at a wall and I'm like, well, clearly this isn't right. But then I couldn't figure out how to get back over to where I I don't know where I turned off, so I just rode across the desert until I saw other people's lights oh and then got on there and I was.
Speaker 1:I don't know how much I cut off, I have no idea. So I was like I think I'm gonna go to bed. No, that was. I went to bed for like four hours yeah, that would be upsetting. I was like I'm done because I was afraid I was gonna fall off one of the ledges out there at night.
Speaker 2:Because yeah when you're solo and you haven't been thinking and you haven't been sleeping and yeah, there's a point where you start to see things that are like not really there and you're like I know what you mean, I wasn't a fan of that part of it.
Speaker 1:Did you ever go do the 24 hours in Old Pueblo?
Speaker 2:I went last year with Chris and the Devo team that we were working with, but I didn't race it, I just supported it, which I think was equally as hard as racing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, supporting a 24-hour race with kids.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was just me and they did a five-person team, so we did have another adult, luckily, her name was Jess, and then the four, I guess we had three and then Chris, but it was. That event is amazing, like if you have not, if you're wanting to do a 24 hour race, like that race is really cool. The atmosphere, it's a very like party vibe. It's very like spectator friendly. We really had a lot of fun there. Okay, that was probably the coldest camping that I've done.
Speaker 2:Um, there was like the trail was snow covered the week before the race when we got there it was just a little bit muddy still, um, but then the I the course was like perfect for racing. It dried up and it was warm and it was nice, but, um, yeah, it was cold and it was challenging keeping, especially keeping like that amount of teenagers who have never done anything like that motivated and working together and eating and all the things, but it was a lot of fun man, yeah, that sounds like a nightmare.
Speaker 1:I'd rather race the 24 hours than manage. I know the group for 24 hours well and it did like.
Speaker 2:When you have envy of like, you know I wish I was doing this. It does make it a little bit harder, that would make up.
Speaker 1:So are you going to try to do that someday? Maybe, yeah, yeah, that would be fun, yeah um, yeah, you guys need to go do it like as a family, like do a team that would be fun that would be fun.
Speaker 2:Oh wait, I don't know. That's kind of like writing a tandem, like we might actually come out like hate each other.
Speaker 1:Yeah one might come out.
Speaker 2:I don't know which one. You would be the only one that comes back. I don't know what happened.
Speaker 1:Sorry guys, you and aubrey come heading back. The two boys would not make it back that is a great idea.
Speaker 2:We should do something like that.
Speaker 1:um, so you did it for fun. You kind of got into your race and doing all that stuff. Chris is off doing his stuff, and then you have a kiddo at this point and then when did you guys start getting her into racing? And like in the Kids Cup Is that kind of where she started with All Restarted?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Tour de Dirt Kids.
Speaker 1:Cup. How old was she?
Speaker 2:I mean. Chris's first mountain bike race was the day before Ryan was born.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I think I guess she was like seven or eight when she did her first race. It was kind of around the time when we all kind of started getting into it. She I don't know if she loved it or hated it. We've talked about this so many times, but she would get so emotional when she was little that she would cry before and after all of her races if she won or if she lost, okay.
Speaker 1:It was either the best or the worst.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's funny.
Speaker 1:But she kept doing them. So I don't think she really had a choice. Yeah, did, um. Is that kind of like at this point you guys kind of knew like this is kind of where our life trajectory, or is that kind of what, when you kind of knew that. I think so, yeah, for sure and you were still working at dean mcgee or one of those places yeah, well, so at that time, um, where was I then?
Speaker 2:still in the eye world yeah, I was in the eye world. Um, it came so naturally to us just because I grew up camping. Like my every single weekend my family camped. Um, that was kind of our thing. We'd go to lakes like we were lake rats and camped and stuff like that, and chris was racing, you know just something else. And so when, when our kids started showing interest in racing, it was just like perfect.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was something different, but also the same yeah, it was like a perfect fit yeah and then when aubrey kind of like, oh, that's kind of my thing, like I like this, I want to do this as a mom, how was that? Were you like I'm glad she found something she really enjoys, or was it like I wish she would try ball sports? I wish she was trying something else? I really don't want her out here possibly getting hurt. Like how was that from a mom side of things, watching your kid get into a kind of a sketchy sport?
Speaker 2:Yeah, kind of a sketchy sport. Yeah, it was going to hit or miss, like, depending on how she was doing, how her confidence, her confidence was a big thing. Like confidence in any kind of female junior cycling, I think is like the mental side of that is such a big challenge.
Speaker 2:It was always pretty easy until she got to where she was starting to race with the boys, more Like she would, you know or you know, compete with the boys, and then the boys would say things to her. You know, just kind of like a thing and I'd have to try to like, contain myself.
Speaker 1:Which is not your strong suit suit.
Speaker 2:So I've been told I mean up until like the year that Aubrey went to college. Aubrey was a pretty timid kind, so I mean she is still like very kind soul, but she was very much like a people pleaser and so I felt like very protective over that. Um, especially when you know she would race and kids cup and things like that and the boys would say things and I we would brush that off easy. But as she grew up she would start racing and the women's category and like crits and stuff like that. As a junior female and even the older females like not all of them but a good percentage of them would say like really nasty things to her to try to get into her head or so how did you deal with that?
Speaker 1:as being a mom, and you're like, look, she's at first off, she's a child and second off like screw off. That's my kid Like how do you, how did you balance that? Or did you?
Speaker 2:No, I feel like I did it pretty well and that's probably because Chris kind of leashed me. There were a couple incidents that I remember, like we would have like talks afterwards, but for the most part we tried to teach her and to like guide her into sticking up for herself and, you know, brushing things off so that she we could tell at that point that she was probably going to be doing this for a long time and it could just be the way things are Right. When Aubrey was kind of going through the junior categories, there was unfortunately not very many women in cycling.
Speaker 2:She had a couple of women mentors that would really stick up for her and ride with her and things like that, but there really just wasn't an option. So she would do a lot of racing with the boys.
Speaker 1:Did you? How were you? Were you OK with her getting in there and mixing it up with the guys as being a young female, or were you just like? I mean, this is our only choice. It is what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it kind of is. It was kind of like it is what it is, but she, she was liking it, so we felt pretty comfortable with it, yeah what about, uh, and then rye rye comes along and he decides he wants to start racing and get into that world.
Speaker 1:When now you have two kiddos yeah, racing, and pops is racing how is that? Like I don't understand how you balance, and especially when I was thinking about this interview last night, I'm like things to ask. I'm like how in the world that Vanessa balance, like a very motivated and driven dad who wants to have his own results, and then two kids? One, ryrie just wants to play and bounce bikes off of everything and do a scooters and all the things when he was younger, and then two kids.
Speaker 1:One, Ry-Ry, just wants to play and bounce bikes off of everything and do a scooters and all the things when he was younger. Um, and then you know Aubrey's competitive and cared. But not only are you like managing their race schedules, getting them to races, traveling as a group most of the time, but also like you had a career, you're taking care of things at the house and managing all of that life Like you had so many things to manage.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:How was that? Or was it just like I?
Speaker 2:kind of like it Like that's kind of why I said like with the 24 hours is like the planning and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:That's your strong suit.
Speaker 2:I think so yeah.
Speaker 1:Have you always been that way no.
Speaker 2:Oh, interesting I mean when it's stuff that's like just for me like, or even stuff around the house or stuff like that. It's like and I do feel like as I am getting older it's not as it used to be, but more last minute type deals. But I do really like the organizing and the logistics side of you know, kind of like directing into race weekend. So, and I do say that. But I do also think, like Chris has it the hardest and I still has it the hardest, because I can like go grocery shopping and get the food ready and get everyone registered and like make sure everyone has the right clothes packed and this and that, and that's kind of the easy stuff, like for me that's just like we're just checking off a list of like all the same stuff every single weekend.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But Chris is like making sure all the bikes are dialed and if something goes wrong he's covering for it. And if you know something needs to be changed, he's changing parts and that's pretty taxing. You know something needs to be changed, he's changing parts and that's pretty taxing. And then to race himself. And I think he has it the hardest for sure.
Speaker 1:Your kids have no idea that they've been on like professional race teams since they started.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like any, like a normal race team, is going to be like a step down from the services that they've been getting, because they had a full time mechanic who is like one of the best mechanics there is and they always have good equipment. Their stuff was always clean. They didn't have to worry about or do any of that stuff. Mom always had the food ready. They show up to the races.
Speaker 2:They're just ready to go I don't know, ryan can't like, yeah, ryan comes home from europe this year and he's like our camper was right off, you know like he definitely makes sure to tell us he became bougie all of a sudden yeah. What actual pro teams?
Speaker 1:are like so I guess you better go train.
Speaker 2:I'm like, yeah, there's your fire, that's it, that's right, cause you're back to reality whenever you guys left and so okay, let's go back one step.
Speaker 1:So bike one was a team that kind of was Chris's first.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, those were the good days, those are like the big mountain by that that team.
Speaker 1:I know I'm so bummed that I was not a part of that world, because that is the and I will tell you, I don't remember any racing at that time like that was just memories fun, yeah, all the fun stuff, yeah, yeah were you a part of any of that world, besides just going to the races and hanging out? Were you? Did you have a a part in that situation?
Speaker 2:A little bit like Chris, like designing the kits and stuff like that, just deciding what we were going to do as a team and who was going to be on it was very easy. It felt like it all just like fell, yeah, into place and um, but I was a part of that. I mean, that was something that me and Chris, with Tommy's, like approval. Basically we just got to run with Um, but everyone that was on that team was so a part of the team and supportive and things like that that there was nothing that was done, that everyone wasn't involved in so, so fun.
Speaker 1:It was great Such a fun group of people.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love, I love looking seeing those pictures. I'm like man, that's like all the fun people, yeah, and that are, and a lot of them are still in it, which is surprising yeah. Uh, in one way or another. But, um, and then you guys moved to Tulsa. And when you guys move up there, what did you do for work when you left and went up there?
Speaker 2:So when we moved to Tulsa, um, I started out working for an ophthalmologist that was like right, really close to us it was. I was recommended from an actual patient that I had in Oklahoma City. It was a lot different. You know the vibe there was a lot different than working for old Carter.
Speaker 2:J I missed it and so we. So at that time I got the opportunity, there was a lot of doctors in gynecology, believe it or not, that was in the cycling world in Tulsa, and so Jennifer Donnelly, who's a big part of the divas in Tulsa, some friends of mine, heidi and stuff, they all like kind of came together and they're like we think you'd really like this position working.
Speaker 1:And I loved it.
Speaker 2:It was so much fun working at Tulsa OBGYN and two of our doctors were like actually like really big into the cycling. That's nice, two of our doctors were like actually like really big into the cycling. Um, I would say probably 40% of the staff there, the women ride with the divas, like it was.
Speaker 1:It was a blast, yeah, yeah, so were you there most of the until you guys left.
Speaker 2:I was there until we left Gotcha.
Speaker 1:Did you have anything to do outside of in the cycling scene in Tulsa, outside of the drum and race team?
Speaker 2:to do outside of in the cycling scene in Tulsa, outside of the drum and race team, yeah, so we did um some things with Tanner uh, cold breath with um cyclocross. Almost everything that we did in Tulsa, I feel like, was cyclocross.
Speaker 1:We did clinics and things like that um did you kind of help organize those on the back end and do all that stuff?
Speaker 2:yeah, you just seem to be the logistics person of, yeah, all the things kind of organize like time date chris would always choose where, for course reasons and things like that, and then I would bring snacks like the perfect one two combo yeah man, it's like the dream team.
Speaker 1:It just happened to work that way. Let's go back to the snacks you brought snacks.
Speaker 2:What kind of snacks did you bring? All the snacks, snacks.
Speaker 1:Now we're talking. Now we're finally to a subject I mean people come to a clinic for the snacks normally, I agree. Totally agree. Okay so, and then did y'all have a race team there? Because I know he raced with Sound Pony, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so SPCX started pretty close, maybe just a little bit before when we moved there. I know that jake and paul were kind of building the team jake, paul, tom and ben who was then racing as a junior, and I can't remember if skylar was a part of that, maybe not, but anyways. Um yeah, they kind of invited chris to join along with, and that was home for us in.
Speaker 2:Tulsa, like that was our home, all of the clinics and everything that we kind of did was rallying around that team. That was the year that Aubrey was really big in trying to get the world uh, world championship team qualification. So we did a lot of events trying to lead and hype her up for that um. And then that was the year after that was the year, I think, that paul and chris went to worlds. So we did a lot of like fundraising and stuff with sound pony and spcx so we did a lot of community stuff those couple of years.
Speaker 2:Um, that was great.
Speaker 1:At that point the kiddos are starting to get competitive.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like into their like big level. So what was that like?
Speaker 2:It was. It was good. I mean, we had a lot of really good support, um with like, especially with that team. Um, they would pre-ride with the kids and things like that. I think that the very like Ryan was eight years old when we went to our first Cyclocross Nationals and they had a 9 to 10 national championship category. That was the last year that they had that category.
Speaker 1:Oh goodness.
Speaker 2:But I remember he it seemed like, and that was in austin so that was the year that it was in austin and ever since then it's been like game on for ryan, like he was all in after that year gotcha um, and I really do think like chris was big and you know big into those goals, but it did definitely feel like it was we were more chasing those goals for the kids and then chris would just do it because we were going basically um, did you from your side of things, did you enjoy that phase more?
Speaker 1:because he's not as chris, wasn't as driven and focused on his own personal things, and now now it's like mainly the kids, and then Chris is, he's competitive and focused but not like as the same kind of driven and focused that he was before. Was that more? It's just completely different, I know, but like being the focus only on the kids. Was that easier or harder?
Speaker 2:as for you, as a parent, it was definitely easier mentally, um, because I you know if anything happened, we were like there for the kids basically.
Speaker 2:So it was easier to make decisions and talk and work things out with them. I can really only recall one year that it was like 100% I'm doing this for me and that was the year that he won his title, and that year was completely different for us. Um, he rode, you know, like he didn't miss a beat. So, like for me coming in and like explaining to like our family, like it's christmas day, it's raining outside but they're still going to ride, you know, know like things like that.
Speaker 2:That's kind of where I had to like jump in and make sure that there wasn't reasons that they were missing things for you know because he was very driven for getting that and driven for himself that year. But then we were still also very much chasing things for the kids as well. So I wouldn't say it was like a super hard year, but it was definitely different than the other years Do you like?
Speaker 1:did you enjoy more when they were like kind of the phase now where the kids are like super focused and they're at like a different level there I mean, they're at an elite level racing now or did you enjoy the teenager years going to tour, to dirt and the fun like local cross stuff, like it's so different. But which one did you enjoy more, as from a mom standpoint and as a spectator standpoint?
Speaker 2:I think I enjoy where we're at right now, and maybe that's because that's the easy answer, I don't know. But, um, I feel like everyone is in their place now, like we know, like we did start out, and I think a lot of people forget and I think even our kids forget sometimes like we started out mountain biking, like we were a mountain biking family and but it took like we never, ever raced or chased road out of state and so for Aubrey to be doing what she's doing now. She found that on her own right.
Speaker 2:Like she's doing what she wants to do and she made that path for Ryan to. I feel like we've given him all of the opportunities of what he wants to do and he's like now traveling to races on his own and I feel like they're. They're on their own now, so it's like watching it in that point of view. I think is like okay.
Speaker 1:Is it such a proud moment that you're like man we raised like two good humans?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like, you have amazing kids.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Amazing kids and I don't think anybody would say anything different than that of how amazing those kids are. I mean, is that just such a source of pride, or is it just like we're still in it? Because I think we're very much still in it. We're still pretty young.
Speaker 2:And I hope we're not even close to being like. If I think about us like not racing, if I think about me and Chris not going to races to watch our kids, it's like I almost lose my breath, like it's like oh, it's just you guys. It's what we do, like it's truly in your blood.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's just you guys. It's what we do, like it's truly in your blood.
Speaker 2:It is, and I, like I've never talked about this out loud.
Speaker 1:So it's like I don't want to get emotional.
Speaker 2:But it's like I do.
Speaker 1:Well, if you cry, I'll cry. I'm just going to throw it out there now.
Speaker 2:I think, like every time I watch my kids race in person right now, like I'm, I feel like it's like a special moment because I just don't get to do that very often anymore, yeah, and that makes me proud. Like it's really hard. It's probably the hardest thing as a parent, but it's also the most pride to know that, like you, don't watch your kids race every day because they're racing somewhere else.
Speaker 1:Do you have like such pride in like whenever that clearly you're proud of them when they have good results. But is it like when you're standing back? So like me and you at like the Tuesday night crits, we're standing over on the corner BS and about whatever, and you see them mingling with, you know, the top racers and they're holding their own through corners and they're doing their, and then afterwards they're all hanging out and stuff. Is it like such a source of pride of like they're doing it?
Speaker 1:and they're in their element and they're like good people and like competing and hanging. Or is it more of like that's still my little baby over there and you stay away because I've seen that side?
Speaker 2:it's a little bit of both I don't know if that'll ever change, right, um, but now I see the most like, I get the most proud of my kids when they have a bad moment and they overcome that they handle it um, yeah, especially in the same maybe like week or weekend of racing.
Speaker 2:Um, like you know, last weekend ryan had an incident, didn't have the greatest saturday, and then he comes back sunday and he's just like all in the whole race. Um, I can tell that they're maturing to where they're, you know learning and things like that, but then also the way that they're I cannot even begin to say how much life skills people learn by going through like development teams and and just being around racing and racing your bike as an individual and as like an individual sport, sport. Um, but now I can like step back and I can see my kids in the community and um like at races and events and with other juniors and things like that and the decisions that they're making and I feel like they're going to make it.
Speaker 1:They have a chance. Well, and then, after you guys leave Tulsa cause you're right, you did make that such a home you guys, I felt like I didn't think you guys would ever leave Tulsa. I mean, I felt like I didn't think you guys would ever leave Tulsa. I mean I felt like that was like the perfect match for a variety of reasons for you guys. But then you go to the Mecca of cycling for this part of the country, as some would say, and go to Bentonville. How did you feel about that and how did you adapt and how was that transition for you? Because I've learned a lot from you guys and I've gone out there a lot and we, you know, have we have a bunch of Oklahoma people out there now, and so I get to hear a little bit more of the back end of Bentonville.
Speaker 2:Um, not the tourist side of.
Speaker 1:Bentonville. So, um, what was it like going out there and getting the kids plugged in there and going a whole completely after having such a great, wonderful safe spot in Tulsa?
Speaker 2:I think we took advantage of what, um, what we had like you know, the grass is always greener on the other side and then I think that we quickly realized that we needed our people. Um, bentonville is an amazing place, like Bentonville is. You know? We were going to Bentonville during the pandemic. We were finding every way that we could to rent out Airbnbs when people were not supposed to rent out Airbnbs. And we were just going and riding like literally from sunup to sundown until we could not walk anymore.
Speaker 1:We were like riding our bikes in.
Speaker 2:Bentonville. So when we moved to Bentonville it felt very much like permanent vacation, like that's what it felt like Um, and that's kind of the theme that it always was over. There is like permanent vacation, which is it's the thing for some people but it just wasn't for us. Um, in that sense, um, but yeah, we, we very quickly got involved with the community over there, which is different just because there's, I mean, you picture, like a very small town and literally I think that the day that we moved there the population was 35,000.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh 35,000.
Speaker 2:And I think that now it's like I just was at Bentonville in Bentonville last week and I heard that there's an average of 36 people a day moving into.
Speaker 2:Northwest Arkansas. And so you have that, and most of it is either cycling families who are coming from other places, who you know probably have it set on how things should be and how things should run and how they see, or you have Walmart it's like Walmart or Tyson moving in. So I think right now it's in maybe a growing pain phase of just what is the community going to be like over there.
Speaker 1:It'll be interesting to see how all that money not just the Walton family money but like the community's money and wealth go through the roof and how that shapes and changes the attitude and the spirit of Northwest Arkansas. People, and a whole bunch of them are very set personality to get to that spot usually not always, but usually and they're going to come with certain entitlements and demands and plans of their own. So it'll be interesting to see how that shapes this mountain bike I know laid-back vibe community yeah that's supposed to be there yes yeah, that'll be interesting.
Speaker 1:And then the devo groups are blowing up like crazy out there.
Speaker 2:They are. What I, what I feel like may happen is it's like all of all of this new stuff that popped up super fast will probably settle down, and then that's when you'll see the actual businesses that will make it like that will come in and, like you know, those business owners that probably waited things out a little bit, um, there are some really really good junior programs over there. Um, that it's. It's funny like you can see the ones that are like staying in their own lane and just like driving forward and all, all businesses like we could talk about coffee shops the same as we could talk about junior, like they just have everything and so much of it over there yeah
Speaker 1:that um, it's, it's just wild, it's did you like being in a full-fledged cycling community or did you like it where you're, in oklahoma city and tulsa, and it's like most people have no clue about cycling unless? They have a friend or a family member who does it, and then they're everybody. The whole town is built around cycling.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Was it too much and just got to be like man. I just can't get a break from the stupid bicycle For me, it was not too much as far as that goes, I loved that part of it.
Speaker 2:Um, for Chris it was, I think that's what it did get too much Um just because just non-stop it was non-stop. Um. Struggles were that there's an event every weekend, so like if you need a break or a quiet weekend or something like that, it's like you basically just have to stay home, or you know like it's. It's just wild how much they yeah how was it with the kids there?
Speaker 1:did you enjoy that, knowing that like especially with, because I guess aubrey was kind of growing up at this point, kind of starting to get a little bit more into kind of her own thing. But like ryan, he went from not having anybody to ride with in oklahoma city to had a few junior racers that were his level in tulsa, to going there where there's, like, kids on bicycles everywhere yeah, um, shortly after we moved there, aubrey left us for you know, she went to college and so um.
Speaker 2:So she was, you know she, she was coming, you know she just would come and ride and then join group rides, that sort of thing. So she didn't really have a click over there. Um, she definitely had a group of friends, like her best friend um is in Bentonville and Ryan, his situation was a little bit different for Bentonville because as soon as we moved over there he shattered his arm oh, that's right, and so his, I feel like his whole Bentonville experience is different than all of ours.
Speaker 2:Um, because he that was a long recovery and it put him in like I mean, I would say like borderline depression, when he was off of his bike and so it took him.
Speaker 2:That was the first time that basically all of the kids that age when you're like 14, 15, um, you're racing at a high level and that's when skills start turning into. You have to train and Ryan was kind of learning that the hard way anyways and so you take him off of his bike for six months and he stops writing. And he stopped. Like he's like eating junk food, he's just, he learned the hard way that like he had to dig himself out of a big hole yeah, and I think that, like from that time until until this year, I would say he's out of the hole how was that?
Speaker 1:as a mom to watch it?
Speaker 2:was so.
Speaker 2:It was the hardest it was very hard because he, like I, would never make my kids do something. And you can add, like I would dare ask them, like we've asked them so many times do you want to do this? Like you, do not be afraid to tell us if you don't want to do this, um, but to watch them like waste away, like what they've worked up to, um it was, it's so hard his skill that he has and what he brings to. Like watching him this year back into the racing scene with the kids he's been racing with since he was eight years old, like those top 15 boys. They've all been together since they were eight years old, which is amazing, and to see him out of that loop for a year and a half, it was. It was so sad it was just really hard yeah and
Speaker 1:it was hard watching him being sad about it right and you're just like because you want to fix it, but just you need to let him figure it out a little.
Speaker 2:He has to do it, yeah that's tough.
Speaker 1:Did you ride much when you were living there? Yeah, um, yeah, so what were your favorite trails over there?
Speaker 2:I liked. My favorite trail is hobbs.
Speaker 1:Oh agree, Love it out there. Which one of the trails out there did you like the most?
Speaker 2:It's the, not the. There's two trails over there.
Speaker 1:Uh huh.
Speaker 2:They're cursed loop.
Speaker 1:Uh huh, that's, that's it, that's so fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So fun that. And like I never always forget something, Dan, is it Bolston?
Speaker 2:or I could never ride that one. Okay, so that's the one, because I could never, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Because it like connects that to the, to the Hobbs, to whatever those are that are called that are over there.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Those two little sections that, whatever den and cars trail, maybe some of the most fun trails I've ever ridden.
Speaker 2:Oh, really there's. It's so flowy, yeah. I had, I had never in that, yeah, beautiful, and in the summertime, you can jump in the water right there like really yeah, so if you ride that loop, um, it may be a little bit half past halfway, but there's like a spot where it opens up, like there's like a campground sign, and then on the other side there's some rocks and like this amazing spot where you jump in to the water off of the rocks I have to pay attention.
Speaker 1:How far of a drop is it?
Speaker 2:Oh, it's not far at all. Yeah, you can definitely like there's a beach right there.
Speaker 1:Okay, super nice. Yeah, I do love that trail.
Speaker 2:I'm like all in for anywhere, and that's probably why I rode more there, cause of the creeks like anywhere I can ride and like, stop for, like a splash pad or something You're in like a splash pad or something like that here in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're like a child, yeah for sure, playing. Yeah In.
Speaker 2:Tulsa. I would plan my rides like along the river trail where I could stop at splash pads, because there's a lot of them in Tulsa. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:So you're the kid in the group Found it, got it, figured that out. I had to find the splash pad last summer when Lindsay was training for Kona and I felt like I was in decent shape, but one day I thought I was going to die. We were on the river trail. She's like let's just go a few more miles. I'm like how about this? You keep riding. I'm going to go to the splash pad. I'm going to lay in the water with the children. When you're coming back, come to the splash pad and get me, so she takes off. I went to the splash pad, she comes back and I'm sitting with these two little girls that were probably I don't know, they were, for sure less than five.
Speaker 2:This is not creepy at all.
Speaker 1:Not creepy at all. So I'm sitting there like on the edge of death, these two little kids and they are the cutest little girls you've ever seen they're like I don't know, three and four, three and five. So they're feeding me crackers. Mom's over here just like laughing this whole time because now they have a new friend. I'm cramp and I can't do anything. Lindsay comes rolling. She's like what the hell is happening here? I was like well, I told you to ride your bike. I'm hanging out in Splash Pad. I don't know what to tell you. This is way more fun. So I get it. I think the Splash Pads are a much better alternative than riding hard, because that was way more fun. Yeah, yeah, I guess. Okay, what was your least favorite trail over there? Did you have any?
Speaker 2:they were like this is not fun um, I mean, I I really wasn't a fan of any of the blowing springs trails oh, okay I don't know why they were just kind of like short and yeah kind of tech, like technical. I did crash there once and like smashed up my face and so I was like I don't know, I didn't. Yeah, I didn't really like going over there have you ever had a really bad wreck?
Speaker 2:so, um, no, yeah, but the worst wreck for me yeah um, I, the year that I was doing the Tour de Dirt races, I did crash and hurt my shoulder pretty bad at Thunderbird and there used to be like this I don't know if it's still out there, but there used to be like a wooden like kind of like a downhill bridge thing there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's a couple of them.
Speaker 2:So I did that and then my front tire slid out at the bottom of it and the leaves like on the very first lap, like we were all still together, and I remember Susan Young was like I think she's okay, and then everyone left me and you're like, I think I'm dying Like and literally I knew that Chris was on the start line because it was like the way that the start waves were, and so I was like I'm just going to walk out of here because I couldn't lift my arm.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:And Tom, Tom and Debbie.
Speaker 1:Yes, the last name.
Speaker 2:Tom. He rode up behind me and he picked up my bike and he carried it all the way out to the parking lot and, yeah, he sacrificed his race and showed me like the right way out. But yeah, my shoulder was pretty banged up and I had like a humongous hematoma on my thigh. That was. It was really gnarly, but that was my worst.
Speaker 1:That's a pretty good one. Yeah, I don't want itly, but that was my worst. That's a pretty good one. Yeah, I don't want it any worse than that. Yeah. Yeah, that's about the extent of my worst ones and I want to keep it that way.
Speaker 2:I mean everyone else probably looked at me and they're like oh my God, you're kidding me, but that was my worst.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's good. It's better than the others decide. What were you doing, uh, for work, when you guys were in Bentonville?
Speaker 2:um. So when we moved to Bentonville, a deal that I had made with myself and like I really talked to Chris about, was I didn't want to be in the medical field anymore. Um, I worked in a hospital through the pandemic and that was not good. Um, so I did so. I started out at um, a kid's bike shop which was called Buddy Pegs, and it's in Bentonville, Um, and it was so much fun. I mean you're, you're talking like everything. Kids and some super awesome kids bikes Like um, and they did programming as well.
Speaker 1:Um.
Speaker 2:So I was in heaven there, kids bikes Like um, and they did programming as well, um, so I was in heaven there. I was like, okay, you know, like I'm in it. I'm finally like I wanted to work in the bike industry. Since Chris was at bike one, I would like beg to work at the bike shop over the weekends Like I want to do this, I don't want to do what I do.
Speaker 2:Like I realized, okay, being in the bike industry, you just hop in and then you're in it, there's options. And so I did hop around a little bit and so I also worked at Rafa when I was in.
Speaker 2:Bentonville. I loved it too. Unfortunately, things with Rafa didn't end up working out with North America, with Rafa didn't end up working out with North America. But and then I I heard that USA cycling was opening an office in Bentonville and that was like, oh, I, that's like I really want to do that. Yeah, it's. The position that was posted was all of the things that I really enjoyed doing, like for Devo teams that I have done for, like SPCX for our family, like everything. I understood right, it was like I didn't have, I didn't feel like training for this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was so I got so lucky and I got that position and so I'm with USA cycling now. Um, my title since Aubrey didn't know this has recently changed, but I am the technical and events manager for USA Cycling, which means that I work directly under our technical director with all of like rules, regulations. I help out with like letters whenever people need like going overseas to race and things like that Gotcha Like licensing and stuff, yeah.
Speaker 2:So you have approval letters basically to race, just stating that they're in good standings with USA Cycling and with our country. To race somewhere else Gotcha, so we provide them a foreign permission letter, is what we call them. Gotcha, so we provide them a forum permission letter, is what we call them. And then UCI licenses, you know things like all of that good technical stuff, rulebook updates, stuff like that and then she handles like disciplinary actions.
Speaker 1:So you're not the bad guy.
Speaker 2:I don't have to be the bad guy, you're the bad guy behind the scenes, yeah.
Speaker 1:You're the mean one that the bad guy has to enforce, luckily, yeah.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, bonnie Walker is the technical director for USA Cycling she's amazing, okay. And then I also for national events, kind of like the third party between. We use Medalist as our events production team, okay, and work with them leading up to a lot of our national championships. And then currently, in kind of more of a recent position, I'm helping out with a lot of the collegiate racing stuff, which is a world of its own. So every day I work with a lot of our varsity team coaches on like needs and improvements and is there a big group of universities that have cycling teams?
Speaker 2:So big compared to how it was been in the past. No, collegiate cycling is very much needing to be babied right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, why is that? Why is there a decline?
Speaker 2:I think it has to do a lot with the pandemic and then a lot with just the ecosystem of pricing increasing and things like that. A lot of students now do online school, like there's a lot of things that I think have led up to Interesting, yeah, to collegiate kind of dying a little bit, um, but it is on an uphill trajectory.
Speaker 1:Right now it's it's looking good um who are like the top programs for collegiate cycling oh, is there, is there? I said some, then I think that some people, that's true, is there some schools that are because I don't really understand how it works, because when I listen to podcasts and all these seven people are like, oh, I was on the collegiate cycling but it seemed. It's so random because sometimes we were like I just got into cycling and I joined the cycling team, but some people are, like you know, in the lifetime series.
Speaker 2:Now they're like I was on the cycling team, so it's so, so there used to be division one and division two is what it used to be called. Now it's called varsity and club and the only difference in that? A lot of people think that varsity means that it's a faster group of athletes, but what varsity means is that they're getting financial support or can get financial support from the university. Club is, most of the time, club does not have. They don't have a paid coach or team coach. They could have like a volunteer coach or, but then they don't get any kind of scholarships for cycling or anything like that.
Speaker 1:Do we have any in Oklahoma?
Speaker 2:We. So it's funny, osu used to actually have a cycling club used to be. Yeah, I've recently reached out to see like where they were on that. Um, I haven't heard back yet, but yeah, michael might be. Yeah, I do need to connect with him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, and then as far as like national championships and stuff like that, do they compete as individuals or as teams?
Speaker 2:so they compete as individuals, um, but Collegiate offers omniums and that is a national championship competition. They do individual omniums and then team omnium overalls. So like if you go to road nationals, they do an individual and team time trial and then crit and road race so the team can compete with all of their results for team omnium and then individual omniums would um, and the team omnium is very much what varsity schools look for, um, that's kind of like the big goal to bring that home, because that's where they're getting, like you know they're funding.
Speaker 1:that's that's their big trophy for the year who are some of the teams that have recently win. That do you know off top of your head because you know like I. Just the only schools around here I really know about is the one in wichita falls I can't think of the name of. It has a cycling program, and then you always hear of fort collins because of payson and whoever you know all the. There's a lot of people in lifetime series that went to school there and race. So is there like schools that are like man? They're kind of always competing for the national championships.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um so Colorado Mesa. Um so CMU is a, you know, is a big hitter. Um, in Colorado they have Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis college. Um, those are two big varsity schools. You have Marion Milligan, so the East Coast has some pretty big hitters as well. But then you also have schools like Piedmont, lindsay, wilson. They're not really that big of schools, but they have amazing programs.
Speaker 2:They have a cycling tradition there, there yeah, it's very hard to kind of like pull all of it together to to be able to provide something that is really good for everyone whenever you have, like, really big numbers, but then you have small teams with really good athletes. Um, it's quite challenging to try to figure out like the best path for collegiate cycling right now.
Speaker 1:So what's your favorite thing that you get to do in your job now with usa cycling? Is it going and dealing with the collegiate kids? Is it doing more of the rules and logistic things or like the events, like going to the events and having to deal with stuff at the races? Like what do you enjoy the most?
Speaker 2:I do love doing like the day-to-day technical side of things. Like I do love helping and assisting, like with the technical side. Some of that is helping with officials with their licenses and to events, things like that. So I like doing a lot of that stuff, just because it feels almost like they're co workers. As you know, they don't work for USA Cycling, but in a way that they do right, I like doing that stuff. But I love working at nationals, like I love working at events. I love like the short travels and getting to see the athletes and work with the coaches in person and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:But, um, definitely in this position you get to see, um and hear like a lot of the struggles and paths that a lot of the athletes and teams take and then so getting to them to actual events and watching them compete and seeing how that plays out is really rewarding and fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, have you. Uh, have you got to meet any of the big famous cyclists? Yeah, yeah so who are some fun ones that you've met.
Speaker 2:You're like oh, that was cool well, I I will say, besides chris, like besides chris drummond brandon mcnulty, and he is like the. Him and his wife, summer, are so nice that's cool you would never know like you would never know their story.
Speaker 1:That's good to hear stories like that, yeah, so, um, I won't pin you down for the ones that you don't like.
Speaker 2:We'll talk about that off the air yeah, we would have to talk about crit racing.
Speaker 1:There we go. Shocker, yeah, any of the other big UCI people that you've gotten to meet or come in contact with.
Speaker 2:You know, I've, I mean or any of the lifetime people in a way I feel like I've worked with, because every time they go overseas we have to like help them in a way get there, and then I'm very hands on at at Pro Road Nationals. So they're, so most of them are there so like getting to see like Colby Simmons, like that's super cool is it cool to see that level it is. Yeah, it is very cool, you've seen everything from like it's also kids cup to world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, world level yeah, getting to see those athletes that live and spend most of their time in europe and come here and jump in with, like the all americans you know, is is also very cool it is, but it's not that different, like I'm I was actually kind of shocked this year of how some of them performed. But I mean, I also very much realize which is unfortunate for the us that sometimes us national championships are not their biggest event of the year, so they don't give it 100, yeah, yeah yeah, they're not focused and it's just like they have to come through
Speaker 1:yeah, I was listening to a podcast with uh pogachar before today and he was talking about you know all his races, he's won, he's talking about his goals and stuff, and they threw in the olymp today. And he was talking about you know all his races, he's won. He's talking about his goals and stuff, and they threw in the olympics. And he's like, yeah, I mean, you know, like he didn't know how to say it politely, but he's like I'm coming off the tour yeah, I'm always gonna be coming off the tour.
Speaker 1:That race is really important for some and the olympics are really important for other sports and then he kind of like walked away from it. It was like he does it because he has to. He could care less if he ever wins. I mean he wants to win it, but like it's kind of the same with like usa it is.
Speaker 2:It is interesting I and I I do kind of fangirl like there. There are certain things that it's like. This year olivia cummings went to the Olympics for track. Like her and Aubrey have been friends since they were like juniors, and so to see that and to see like Magna Sheffield same thing, like he's been in the cyclocross scene.
Speaker 2:We've been with him racing cross for so many years um grant coots. Like seeing that and seeing athletes that you've watched race for their whole lives and actually like talked to and interacted with for years race at like the highest level is I agree, it's so cool.
Speaker 1:I, yeah, and like I have that in golf and that. Um, I think that was the coolest part, because my brother was older than me and he played at a really high level and whenever he got out of college, some of the guys he played against were on tour and so like when we'd go to the tournaments he would talk to them and I'm like this is the coolest thing ever yeah, like I'm gonna talk to a pga professional, you know, um, but then I went through my group and then some of my group got out there and it was always so cool to follow guys or I'm like, oh, oh, I played in a tournament with that person.
Speaker 1:Or I remember being at this course and, you know, growing up in a junior tournament and playing with that guy, or he was in my group or he was at the same tournament or whatever. So those years were so fun and I think they were so maybe more fun for my dad to get to say, oh yeah, that's, you know, tracy played with him or Ryan played with him, and so then he had people to watch and follow because he could go to the tournaments with us and see. And we knew that he's like, oh yeah, I went to the tournament and with that kid or whatever. So I think that was probably.
Speaker 1:Now all my group is getting old and phasing off the tour and so I don't have anybody out there anymore so I don't watch it anymore yeah so I think that was the most fun and like super cool, because you have like some inside info, yeah, inside relationships to the next level and it's so fun, it's special, it is special.
Speaker 2:It makes you view it different.
Speaker 1:It does and it I think it's it like confirms that like anyone can do, like you know, they started out just like everyone else but you also see what it really takes oh, absolutely, and you see, like it doesn't matter what so-and-so does, they are never going to be as good as so-and-so.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like they were always the best. Yeah, or they always had. They were always different. They look different, they rode different.
Speaker 2:Their bad days were not as bad Like they got beat but not much or they knew that they had to put that extra like it's interesting to see their paths.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you definitely can. Then, after you go through that phase once and now, people like I think I'm gonna go pro and I'm like I'm sorry, bro, I don't want to be the one that breaks it to you I know yeah because you can see, because now you've had the experience of seeing it. Yeah, it's pretty fun, so you're loving your new gig yeah, I do love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I absolutely now that you're back in Oklahoma City. It's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, happy to be back.
Speaker 2:I am great. I am so happy to be back.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It feels almost like there are times when I feel like we'd never left, oh, but then there are times when we go out somewhere and I'm like we don't know these people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I know it'll take some time. What's your favorite thing about being back? Probably that I can see my nephew anytime that I want and see, like chris's parents and my parents are so close that, even though we don't see them every day, it's just knowing that we're closer um feels good yeah, are you?
Speaker 1:uh, are you gonna do any racing anytime soon?
Speaker 2:I don't know. I mean, I keep thinking that I want to go back to Palo Duro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you should. Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2:It would be cool to like get a group in Oklahoma city and go and do like the whole camping experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did. I did the camping experience and it's so hot. I experience and it's so hot. I love the heat. It was 100. It was 115 the day we got there and the race day was 105 and it was miserable. Perfect, it was like 85 at night because you couldn't. You never got a break.
Speaker 2:it was awful, we were in a pop-up camper were you looking for the splash pad, I would have loved a splash pad and, oh, I've been amazing.
Speaker 1:Um, so your, your, uh, yard sale is going to be different, a little bit different, so we're just going to wing this one. But I do want to know your favorite piece of equipment. You don't even.
Speaker 2:It doesn't have to have a price amount yeah, um, my favorite piece of equipment would probably be not even equipment, but it's definitely going to be like a good pair of socks.
Speaker 1:Because you have a brand that you prefer.
Speaker 2:Swiftwick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love Swiftwick socks If I. Please tell me you like short socks. Just say yes.
Speaker 2:Just say yes, I like a mid-length sock.
Speaker 1:Very PC answer there.
Speaker 2:I see you don't have Okay, you do have some socks on right now short socks, um yeah, I yeah, I'm super picky on my hands and my feet anytime I ride, so okay um, I heard like I do wear gloves, but they never. I always take them off, no matter what the temperature is, but definitely socks.
Speaker 1:What's the favorite? What's the favorite? Well, favorite that you've ever done clearly is Palo Duro. What's a favorite race that you've been to for the kids?
Speaker 2:Jingle Cross.
Speaker 1:Why is that?
Speaker 2:Everything about Jingle Cross is magical was magical. I'm super sour that it's no longer an event. So Jingle Cross was a UCI cyclocross race in Iowa. The race promoter did amazing things. He worked really hard to get it to where it was it brought in.
Speaker 1:What made it so amazing?
Speaker 2:The environment, like just the environment, like you show up and the course was like legit a UCI World Cup course, but also very much a course that juniors and amateurs loved racing on. So it wasn't like too hard for anyone. It always had an amazing turnout for anyone. Um, it always had an amazing turnout. Community, wise spectator, wise racer like it was just so much fun to be there. It brought in the very top elite racers from you know, europe, all around the world. Everyone came in for that world cup race and it was just so fun.
Speaker 1:Why did?
Speaker 2:it go away? Good question, I don't know. I think that there was a lot of. There were some new events that were popping up that unfortunately it's kind of turned into like who did the work or who has more money, and unfortunately I don't know what happened with all of that. But now we don't have any World Cups, so I'm going to blame it on that, so they're not having at trek either we do not have any world cups in the us. I didn't know that anymore is that that's new was it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I'm saying I think they've always had the one at trek.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, huh. Wow, that's too bad it is yeah, so chris?
Speaker 2:chris is wrong when he says cross is coming, because it's clearly not Well, but I will say like I think we're closer and closer and closer to becoming an Olympic sport. Like it doesn't seem like it, but that would be cool. I have so many other and then I think it'll just all come right back, like I think, then gravel will be dead and there will be no gravel racing and then everyone will be racing cyclocross.
Speaker 1:You sound like him. His brain washed. You, damn it. Um, let's see what is. Uh, where's your favorite place?
Speaker 2:you've went to an event with your work I'm pretty new so I really haven't been to that many, but um or maybe the biggest surprise.
Speaker 1:Like you went to and you're like this was actually like I had no expectations and this was pretty awesome.
Speaker 2:I mean I would say probably go into the office. Um, in Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs is so cool Like I had never been to Colorado Springs until I started there. But I was super shocked at how many training facilities there were in colorado springs that are not cycling training centers like volleyball and diving and swimming and all that wrestling and weightlifting and yes, um, it's a very cool place to go and so the first time I had the opportunity to go there and spend some time, I was like this is cool, like I love going to colorado springs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, that's pretty good we did a race up there last summer and the trails were, and spend some time I was like this is cool, Like I love going to Colorado Springs. Yeah, I agree, that's pretty good. We did a race up there last summer and the trails were phenomenal and yeah, it's nice.
Speaker 2:It is, it's. There's so many cool things that happen in that little town. And it's not talked about too much. It doesn't seem like.
Speaker 1:I think they like it like that, yeah, and it's kind of like off the beaten path. There's no skiing there.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And you can't fly in there, really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's not elevation, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you've got to be going there to go to Colorado Springs. So people are going to Colorado, they're not going to Colorado Springs.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, but they should.
Speaker 1:There's good riding there.
Speaker 2:Really good riding there and the Air Force, and I actually watched it a lot from the Garden of the Gods too, where, like you, watch the planes go in and out and all the stuff where they land on the top of the mountain and all that.
Speaker 1:It's crazy. Yeah, it's really cool. Yeah, we already heard about your ride. What's the? Where's your favorite place to ride?
Speaker 2:My, I still think it's probably hobbs. I really like writing, like everything about that, yeah I agree it's a great trail um.
Speaker 1:What's the thing you miss the most about bentonville hobbs?
Speaker 2:no, um, it's probably that everything's pretty close together. Like I, I, when we were in Tulsa, everything that we did was in within like a one mile square and then we moved to Bentonville and it was like three miles, and so coming back here is a little bit of a shock of like oh, it takes 25 minutes to get there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, what's one event that you want to do that you've never done?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, um, what's event, one event that you want to do that you've never done? Um, I would say it's probably. I mean, I, I would really like to do the 24 hours of oh boy yeah and I like that's something that we've kind of watched. Chris has done it like several times and so even before last year it was kind of one that seems really fun to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you may or may not want to answer this one, and if you don't, we'll get you out of here on this one.
Speaker 1:If you want to say I defer, you can defer what's one thing that you would like to see either get better and or change in cycling and or say USA cycling. You can pick your topic, because since that's your employment, I get it, but say in cycling in general, what's something that you would say that you would like to see continue to grow and or go on the path that it's on, or you're like.
Speaker 2:I wish this would change pricing and how USA Cycling could work to provide events and to be successful at events and to work with promoters to be successful at events so that everyone kind of maybe doesn't come up on top but it breaks even.
Speaker 2:Prices go up and I get that, but I think that we could do better National championship wise, like, I mean, everyone talks about registration fees right now and I know why they're high and it's unfortunate, like insurance is expensive for us right now and I think that that's something that I know for sure that we're internally working on, but that's something that I talk to people about every single day that I'm like, if we could make this better, I think that more people would be interested in giving it a try. Um, and that's on the racer side, on like a promoter side. You know, unfortunately, a lot of people are choosing not to permit their events with usa cycling anymore, whenever almost all of them used to be, and I, you know, I would like to see us get involved in that and see how we could do better do you think it's just a cost thing?
Speaker 2:for I think it is a cost thing. Um, I think that there's a lot of things that build up to it, but I do think that, at the end of the day, I think it's like a cost thing because athletes don't want to have members. They don't want to pay for the membership, which causes people to not want to race a sanctioned race, but the promoters have so many fees on top of their event itself, that yeah, yeah, it becomes a problem.
Speaker 1:There's a snowball effect on it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, is there anything you want to add or talk about that we did not cover? I don't think so. We talked about a lot.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, I thank you very much for raising some amazing kids and putting up a drum and with chris, thank you for putting up with my family.
Speaker 1:They're amazing, um so, but I but again thank you so much for your time. Thanks for helping out with cycling oklahoma.
Speaker 2:I'm excited to see what we end up pulling together with all of that craziness too. That's just getting started. It's going to be amazing.
Speaker 1:Well, I hope so. Well, and the way I look at it, anything the Drummonds are involved in seems to always work. So, like, let's make that happen, the Drummonds want to be involved. We're going to get. But yeah, thanks for taking time out to do this.
Speaker 2:You bet, thank you.
Speaker 1:Let's go ride in circles and play bikes tonight. Yeah, bye.