Cycling Oklahoma
We will talk about everything cycling in Oklahoma. We cover races, athletes, bike industry, local gossip and everything fun that has to do with 2 wheels.
Cycling Oklahoma
Fast Guy but GREAT Dude - Ray Hall
Join us for a riveting conversation with Ray Hall, a cornerstone of the Oklahoma mountain biking scene, whose passion for cycling has fostered community growth and support. Discover the exciting new GCXC mountain bike race series in Northeast Oklahoma, promising fresh challenges for riders of all levels. We also spotlight the inspirational 12 Hours of Twisted Oak event, a race that combines the thrill of competition with the heartwarming mission of supporting community members like Mark Taruki through difficult times.
Reflect with us on transformative life decisions and personal growth, as we explore a poignant mentor relationship with Walt Haley that shaped our host's athletic and professional journey. From a high school runner facing setbacks to a Navy career that unveiled hidden potentials, this narrative emphasizes resilience and the impactful lessons learned outside conventional classrooms. Experience tales of camaraderie and unexpected adventures, weaving through the beginnings of a mountain biking career and the discovery of new passions and aspirations.
Dive into the world of competitive cycling, where the thrill of racing meets meaningful community initiatives. Hear about memorable races, the camaraderie among cyclists, and the pursuit of charity in events designed to uplift and support those in need. We explore grassroots racing initiatives, the formation of a new Tulsa miniseries, and ambitious plans for local race series expansions. Celebrate with us the joy and fulfillment derived from creating impactful community experiences, and be inspired to support local races and strengthen the bonds within the Oklahoma cycling community.
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12hrs of Twisted Oak - https://www.facebook.com/events/865070055552333/
GCXC MTB Race Series
What is up Cycling Oklahoma? This episode's really good. It was really fun sitting down with Ray Hall. For those of you that do know Ray, I think you're going to get some insights here and maybe learn a few things about him and his history in cycling that you didn't really know and why he is such an absolute badass on the bike on the bike, but honestly, more importantly significantly more importantly how great of a human he is. I think probably a lot of people that are diehards in the mountain bike community have met Ray over the years and have talked to him, gone to some of his races, raced on his properties, done some tour de dirt races that he's been the promoter for in Tulsa and didn't really fully understand how great of a guy he is. Um, and he truly lives this every single day. Um, so I think you're really going to enjoy this and and learning about a little bit more in the details of how great of a guy he is. We did this one through remotely, so the sound is it's as good as we can make it, so please bear with us on that, but I think you're really going to enjoy this one. Um, ray does a lot for our cycling community, not only giving back with his time, but now with his property where they live and building trails on there and allowing people to come race and putting on events. But not only does he put on events there, but the proceeds from those events go to support and make the world a significantly better place. Ray doesn't do these events to just put money in his pocket. He does them to give back to so many people that are in need. Um, and I think you're going to hear some of those details in this story.
Speaker 1:Uh, but Ray is also involved in a really, really exciting new series that's coming to Oklahoma, called the GCXC mountain bike race series. So, um, please go and check out their Facebook page. I'm going to put the links in the show notes. So, gcxc mountain bike race series it's a new series coming to Oklahoma that kicks off in March. Uh, it's going to be mainly in the Northeast part of the state. Uh, who knows what future plans are. They're going to do a few things a little bit different this year, uh, than we're used to in the Oklahoma mountain bike scene, but I think you're really going to enjoy that. The courses are going to be a little bit more rocky than we're used to in central Oklahoma. The people in the northeast part of the state are going to love getting to race on their home races or home courses all the time, so I think this is going to be a great addition to Tour de Dirt. I think it's going to be a great addition to our race series here in Oklahoma. Give people more options, more amazing trails to race, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I know they're doing a one day state championship, which I'm so pumped about, so really get involved. Check out GCXE mountain bike race series.
Speaker 1:But the other race I want to point out is the 12 hours of twisted. Oak Ray does this event and on his property there and they have all kinds of options from a three hour race you could do teams, you can do a six hour race, 12 hours so many options. There is zero excuse that you don't go enjoy this uh event unless you're just out of town or can't make it. But if you raise mountain bikes you should be there. If you cannot make it, please consider making a donation, a financial donation, because the money that is raised by this it goes back to someone who is battling something and dealing with something, and this year it's benefiting Mark Taruki. Please go back and listen to our episode with Mark. I'll put that in the show notes as well. But Mark's battling right now and going through some stuff. But the proceeds from this event are going to go help Mark and support him in his efforts and what he's battling right now, and so, if you can't make it out, please at least make a financial donation or at least consider it, because the money is going to a really, really great place and Mark has been a huge piece of our cycling community in Oklahoma. So not only is it a good time to hang out with your buddies and ride bikes, but, uh, it's going for a good cost. So please check out 12, 12 hours of twisted Oak.
Speaker 1:Uh, again, I'm going to put those in the show notes, uh, but you can find all that stuff on Facebook. I hope you really enjoy this episode. Uh, raise a great, amazing man, and um, he's doing a lot of good in the world. Uh, I mean, he's also really damn fast on about on a mountain bike, so enjoy. Um, like I always say, I can't thank you guys enough for tuning in. Uh, please go support cycling Oklahomacom. Download your gravel routes there. If you have gravel routes, please send them to me so we can keep adding to the list. Um, if you have tips, ideas, suggestions of how we can make this cycling community in oklahoma better, I am all ears and I would love to spread the word and help out with anything that you have going on. If you want to be on the episodes, please let me know. But, uh, please check out cycling oklahoma on instagram, on we have website, whatever and support the cause, because we're trying to make oklahoma cycling bigger and better. Uh, single day, and whatever we can do to help out, we are trying to do that.
Speaker 1:This episode is brought to you by our wonderful, wonderful friends at Oklahoma Mountain Bike Association. They do so much for us. I know you're going to get tired of hearing this, but just buckle up and hear it for the rest of the year because they have stepped up and become amazing sponsors and partners with Cycling Oklahoma and hopefully we can do some great things together in 2025. Please go support them. They are building trails all over our amazing state. They upkeep a lot of our trails all over our amazing state. I know they have a meeting coming up on the 18th if you would like to get really involved and go to one of their meetings. But even if you don't want to get like physically involved, you can support them with your dollars and those dollars are put back into our trail systems all over this state and helps buy equipment and just goes so far, so much farther than you could ever think that it could go.
Speaker 1:So rideOMBAorg goes, help with the trail could go. So ride ombaorg ghost help with the trail maintenance day. They're building trails. You can help with that. You can help with just basic maintenance, especially come springtime and all the rains hit and they need help clearing stuff. But right now they're building trails.
Speaker 1:Go, volunteer your time, help out. If you want to donate money, please donate money to them. Sign up and become a member of Oklahoma mountain bike association. It's only 50 bucks. Listen, we go ride these trails all year long. $50 is nothing. If you have a fancy mountain bike you can afford $50. So ride ombaorg, check them out, support them. They do so much for us. It's the least that we can do is give them a little bit of our time and a little bit of our money. Hope you get out and get involved.
Speaker 1:All right, ray, we're recording and also we didn't talk about how Drummond's going to be completely tied into this. I mean, he kind of mentions that he's just going to let me steer the boat, but little does he know. He's steering the boat and I'm just not telling him that yet. So now that we're recording, I'm just going to tell him that. So we're just going to see what comes up. But I'm super excited about this and we've talked casually and randomly at races and that's been about the extent of it. I've even sent you messages. I've slid into your DMs before.
Speaker 2:Whoa yeah, that happens all the time to Ray.
Speaker 1:Oh man. So but I really want to. I'm excited about this because I don't know your history. I've always heard about how of a badass you were and all this kind of stuff, and so I'm excited to hear some of your stories.
Speaker 3:But I think the first way to start this off is kind of introduce yourself and tell people you know where you grew up and how you got got your first bike and started riding yeah, well, uh, I grew up and I grew up in houston, between between houston and galveston, uh, town, league city, friendswood area, down there and uh, um, you know, like anyone else, I mean I know like anyone else, I mean I, I say like anyone else I had, uh, my childhood was, was, uh, was you know, a roller coaster as far as uh, uh, at home, um, you know my dad, my dad was a great guy but he was a bit of, he was an alcoholic and, uh, I knew when he got to a certain point it was time to stay away, and so I spent a lot of time actually riding my bike.
Speaker 3:I was never home, I was always out riding a bike somewhere. But I wasn't into racing, I didn't BMX race or anything like that, and I was just your typical kid in the 80, in the, uh, in the eighties. You know that um, did you play ball sports at all? No, uh, so I. So I played. I played football, uh, little league football, growing up, and then also, uh, I was a boxer. My dad put me in boxing, um, I guess I was probably in the fourth grade, um and um, and I started boxing and I boxed up until you started boxing in fourth grade.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's a little, you know, obviously. You know it's amateur boxing, you know they have. The first year I competed in Golden Gloves was actually I was in the sixth grade and it was pretty cool experience because I was the smallest, I was, you know, the lightest weight class, uh, and it was at the um. It was in houston, at, like, the summit, which is a. You know, that's where the houston rockets used to play. Now they play somewhere else. I've never been, but uh, so it was. It was, you know, it's a big venue and um, I was the first, I was the first fight of the first night. It was like a week-long tournament and, um, and, of course, what do they play?
Speaker 3:they play eye of the tiger and uh, you know, so I'm, I'm this kid who's just like you know, man, I'm amped and uh, I, I won. I won my first bout and then I had to. I think I had two more. You know, there there was not that many of us in that age and weight class. I ended up winning.
Speaker 1:What weight class did you fight at?
Speaker 3:Oh gosh, that was. I was probably like 70 to 75 pounds.
Speaker 1:I was going to say if it makes you feel better. In seventh grade I wrestled at 65 pounds.
Speaker 3:Okay. So you know that's and that's where I guess where I was going with this. I started, I did play football and I loved football. But then so high school comes along and my dad was trying to. I was running cross country in junior high and I was, I was really good, I mean, I was, you know, like this kid that never, you know, I didn't train, you know, didn't train, I could just run. And so, going into high school, my dad was like why don't you play football? And if you looked around, I'm tiny, I was 5'3 and 105 pounds my freshman year In high school.
Speaker 3:In high school, Wow, and I didn't go to a real small school. I mean, there was probably, gosh, there was probably, at this point I would imagine 300 to 400 kids in my ninth grade class. So it wasn't like it was a real small school and there were some big boys. So we go to my freshman orientation and me and my dad are walking down the hall and there's these two twins, Eric and Patrick Richards, which their dad actually their dad was a pitcher for a big dude. And these two guys, these two kids, you know they're. They weren't freshmen, but I think they were, I think they were juniors. They just happened to be at the school during freshman orientation and they're both six foot five or six foot six, and my dad walks by and looks at him like this as we walk past and I go see I'm tiny and he was like holy crap, those kids are big. And so he ends up talking me into playing. And of course I, of course I didn't.
Speaker 3:You know, I rode the bench the whole year and uh and yeah, thank, yeah, thankfully, and, um, that was, that was the extent of my, uh, my high school sports. For the most part, I uh, you know, good idea, yeah, well, no, you know what sucks is, if my dad had realized, you know, like what my strengths were, which was obviously endurance. Um, you know, in boxing we ran all the time. You know that was, that was just so how many years did you?
Speaker 3:box I. My last bout was probably in the 10th grade, um, yeah, so I boxed for quite a while. Um, what was your record Do you remember? Oh, my gosh, I don't remember exact record. Honestly, it's been yeah, yeah, I was a loser. No, I mean I, you know I, I, uh, I was fairly good. I mean you know I was. Here's what happened I, um 10th grade rolls around, I'm a hundred and probably 15 pounds and I'm boxing. I'm no longer um boxing like a age group, so to speak, and it's open class, but you know, it's still amateur. It's open class, but by your weight, by your weight class, right and um, now I'm, uh, I'm boxing these. Uh, you know, there's like these Hispanic guys that are that are like they're old, they're much older south texas growing, fighting that lightweight class like you're fucking grown-ass men.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah they're, so they're they're uh, they're like grown-ass, you know, small men, and and uh. And it really wasn't as fun at that point and and uh. So that was kind of like the end of my boxing days, which I honestly Did you ever get knocked out. No, I never got knocked out. I really honestly like my. I really wasn't like my nose, never, really wasn't one that bled. Well, there's a record.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there you go, yeah there's my record you didn't get knocked out Win.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, there you go. Yeah, there's my record. You didn't get knocked out win. Yeah, you know, um, but boxing was honestly um was a great thing for me. I mean it. Uh, um. I mentioned, you know, my home life and my coach. His name was walt haley. He was in a he you know. Back then I thought he was an old man, but you know he's probably my age now.
Speaker 3:Um, but uh, he's probably a little bit older, he's probably actually he was probably about 60, then, um, or mid 50s, you know, so close to but, uh, um, but he was just an awesome guy. He, uh, you know, he was just real. He was like the person I needed in my life, you know, as far as to learn some good, you know self-discipline, and uh, you know the hard work, you know gets results. You know, and, um, um, anyhow, uh, yeah, that was, that was so, that was my athleticism, as far as that goes.
Speaker 3:And uh, my senior year that we did move to a small town about a hundred miles North of Houston and I just overheard some guys talking that they needed, they needed one more runner for the team so that the team could go to state. And uh, I was like man, I, you know I haven't ran in a long time but I'll run and uh, so I ran my senior year, we, uh, we went to state as a team and you know, really honestly, like it made me wish I had ran more through high school. I wish my dad had realized like, all right, my son is tiny and football is not going to be, you know his thing and you know, really kind of pushed the, you know, cross country, but so after high school.
Speaker 3:I didn't run track. I was going to run track my senior year and, uh, I actually uh blew out my knee playing, uh, playing basketball, um you know which. I was not a basketball player, but uh, um, I hurt my knee and I had to have surgery, and so that was it. Iised through my senior year After I graduated high school, I was drinking a lot of beer and hanging out with my friends on the regular. My mom was pressing me to go to college and, truth be known, I was afraid, I was afraid of failing, and we moved a lot. When I was I, I did what I had to do to survive, uh, school, as far as, um, you know, I wasn't afraid to cheat. I would look off at somebody's paper. I just, I literally just did whatever I had to do to get through and, um, so I, I knew that college was probably not going to be a good thing for me. And, uh, but my mom, you know they didn't, I don't think they realized how far behind I was academically. And so, long story short, december rolls around after graduating and I'm still just hanging out with my friends drinking. And my mom, she said the best thing she could have said. She actually felt horrible because of the way I just abruptly left. She told me I was going to end up just like my dad. It pissed me off. That was a Sunday night.
Speaker 3:Monday morning I called a Marine recruiter and said hey, I want to join the Marines. My brother-in-law, who was a Navy recruiter, caught wind of it. He's like what are you joining the Marines for? And I was like, man, I'm just ready to get out of here. And so he tried to talk me into joining the Navy. And I said I'll tell you what if you want me to join the Navy, then you better beat the recruiter here. And so he literally came and picked me up that night and I stayed the night at their house, my sister's house, and on Tuesday morning we went to MEPS and I took the you know, the ASVAB test to join the Navy.
Speaker 3:And and I talked about my academics I actually didn't qualify for a school and my brother-in-law he actually did some back doors, you know. He pulled some strings and got me a school, um, which was I was a damage controlman, which is basically a shipboard firefighter. So I got a school and what's funny is I went to the school. There were 50 of us in my class and, uh, I graduated third. Uh, you know, so, like I didn't even qualify to be there, um, but I graduated third out of 50 and which which, well, and whether it goes to tell you like I've had this discussion actually with, like I didn't even qualify to be there but I graduated third out of 50.
Speaker 3:And which, which, well, and whether it goes to tell you like I've had this discussion actually with my chief and our older chief. We were giving you know, we do the standardized test. I was like man, we're, we're missing out. There's, there's solid guys out there that were like me that you know they're not dumb, you know they just, they, just, uh, for whatever reason, they struggle academically and um, and so, anyways, I joined the navy man and, uh and um, I, uh, I had uh well, because you found something that you actually like could sink your teeth into and enjoy, and you saw a future in it, or just kind of just clicked no, I think it just uh, maybe just it clicked a little bit, but I think a lot of it was just that.
Speaker 3:Uh, you know, it just wasn't your normal. You know, obviously I struggled at a standardized test and that's what you know the ASVAB was, and I say that it has other aspects to it. You know, it's not like it's. You know, which I've never taken the PSATs or anything like that which I've never taken the PSATs or anything like that. But, um, um, yeah, whatever it was I think it was more or less, it was probably. You know, they're teaching you something and they're saying all right, now, apply it. You know, and, uh, and and that I, I did well with.
Speaker 3:Um, how long were you in the Navy? I was on the Navy for four years. Uh, so I was, I was, I. I went to the. I went to a ship on the in Jacksonville, florida, which was is actually a naval base called Mayport, and my ship was a small. It was a cruiser, a guided missile cruiser. The USS Leyte Gulf was actually there. They're just are decommissioning it last month. I was, I would have liked to actually have gone, that would have been cool. But, um, so, on my ship, every, every ship has, um, uh, two rescue swimmers. Um and um, my ship sent they.
Speaker 3:We sent like four guys that kept failing it's. It's a pretty tough school. It's not like it's, you know, obviously it's not like it's Navy seals or anything like that, but it's not an easy school. And these guys kept failing and I ran into our XO and I told him I said, if you send me, I'll pass it. And so they had sent. That was after the first couple of guys failed. They were like, well, no, you're on the at sea fire party, you can't be part of it. So then they sent two other guys and they failed. You know part of it. So then they sent two other guys and they failed. And then finally I was like you know, I'm telling you send me, I'll pass it, and um, so they sent me and um, actually, uh, that's where I hurt my knee, uh, the last week.
Speaker 3:But I, uh, I graduated, um, I graduated, uh, top of the class. They gave me the called the pt monster award, uh, the for the fastest swims and runs and everything. And, uh, and I, really honestly, I loved, I, I loved that uh, the, not not graduating top of class, but being a rescue swimmer it was. It was like that was my jam man. I really wished I had joined the coast guard and actually been a rescue swimmer. You know that, not just on a on a ship, because on a ship all you do is train. You don't really ever you don't, could you?
Speaker 1:have possibly transferred over.
Speaker 3:You know, you know, you know how life is, so where I'm going with this. I did screw up my knee in rescue swimmer school. I had already had I messed up my left knee in high school and then I blew out my right knee the last week. It was just a cartilage deal, but I was able to, uh, grip my teeth and get through the school and um, and then I had to have knee surgery. And then along comes, uh, a woman named Angela Hall.
Speaker 3:Uh, back then it was high, I met my son's mom in the Navy and, um, and honestly, like you know, um, that was my, my whole, I guess what I wanted to do changed.
Speaker 3:You know, yeah, I got out of the Navy, you know, and, um, her and I got married and she was still in, and then, uh, um, so when I got out of the Navy, though, um, I say that I was still in the Navy, I'm sorry I had my niece, I had my knee surgery and the doc told me you know, maybe you should quit running, maybe you should buy a bike. And so, after my knee healed up, I went to the local bike shop and bought a, bought a mountain bike, and I went to these trails right outside of the Naval base called Hannah Park, and it's a real Rudy, you know like just it's sand, it's obviously it's right by the beach and you know they're. You know it's not a fun trail system. It sounds awful, okay, so it'd be like Draper, with roots everywhere in sand, you know, and worse sand is what it probably would be like and um, but I saw this I really want to do this.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna dedicate my life to this best thing, yeah so.
Speaker 3:So I saw this guy he had, you know, he had the full get up. You know he was wearing, you know, shorts and jersey and you know, helmet and gloves, and you know he had the special shoes and all that crap. And I'm standing, I'm there and I'm in like a pair of running shoes, board shorts and a wife beater, no helmet, no gloves. And I was like, hey, dude, can I follow you? I don't know where the trails are. And it was a super nice guy, actually, his name was Todd Fountain and he was like, hey, yeah, I'll take you for a lap, so we go do a lap. And then afterwards he, he's like all right, man, you know I'm gonna take off. And uh, he turns out he raced sport and uh, he goes, I'm gonna, you know, go do a hard lap. And I was like, what, can I go with you again? And he's like, well, I'm not gonna wait on you, but you know you're welcome to come. And uh, I totally turned myself inside out and and stayed with him.
Speaker 3:And after we finished he was like so how long have you been riding? And I was like, well, I bought the bike on Wednesday. And he's like like Wednesday, wednesday. And I'm like, yeah, just bought it on Wednesday and this was on Saturday morning. And so he's like dude, you got to race, man, and and I was, I was like, nah, you know, I'm not interested in that. This is, this is cool, just riding and we traded phone numbers and there actually had a race at Hannah park and he calls me. It's like six months later, nine months later, he's like all right, dude, you're going to do this. And at this point I'm out of the Navy and money's tight. And I was like, man, I, you know, I can't really afford it. And he insisted and he actually was like like I'll pay for the, I'm gonna pay for it. And uh, so I did it.
Speaker 3:And man, I was hooked and uh, what a guy yeah, yeah, yeah, it was great, great, you know, we, uh, we, we traveled to a few races after that, um, how old were you then?
Speaker 3:well, that would have been 1996. So I was, what, uh, 22 years old, um, and then, uh, um, I, you know, I read a Greg Lamond's book on, on how to train, and and, uh, I was like, okay, well, this is what you got to do to go pro. And, and, you know, so I started, just I, I, I didn't by this point, I had a road bike. I got a road bike and, um, I just was like, ate up with it, man, I, I, um, you know, I was training probably 15 to 20 hours a week and, um, um, and I, which I had, just like I, I hadn't been in it very long, I mean, so, um, this was probably, um, fast forward to um 1998. I, uh, when I got the road bike and read, you know, read, read Greg Lamont's book, and then, 1999, I got, I got picked up by Trek VW, which most people don't know, most people don't know what Trek VW is anymore. It was the longest running, uh, domestic mountain bike team. Um, it was the team you wanted to be on.
Speaker 2:Clearly, it was the.
Speaker 3:It was the team you wanted to be on. Honestly, like I, I uh. Every two years I would get a new volkswagen.
Speaker 1:Uh, I, uh, how did you pay for it? Okay, how do? I get hooked up with that well, okay, one question I have about the navy did you get to go anywhere? Cool?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, I mean uh, where was your?
Speaker 1:favorite place you went and where was your least favorite place you went besides Jacksonville?
Speaker 3:Least, least favorite was probably, uh her God, at Egypt. My ship pulled in there like six times, we we uh. So 1994, saddam had had, uh, moved troops back down towards Kuwait. So my ship got moved. We were on a med cruise and they shipped us over to the Persian Gulf instead of the Mediterranean. So we no longer hit cool ports anymore, we were just hitting. You know it was.
Speaker 1:You're doing real stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I mean we were out there, we were out to sea for I think, uh, uh, 62 days straight at one point just doing circles in the Persian Gulf off. So you know, honestly that wasn't that cool.
Speaker 3:But um probably the coolest thing I ever probably the coolest place, honestly.
Speaker 3:Uh, my ship pulled into, uh, we pulled into, naples, which is an armpit, an armpit. But, um, me and this guy chad and I'm gonna try to say this without getting emotional but, uh, chad, this guy, chad jackson, and I, we were like inseparable and, uh, we bought, we bought train tickets from, from, uh, naples to go to rome and, um, we were going to go on this tour. Well, we got drunk the night before and we overslept, and so we just, we know, yeah, we overslept for the tour. So then we bought just train tickets because we were going to catch it was going to be a thing that, like, met us at the pier, you know, it was like through the ship and we, we, anyways, we got drunk, we overslept, we overslept. So then we just went to the train station and bought our own tickets to Rome and we bought a book of, like you know, of Rome, and he and I, just freaking like, walked the streets of Rome. It was actually Christmas Eve and it was just really cool, man.
Speaker 3:And yeah, it was really cool. And the reason I said about Chad he actually this guy, he he never went home. He was from Bakersfield, california. He never went home his whole time in. He wanted to experience like if somebody was going on vacation to their house, he would take vacation and go home with them to see other parts of the country and what it was like where you're from, type of thing. And uh, when he did get out, he went home and he was home for two weeks and uh, uh died in a car wreck.
Speaker 1:Um, so it's kind of yeah, it's like he lived it up, though, yeah, yeah, he lived it to the fullest the whole time he did.
Speaker 3:He did Uh, cool, cool guy, cool guy. But uh, yeah, so, so, so uh man, that was just you cool guy.
Speaker 1:But uh, yeah, so so. So, uh, man, that was just you know, that's just on this trek team. How did you?
Speaker 3:get on the trek team.
Speaker 3:Like, how did that even come about? So it's funny. So trek vw team had regional programs and this was, um, there was one in the southeast and um, uh, there's a lady named linda murphy, which she used to be a badass. She was a collegiate swimmer turned mountain biker. Um, she was probably like five foot 10, five foot 11, not a small woman and I mean she could freaking lay it down. Uh, skills like you wouldn't believe. And um, so she approached me.
Speaker 3:Um, I think they approached me probably three different times and I was racing for my, my shop team and we were having fun, man, you know it was like, hey, you need to join, you know, the trek vw team. And I and, uh, it's like, nah, it's a. You know, I got my shop boys, we're, we're having fun. You know, this is what I want to do. And and um, and then finally they're like I don't think you understand what this is and I had no clue. I was so new to the sport honestly, like I had no idea. You know what the team consisted of. And once they laid it all out, I was like, oh, that sounds pretty cool so what were you doing for work at this time?
Speaker 3:I was working at a bike shop and uh, actually, uh, uh, jackson's mom, angie, she, she had, um, had me. She talked to me and go into going to, you know, the junior college and I took, you know, whatever test you had to take to you know, see where you where, that you know what classes you needed to start with, and and so I, I was going to college, which I ended up, you know, just getting like my associate's degree. But I was going to college, um, which I ended up, you know, just getting like my associate's degree. But uh, um, I was going to college working at a bike shop and all along, I wanted to actually be, I wanted to be a fireman, um, uh, but Angie was actually kind of afraid of me, uh, being a fireman. She talked me into. I was actually an elementary education, uh, major, um, I was going to be a teacher and, um, I was working.
Speaker 3:I went, I worked as a substitute also, um, and uh, you just rode your bike a lot. I rode my bike a lot, um, you know, I mean, like you know, I was, I, I think, like most, uh, endurance athletes, um, um, we have, uh, probably, you know, addiction problems and uh, um, which honestly like cycling. Uh, cycling is what, um, I think, um. I definitely have addiction. You know tendencies um and um, so I just became obsessed with.
Speaker 1:I mean, you went from owning a bike to riding 15 hours a week like a week later. That that's not a week later, but it was pretty.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was. It wasn't the normal route, uh, um, you know, and particularly riding a mountain bike, um it just came easy, man. I mean like, uh, the trail, you know, just being able to flow through trails, um, actually, david david nolting uh was here uh, for the, for, uh, the race.
Speaker 3:We just had the festival and we were talking and he was talking about, um, uh, he took uh one of is it rich drew? Yeah, he took one of rich drew's classes and he was talking about it and, you know, he was like diagnosing, you know like diving into, know, like some of the things that that that Rich Drew had said and and I was, you know like, after he, after he finished, I was like man, it's, the thing is I have no clue. I was like I mean I, I just I just well, yeah, no, I mean it's, you know it's just like, it's just something I just knew how to do. You know it's like yeah.
Speaker 1:I know that is for normal people, but he took me out. We rode at. Uh, I met a Draper one day. He was finishing up and I was going. He's like I'll just ride a lap with you. I'm like, okay, cool, we get done. And he's like just follow my line. So, yeah, so I did that, ish.
Speaker 1:And the whole time I all I kept thinking was like like this guy's having so much more fun than me, like he would not pedal and pull away from me and he's constantly like jumping off of things and like jumping into corners. His wheels are like always like bouncing around it and I'm just like trying not to hit the trees around the corners and all the things and trying to breathe and we get done. And I was like, dude, you were like never on the ground, like you're always like jumping off of stuff or on the stuff or around stuff. And he's like I don't he probably doesn't remember this he's like I don't think my wheels never really left the ground. I was like your wheels were never on the ground. You were constantly like moving and positioning and move like everything is going on, yeah. And he's like, no, I no, I don't know what you're talking about, mike, we're different're different, this is different. We do different things.
Speaker 3:Well, see that like and we'll like with Chris, though, like I, I don't have the skills that Chris has. As far as like um, you know, I can't jump to save my life, I can't ride a wheelie to save my life, and um, you know, uh but you're one of the best, if not the best person in the rocks I've ever ridden with.
Speaker 2:So, like you have no background like I have I mean, I have background. That kind of explains it. Um, the fact that you just got into it, yeah, like Ray, the first time I raced with him in the rocks, it wasn't for very long I was like man, I'll never be that and I got. I eventually got good at it. But I got good at it by following him, watching him, like watching how he does it, uh, you know, kind of to touch back on what we talked about before, like I didn't say, like well, I just can't, can't beat him. Like I want to figure out how to beat this guy, cause he's so good. Like I feel like if I beat him in the rocks, like I've done something. And it took several years and ray was running his own race and working all day and then tried to race. I think I finally beat him in the rocks when he finally retired?
Speaker 1:yeah, when he quit trying.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I mean incredible it's in the rock.
Speaker 1:It's amazing how some people it just comes natural yeah so do you whenever you got into the trail. I mean, you like you followed this guy first time on the trail and did you just see the lines to take, or you just had like natural body balance or like what do you think, looking back at it now that you've been in the sport for so many years, what do you think that you just like skill set that you naturally had from the first time you got on the bike. That just worked honestly, honestly I have.
Speaker 3:No, I have no idea.
Speaker 3:I mean, you know, I'm not um he just felt like riding well yeah, yeah, I just felt like riding um, you know, I think I'm just lucky, uh, that I found you know, I found your thing. I think we all should be so lucky to find something that we just love and are passionate about and, and you know, and you know the that we're good at, you know, and uh, um, and you know, obviously you don't have to be good at it to love it, um, but I just, you know, everything clicked um, so when you, when you joined this trek team, you were clearly like this fresh face still into the sport, like and I kind of like the only person I can think about around here that's like.
Speaker 1:That's like victor. You know he's still so young in his like right life, but he's just like naturally a fast kind of guy and he works super hard at it. Um and so when you were joining these people that have been like hardcore and like really dedicated to this sport for a long time and you're this fresh guy coming in like yeah, I just started three years ago, I don't know, you know like, how did that go?
Speaker 3:well, it's pretty funny. So I can remember, um, you know, I was racing and I was living in florida and um, you know which a lot of people. When you say you know mountain biking in florida, it seems like you know an oxymoron. Uh, but uh, it's um, so central florida in particular has some rolling hills and then there's abandoned rock quarries. We, actually we, you know like we joked and called it like negative mountains and um, so there's actually some decent.
Speaker 3:In 1997 they had what was called the ambc national finals at this particular venue, uh, ocala, florida. So there was some decent riding, and not at Hannah Park by the beach, but in Central Florida. There were some fun trails to ride and trying to remember what. So this one particular, I was racing what they called in florida. They had created a class called super sport and it was like they were trying to, which is it's always been a problem with mountain biking is bridging that gap from sport to expert, which is obviously now cat two to cat one, and um, you know, because it's a big jump, it's, it's obviously faster, longer, and so they, they tried this class called super sport. Well, I had won the sport class, the, the the season before, and so I thought, well, I guess natural progression, I need to do the super sport class. And, um, well, I show up to a race and, uh, they, um, they're like, hey, you're going to have to raise the expert. They canceled the super sport class. Um, it was like something they were going to try and they're like it's just not working. There's not enough people in it. And, um, so I was, so I was really super nervous. I was like, man, I'm with the race expert. Um, you know, I wasn't for one, I wasn't prepared for it, you know, mentally.
Speaker 3:And so I line up and there's this guy and I had looked, I've looked at the results and it's like this guy who got like fifth place on consistent basis, like maybe I need to try to ride with him. And so I got on this guy's wheel and I'm trying to remember his name. I can't remember his name now, but anyways, I'm, I'm riding his wheel, and so it's like it's a. It's a shorter course, actually it's in Gainesville and it's's probably like a three-mile loop. He did multiple laps and so we're like on lap four or five or so and he goes and I'm back there just chatting away, just talking to him and finally he literally he goes dude, would you just effing go. And I was like, you know, I was afraid I was going to blow up. So I was just trying to pace with this guy and uh he goes. You've been back there talking the whole time. He goes, just freaking go. And so I go around him and I'm like all right. So I go around him and uh, I I ended up, I ended up fourth on that race in the expert class and, um, and I guess that was kind of like an eye opener. I was like, dude, okay, this is where I belong, you know.
Speaker 3:And so Florida back then. Back then there were two teams that had like some semi-pro and pro guys that would come to Florida in the off season, which our season, our big season in Florida. Back then it was in the fall and it would start basically September and it would end in the beginning of December is when the last race was. And so they would come down to Florida and train. And it was like one was on the mountain cycle team, which I don't even know if they're making bikes anymore in K2. And so there's this guy, though, named Matt Estes, and he was, uh, he had a pro license and he would, they would just, he would just, they would clean house man. And uh, the locals, everybody who lived in Florida, hated them all. I mean like they're like you, you know, because they were just like holding another level.
Speaker 3:And um, and so this was, uh, the spring, it was a, it was a fall of night 1999, if I remember right and yeah, yeah, fall of 99. And uh, next thing, I realized I'm like man, I'm, I'm starting to close the gap on these guys, and uh, and so we go to like the second to last race of the season, and I realized, if I'm beating the last two races, you know like I might actually be able to take the, the, the series, and anyways, I ended up. I ended up, and that's where the Trek VW was approaching me. It was that whole, that whole year of 1999 when I was racing you know, it was my first year as an expert and uh, I ended up winning the series. And um, so, uh, um, so, anyways, I got. So I raced for trek.
Speaker 1:After that, though, so so um when you race for trek is did you turn pro at that point, or?
Speaker 3:no, no, I still had a cat. Uh, an expert license, um, actually, um, yeah, when did you?
Speaker 3:turn pro and start racing, racing in these big national events, and well so um, I moved me and me and angie moved to texas and um, after, after she got out of the navy, we moved to texas and trek wanted to start a Texas regional team and so I took over the I. Basically, when I moved there, I became the manager of the Trek VW team and you know a racer and we built a team, you know, down in Texas and I was still racing I'm trying to think of the timeline. I was I raced I never, so I knew.
Speaker 3:I knew several guys who who applied for a semi-pro card and then a pro card back then you had to get you had to apply for a semi-pro card and um, which the semi-pro card wasn't very hard to get, but a pro card back then was actually really hard to get. I I knew lots of guys who, um, they would apply for a pro card and they had things you had, you know, like benchmarks you had to meet and they would reject. I mean, they like I knew this one guy. He applied like three times and got denied and so I just figured I probably, you know, I wasn't going to qualify for one, so I never, even I never applied, but I think it was in 2003 that I got my semi-pro card and then in 2005, they had a.
Speaker 3:Back then it was Norba. They had a Norba National in Tapatio Springs, which is west. It's actually what's that? Flat Rock Ranch, chris? Does that ring a bell? I'm not sure. Flat Rock Ranch, it's outside of uh, anyways, no, I'm getting two different races confused. I'm sorry it was. It was a race in bernie, texas. It was uh, it was a um, um, it was a norban national. It was huge. I mean, like, all you know, like all the big names were there, uh, you know, like, know, like back then, uh, kabush and all those guys and um, and so I was racing semi-pro and there were probably I don't know, there was probably like 60, 80 of us in the in the semi-pro class, for for Smith was there and um. So first it was uh, first day was a time trial and um did the time trial and then they posted the results. And I was a time trial and um did the time trial and then they posted the results and I was like Holy shit, I won.
Speaker 2:So I won I won.
Speaker 3:I won the time trial. I was like Holy crap man you know that was cool.
Speaker 3:And then, uh, so then there was the short track and, uh, I won the short track and I was like, dude man, you know, this is awesome, you know, and and I mean there were guys you know from all over the country and and then so the cross country it was, it turned out to be a mud fest. It rained all night and I'm sorry, I'm trying to remember Cameron Chambers, who was from from Kansas, from kansas. Cameron was, uh, he had one, he had one, uh, I think it was a 24-hour, uh, solo, the kid was incredible he'd want to answer those, I think yeah, yeah, he, uh.
Speaker 3:So he he ended up catching me with like a mile to go in the cross country and uh, and I it was, I was just like this long climb and he passed me and I was just like, damn man, you know, I was hoping to win the whole, you know, win all three events. And uh, I ended up, I ended up winning the overall, but, um, so at that point I was like all right, I just won the semi pro class. And uh, at a Norba national, um, I think I'll go ahead and apply for my pro card now. And so that's when I applied for my pro card and uh, you know, and I got, and I got it, um, and I didn't, you know, trek, trek, uh, the Trek VW team, I and I say paid, I wasn't paid, but like they paid for everything, I mean they, you know, I got, I got a mountain bike and a road bike every year.
Speaker 3:Um, that was just, you know, mine, you know, like mine to keep and sell for the next year, to roll into, you know, just to make some money off of it obviously as well. And they gave me a, a Volkswagen. Uh, back then I had a Touareg that every two years I'd get a new Touareg and, uh, they paid for, you know, hotels and gas and I mean like I had everything except for a salary and so, but my job was to race in this region. You know, like that was my job, they wanted guys on top of the podiums selling bikes.
Speaker 2:And it was really like marketing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was great. I mean, like in every region you went to around the country there was some fast track VW guys Cause I mean that was like Chris said. I mean back then, honestly, that was the team you wanted to be on Um and um.
Speaker 1:so I, you know, I raced nationals and those kinds of things. No, so I raced.
Speaker 3:I mainly raced in Texas, you know, uh, and then we moved up here and I still would go down to Texas. Um, uh, you know, like I I didn't.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean for you that's the only place there was any form of competition then.
Speaker 3:And there were some really good competition down there. Um and then uh.
Speaker 2:I started racing and winning here. I was nowhere close to you, like I wasn't competition, so there was still really good competition down there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there was still good competition down there, and I was laughing a minute ago when you said the first time we raced in the rocks that was Keystone, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:Probably. And probably a course you designed and that diverted you the whole time.
Speaker 3:Yeah, hardest part of that trail and just that well, that was the race.
Speaker 2:That that I, um that I flatted and uh and flatted.
Speaker 3:I had a total of three flats that day. I um, I flatted, my I flatted, uh, it's a funny story. So I flat, I had a flat, so I fixed the. You know obviously put a tube in, get rolling and I caught back up to to chris renshaw on lap two and then the same freaking spot it was on the same team. He was on the track team as well that we, we both flat at the same exact spot again and we were using shitty tires. Uh uh, bond tragger had was making their own tires.
Speaker 2:You know trek, there were trek tires and tubes, then were you riding tubes, no we had.
Speaker 3:We had tubeless, it's just that the the tires were not good. I mean like we, obviously. So we both flatted on this the same freaking spot I know the spot too.
Speaker 2:I think about yeah, I think about that race every time I ride through there when I'm at Keystone.
Speaker 3:The funny thing is me and Chris. Now we're both standing there. He just flatted, I flatted. We're trying to take inventory because we're like one of us has got to finish this race. I look and I'm like, dude, both my tires are flat. Which we? We have the same bikes, they're identical bikes and so and this obviously yes, if if you're a usa cycling official is listening we, we should have got disqualified, but uh, but we cheated.
Speaker 3:I'm protesting it now and so so I had already used, I had already used my tube, chris hadn't used his tube yet and, um, because it was his first flat, and he goes here, dude, he goes let's, let's fix your bike. So that's when we were we're going to fix my tire and we realized my front tire is flat also. So then we take his front tire and, uh, put, put it on mine. And so then I'm like all right, so then I take off and um, you, you have you changed three flat tires yeah and then and then I wonder how good he was.
Speaker 3:So with a, with a hundred yards, it was probably. What was it, chris? Like it was less than a quarter mile, wasn't it when I caught you and brandon? Yeah I catch, I catch up to him like right before the finish and just like whoosh, blow past them. That's heartbreaking. I was like, yeah, that was pretty funny story.
Speaker 1:And they even sat and talked on the trail. Yeah, they hung out, they were, they were both so much faster than they took stuff off of other bikes.
Speaker 2:Rancho was probably the second best in the rocks that I'd ever ridden with. He was another one If Ray wasn't there. I'd like try to follow Chris and figure out how to ride the trail.
Speaker 3:So good which we were on 26 inch bikes back then. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, man, which um my, my last, uh, you know we're talking about big races races, I mean um I can remember.
Speaker 3:So, before we started, we mentioned world games, which I've never heard of. So you have to tell me that story, and then I need to hear how many nationals you, oh, man, I've never. I so like mountain bike, uh, marathon gnats. So I went to. I went to marathon gnats in, uh, in con. It was in georgia in 2016. My dad actually, uh, made the trip with me and, um, it was probably five miles, 10 miles into the race, I don't even remember now, but I flatted and I went there to win, you know, and um, and I was like, well, this sucks, I'm not, you know, I'm not going to win it. And so this was on Saturday and I knew on Sunday there was a win it. And so this was on Saturday and I knew on Sunday there was a.
Speaker 3:There was a race at one of my favorite places to ride and race, uh, oak mountain state park in Birmingham, alabama, and uh, so I, I, I went ahead and pulled off the course and went and tapped my dad on the shoulder. He was in the feed zone and he was actually looking for me, looking, you know, like, down the trail, and I come up from behind him. I was like, has he come through yet? And you know, like down the trail and I come up from behind him was like, has he come through yet? And you know, he's like what are you doing? I was like man, I flatted, I was like let's go. So we, uh, we loaded up and went to birmingham and I went ahead. Just uh, I went and did that race there the next day and and, uh, just try to recoup some money. And uh, so then the next year I was like, all right, um, that was in what? 2017? When I won, uh, marathon gnats, um, at uh, iron mountain.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was a, that was a. Um, that was a good day. That was uh, well, no, I mean, like, I went for it, for it like um, there was no, like I, I went for it as hard as I could from the start. And then, uh, 25, it was a 25 mile loop where I remember, right, and uh, they, a couple of guys, caught me.
Speaker 3:One of them was actually a really good buddy of mine from Florida and he had been chasing the title for the last four years or five years before that, and he kept. He landed on the podium consistently, but he just never could get that top step. He landed on the podium consistently, but he just never could get that top step. And um and uh, sean caught me, though going into lap two, and I was like son of a gun, so then I had to drill it again and I got away from him. And then, uh, I started cramping towards the end of the race and, uh, you remember nathan winkleman, chris, yeah, yeah, me and me, andman, uh, I had caught him and we, we rolled together and you?
Speaker 2:you towed him up to me. Yeah, I towed him up to you.
Speaker 3:I felt bad, but I was, I did feel bad and uh, but um, yeah, so he and I started in waves, so he started behind me.
Speaker 2:But um, yeah, that was a fun day, though, was that was.
Speaker 3:That was pretty, uh, pretty awesome. Um, yeah, where's your jersey? Uh, it's, it's in a box in the in the house somewhere. I don't, I don't have a. Like you go in my house. There's really not a whole lot of cycling. There's no cycling stuff, there's no fire department stuff. I don't, I don't, I don't know what I'm gonna do with all that stuff. I thought about in my, uh, in my garage or in my workout room putting some stuff in there, but uh, you do have one at the pony, though.
Speaker 3:Right, you've got one hanging, yeah, so so that was that was the uh, that was the.
Speaker 2:Yes, there's a nationals Jersey there, that's right, um it's not on the most prominent wall, like mine, but it's no well well, you're the people's champion.
Speaker 3:I'm just. I'm just, like you know, I'm just second fiddle now I'm old, washed up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I'm yesterday's news, that's right. But uh, uh, the race you had mentioned, um, so, another race, I went to that, the jersey I was thinking of was. So, in 2005, the, the master world championships in in Kamloops, canada, usa Cycling had sent, you know which I think I don't know how many people they sent them to, but they sent the email, like you know, about, about marathon or master worlds, and I was, and I was like man, it's just literally like two weeks before the race and I so I told Angie I was like I kind of want to go to this and, um, so she, uh, she's like, well, let's do it. So we, uh, you know, we didn't have kids back then and and we, uh, we loaded up and headed to cam loops, canada, and, um, I, um, there were some pretty good, there were some stiff competition. There were some guys from, from, uh, you know, europe, uh, there's a, there's a belgian guy and a french guy that I was battling it out with and, uh, angie said the funniest thing was like the entire race, like the uh, the commentator, all they kept talking about was this dude from Tulsa, oklahoma, like you know, like uh, because it was, it was the three of us, it was the French guy and the Belgian guy, which they were. Uh, they both spoke French and they kept. They were talking to each other and, turns out, they had actually podiumed. Uh, one of them had won the the year before and they raced each other in what was called the Swiss cup, if I'm not mistaken. But, uh, I was I mean, I was, they were, they were worried.
Speaker 3:I was back there just sucking wheel and it was like waiting my chance to attack and little do they know. I was just trying to hold on and uh, I think it was on lap. It was a six lap race and on lap five I popped. But uh, I knew that I had, uh, I had a huge gap on on fourth place and I was like man, I just landed on the podium. Dude, this is freaking cool. You know, in a race that I, you know, two weeks ago, you know, wasn't planning on doing, and uh, but that was a really, that was a uh, a pretty uh, highlight uh race that I did, that that I'm pretty proud of, you know there were guys obviously from there were. You know, there were some so many, there were so many guys from the Northwest, utah, colorado, california, and you know, and I took, I was, I was the top North American, so I was. I was pretty proud of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and before we get into kind of all the the cool stuff that you're doing today, when was the first time you beat ray?
Speaker 2:um, what year was that? It was that turkey when you were putting the race a turkey.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah I like that.
Speaker 1:I like that you've remembers too 2018 oh I, I remember around there dude, I, I knew that ch was, it was funny.
Speaker 3:So we had a. We had a team, a little team called the nine one, eight XC. I had started a bike shop and me and a guy named Scott Robertson and Chris was. Chris was really new into the sport and I could tell he just had it like like this, this guy's going to be fast and uh, I wanted to, like, I wanted to totally hook him up with anything and everything we could. And, um, uh, you know, I was met with a little bit of resistance from from Ren, uh, from Robertson, on some of the things. Um, but, uh, um, I, I instantly knew that that, yeah, that he was, he was going to be quick and you know, it wasn't gonna be too many more days until he was beating me, um, but it took a while, though.
Speaker 3:It took a couple of years.
Speaker 1:The old guy took pride in that.
Speaker 2:Well, and I think it was like you kind of you stopped for a couple, like when I think I got to the point where I maybe could have you kind of got out of it for a year so well we, yeah, I went through a divorce, you know, uh, we had the bike shop.
Speaker 3:the bike shop, um, you know, that ended up being a nightmare and then I was going through, you know, through a divorce and, um, and honestly, those were dark, dark, dark times. Uh, um, you know, I, I, um, yeah, you know, yeah, I quit riding my bike for a while. Actually, I almost got up to 200 pounds. I was all of a sudden lifting weights. I was lifting weights at work and, uh, my goal was to try to break 200 pounds and and then I, I, I got bored with that and decided, you know, I wanted to get back on a bike. And I think that's the year I showed up in the wedding dress at Keystone.
Speaker 2:I wasn't at that race. I don't think I remember that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but I've had, you know, I've had a lot since, you know, since we've been racing against each other, chris and I, I mean, I've had some years where, you know, I've ride a little train a little um 2017, I trained my ass off to go to, you know, to go to nationals and, uh, that's probably been the only year in the last decade that I've actually trained you know, I think, one of the best races we had was Turkey.
Speaker 2:What year was that? When you were racing in the BOT kit?
Speaker 3:you and I went at it the whole way. You end up getting me.
Speaker 2:I remember watching you laid out in the grass cramping, I was like, well, at least I don't look like he looks right now I turned.
Speaker 3:I turned myself inside out. That day I remember you went down on lap one.
Speaker 2:He waited on me, so we had like a fair race yeah.
Speaker 3:And then, uh, what's funny is and this is something that, like, a lot of people just don't get you know, like, um, how hard we, you know, you know everybody's suffering, you know. And. And so ch. And so Chris attacks me. Uh, lap two, he attacks and it's, uh, it's going up the ridge, which is a long, grinder climb, and uh, he's in front of me just drilling it. And little did Chris know I'm back there just trying to hang on. And so Chris finally like Ooh, he sits up and I, I had a choice. I could go like Ooh, thank God, or just drill it. And so I drilled it and I just freaking, gave it everything I had. And I looked over my shoulder and Chris didn't chase and I was like oh yeah.
Speaker 3:So then I just kept drilling it for a little bit longer, you know, as long as I could. And then, um, you know, it was just like try to survive that last lap. And uh and he's not lying when I finished, when I crossed the finish line, like I locked up, I mean like my hamstrings, my quads, I can remember just being on the ground, just like, just flat out, just flat out, I was just like, but, uh, that was like one of my first races back after, you know, after angie and I got divorced, and uh, that was a no, that was an epic battle. That uh, yeah, that was a fun day.
Speaker 1:You earned it yeah well, let's fast forward a little bit into kind of what you have going now. I mean, you were super heavily involved in putting on races for years in the Tulsa area and um, and been a key part to the cycling community in Oklahoma, which has been phenomenal. Um, and that's how I have run across you over the years. Uh, through that and I know in your I think we'll kind of talk about, I think, a charity component before we get into the newest adventure um, and your property that you have now in the races and all that stuff which is incredible and super cool. But, um, I know your races that you've all hosted in the past. Um, you've always been very charitable about the proceeds and things like that.
Speaker 1:So, the burn camp and with your 12 hour connecting to a family and helping them with tough times that they're going through, I mean, first off, that's phenomenal and exactly why we're all here is to help others and make life better for other people whenever we have the opportunity to do that. So, thank you, and I greatly it's amazing to see people doing something other than just trying to make money and better themselves or something like that. So I don't know how many I know people tell you thank you at the race and those kinds of things. But like just as a human, thank you for not being a sucky human Like let's just start with that.
Speaker 3:Um and there's probably some that would argue Do you want? I was joking. I'm sure there's some people out there that would argue.
Speaker 1:Yeah, drummond talks a lot of shit on you, but others think you're a good guy.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, let's talk about burn camp.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so. So burn camp for those that don't know, I mean only burn disfiguring injuries, but they actually open their arms to any children with disfiguring injuries and the mission of the camp is basically to have a judgment-free zone where these kids can come and gather and just be kids. And if you go to the camp, no, it used to be in dry Gulch and I'll be honest with you, I'm drawing a blank on the name of the new place. So they were having it at dry Gulch, which dry Gulch was, this amazing facility? But, uh, it changed ownerships and, um, they weren't going to let them have the camp exclusively to themselves anymore. They were saying, you know, financially, they're going to have like three to four different groups there at the same time. What's that means? These kids are going to be in the cafeteria with all these outsiders, and that's not, that's not the, that's not the way the camp you know is intended, right, right. So they moved to the camp and I, I hope I think of the name of where the camp is at now.
Speaker 3:I'd have to look it up, um, but I can put it in the show notes and connections and yeah, stuff, um, but you know, the one things I love about burn camp is, um, there's all these, you know, there's all these other, um, you know, there's all these other, you know there's awesome, obviously, you know, like MDA and you know, and things like that, united Way, there's all these other organizations that do amazing things. But you know, this is a small, local, grassroots, nonprofit, 100% and I say 100% no one gets a paycheck. It's 100% volunteer. It's mainly firefighters and nurses that run the camp. But then there are, like the guy that you know, anyone who's been to my race in the last several years, there's a guy named Kyle.
Speaker 3:He works for Oklahoma Natural Gas and for 22 years he's a guy named Kyle, uh, he works for Oklahoma natural gas and for 22 years he's been, uh, giving his heart and soul to burn camp. And he comes out here and you know, man's the grill and cooks food and obviously, you know, all the tip jar money goes to burn camp, Um, and then obviously, the proceeds from our race goes to burn camp, um, we're we. Proceeds from my race goes to burn camp, um, we're we. I say we, you know, and I say we, as the mountain bike community, um, that have been supporting my races, we've donated over $40,000 to burn camp.
Speaker 3:Um, you know, since I started doing this and, uh, you know, no yeah, you know it's one of those things like obviously promoting a race is hard. Uh, you know there's all the hard work that goes into it and um.
Speaker 2:Well, and you? You don't cut any corners with it, like I mean.
Speaker 2:you, you go above and beyond every time you do a race um your your own money and tons of your own time and labor, like just looking at your land now like it's not. It's not like you throw some tape up at a course like it's done the best that it can be done. So I mean you're doing it like that to put on a quality event that's gonna raise the most money for, for burn camp, which I think some people maybe don't realize or appreciate. But I mean I I think people that have put on events realize how much you put into all of them too.
Speaker 3:Well, I appreciate you saying that.
Speaker 3:I mean it's, it's, you know, um, I, I, I feel that, like this last race that we had here, um, the atmosphere was, was top notch.
Speaker 3:Um, you know, uh, it seemed like everybody had a really good time and, uh, and honestly so, like Saturday night, you know, we did the Omnium we did, you know, saturday was the time trial, super D and short track, and then Saturday night we had a local musician, henry Zellner, playing music, and we were all sitting here, uh, you know, next to your house, the trailer, we're sitting out, we're sitting out in the, uh, you know, by the fire, and, um, it was the first time I had been able to really relax, you know, all day, and I was looking around and I was just looking at everybody's smiles, everybody having fun, and, uh, for me, that's, you know, that makes it all worth it. That's what I, I, I just, um, I love, you know, putting the hard work in and seeing everybody enjoy the fruit of my labor. And then, obviously, the icing on the cake is that I get to donate some money to Burn Camp.
Speaker 1:That's pretty awesome.
Speaker 3:Kyle I'll butcher his last name If I say it, um, brett, it's like Bradisher. Uh, but Kyle, the guy that I was talking about, that that you know, volunteers his time for burn camp. He actually came into our house that was my birthday on on the Saturday of the race and, uh, I invited him into the house so we could do birthday cake. And uh, you know, cause he's not a cyclist, he doesn't know everybody he was staying the night here in the travel trailer and uh, he came in and and uh, the guy, like someone says, you know, someone in my, someone in my family, said something to him and and um, he, actually, he, he broke down and like, he was like you know, he got a little.
Speaker 3:He was, you know, talking about like all the events that he does. He does a bunch of events throughout the year. He, he was actually doing too many. Like his quality of life, his personal life, was taking a dive and he was he's like I gotta, I gotta, I gotta push back a little bit and um, so he actually quit doing a lot of the events he was doing. But he said, uh, this event he's like this mountain bike event is one that I will not let go of and he said it's because of the people. Um, the people that, yeah, the people that supported, um, you know, the racers. Uh, he said that. Um, the, uh, the love that he feels, you know, from from the, uh, the cycling community and the mountain bike community Um, it's, it's not. You know he does like Frisbee, golf tournaments and car shows and things, and he was like nothing compares to. You know the, the vibe I get off of the? Uh, you know the the cyclist is like it's pretty special.
Speaker 1:I think that I mean, that's how I fell in. Let's, you know, I got into endurance sports just, you know, randomly, and that's. I think that's how I found my way into the dirt scene, because the first time I went to it I'm like man, these, this is great. Like everybody's just here to like have fun and talk and hang out and camp and drink beer and goof off, and it's not this like ego driven, like everybody was just there for fun to play in the trees, like we were kids. It was yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, and the thing is, is, and then you have, you know, you have that, that, that, that, uh, that vibe. But you know, at the same time there's guys, you know, like, I don't train like I used to, but I used to. You know, I used to train my butt off and um, but I'd still just loved mountain biking. That's one thing. I, you know, I've no-transcript. It truly is the race that if you want to just come and have fun, the 12 hours, the race to come to um, which, uh, you know, we have a three hour division, a six hour and a-hour division, which, new to this year, I'm adding a three-hour.
Speaker 3:I only made solo, but I want to be able to hopefully appeal to the true novice. So I'm doing a two-person relay team for the three-hour and we're doing the same thing we did with my race last. We did a figure eight, we had that flyover. So you'll come through the spectator zone twice per lap and I'm going to allow a half lap option. So if somebody's doing, you know, like a two-person relay, for example, if they're a novice, they literally can take turns, just doing like a half lap, you know, like if they just don't feel like they don't have the legs to go fast this is going to be great for alan white to only have to do a half a lap yeah, so like alan could just do right.
Speaker 3:He could just do a half lap and then chris could do, you know, like three full laps, and then alan can go out for one half lap.
Speaker 2:Yeah right, there's no way, I'm doing a team with him. We.
Speaker 3:If we did the team three hour, we wouldn't finish.
Speaker 2:Well, one of you would.
Speaker 3:So we're doing the three hour, then we have the six hour. The six hour there's obviously the solo, there's the two person and a four person relay, and then the 12 hour. Same format, you have the solo.
Speaker 3:That is going to be March 29th. I literally just made some phone calls today. So and I say phone calls we're trying to find a cancer patient. We're trying to find a colorectal cancer patient. Last year we found somebody who literally grew up right around the corner from our property, and this year what I'm looking for.
Speaker 3:So, if anybody listening knows anybody, my son goes to Booker T Washington High School and I'm trying to find a colorectal patient that is in the Booker T community that lives in North Tulsa. So I'm, I'm I just called, I called the school today and talked to a counselor, so they're going to help me try to find somebody. And then I sent an email to a local church up there. I just, you know, trying to trying to find someone who is deserving. The lady that we donated to um, sorry, no, you're good, ma'am the lady that we donated to uh last year or this year, um, they were extremely uh deserving and uh, they uh were super appreciative and um, and the reason why I'm in emotional, she's still. She's still battling the you know, she's still fighting the fight and uh hang on, take your time.
Speaker 3:So you know it's a good thing, obviously, um it, um.
Speaker 1:So we're trying to find someone, you know, trying to find another person for this year's race last year, and so all proceeds go to a family that's, that's going through some stuff and fighting through cancer, and um, this is just a way for another way for you to give back and another way to kind of help out.
Speaker 3:Um yeah, yeah, last year we donated uh race, we donated $12,000 to the Carter family. Yeah, it exceeded our expectations, or I say our expectations, our hopes that family had. They struggled, know, they struggled, uh, they they've, you know, they've always, they've always struggled financially and, um, they had never. They had two teenage kids and, um, they've never been on a family trip before they. They go fishing, you know, off the shores of Keystone Lake, keystone, all the time that fishing is their thing. And uh, one of the things we told them is that, uh, that we hope that they're able to catch up on some bills, but we hope that, uh, that they could do a family trip together to uh build some memories, you know, for their kids. And so they actually went to Florida and, uh, they got to go on like a deep sea fishing trip and uh, yeah, they had never, you know, they had never seen the ocean before.
Speaker 3:You know, and uh, which we we've we've become, you know we, uh Ashley and and uh Amber. You know they talk more regularly, but you know I keep up with them on Facebook and so you know it was really cool. And again, you know, like you know, we, as in me and Ashley, we didn't obviously write a check for $12,000. It came from support from the racers that were here excuse me, that were here. You know entry fees, but then also people just made donations and you know. So that's what we're hoping to keep going with.
Speaker 1:Well, I think it's a perfect thing.
Speaker 1:It's something we talked about in our last episode about voting with your dollars.
Speaker 1:Like you know, sometimes you can't go do a race or you're not sure if you're going to do a race, or people always wait till the last minute because, looking at the weather, especially in the springtime. But, like, sometimes you just sign up for stuff and you donate your money and if you make it, you make it, but it's it's about supporting, like an event or a cause and not about I'm gonna go do a race and get a t-shirt, like you know, and and so I. I would encourage people to listen to this episode. Like, you come, do the race. Clearly you want everybody there and you want everybody having fun and you want the environment, all stuff. But if you're on the fence, like sign up for it. If you decide last minute to like not go anybody that's listening to this podcast or in our cycling community chances are they have the extra 30 to 50, $60 to to do this race and if they don't show up, at least their money is going to such an amazing situation.
Speaker 2:It's not going to go in Ray's pocket.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Like none of his events are going to be that way, so that is a great point. Like if you can't make it, you know the date now, so there's not a reason.
Speaker 1:you can't make plenty of time. So even if you can't make it, still sign up and support one of our fellow Okies that's going through a tough time.
Speaker 3:If somebody listening has a small business owner that is looking. We have a nonprofit. We created the Twisted Oak to hopefully help us with our fundraising goals, you know. So, if somebody's wanting to be a sponsor of this year's 12-hour actually what we did last year's and you know we kind of we need to keep trying to do better, but we so gateway, gateway bank, uh, came in as our title sponsor for and they, they sponsored all three of our events that we put on out here and, um, you know so, we put them on every banner. So, if you know, if a business wants to be a part of what we're doing out here, um, we'd love to have, you know, have had the support, and if you have a, nonprofit piece of it, then that's a.
Speaker 1:That's a great write off for for people that you know. Not only are you supporting an event, but you're also in supporting our community and growing events, but you're also getting a tax write off and supporting a family, which is when, in all, three ways.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so before we get off here and wrap this up and my computer dies because, cause it just, we still have a little bit of time. But, um, and I don't want to keep you too late, I want to talk about your new series that you got going, cause I want to educate people on this and you can share what you want to share. You don't have to share, um, anything and everything but, uh, the GCXC. So can you give us a quick rundown of that and kind of what the, what the season's going to look like, kind of what that entails?
Speaker 3:Well, so it's, it's, it's something that's still you know, it's still evolving, but what it boils down to is it the. It wasn't, you know, it wasn't me that that actually got it going. Bobby Reese, who just promoted cold turkey, which I, if he's listening, I'm sorry I didn't actually make it out, I don't know if anybody knew I actually, uh, I, I had a fall out here doing some trail work and I almost broke my leg and, uh, I was, I haven't, I still haven't rode my bike. Um, it's been two weeks since the fall and, uh, my is it's slowly healing. But and then I got sick and anyway, so I skipped a skip Bobby's race, which I hated. The cold Turkey man, he's building a great thing there and I say he, you know he's got a team of guys that are really doing a good thing. But Bobby, bobby had reached out to myself asking about if I'd be interested in doing a Tulsa miniseries and it'd be an unsanctioned event, which you know it's not that I'm like and I'm going to continue to have a USA Cycling license promoter, um, you know, and especially a promoter who donates to, to charitable causes.
Speaker 3:Um, for me it was. It was the, the disassociating from USA cycling. Um, you know, like the last race I just did, um, I had to write a check for uh, just under $1,800 between all of my USAC fees and uh, between all of my USAC fees and uh, port-a-dirt fees and my, um, uh, race official fees. And I, you know, my 12 hour that had the same amount of racers, my, my expenses was $222. And so, you know, and I'm looking at that going, okay, you know, that's a tough pill to swallow and that's a 12 hour mountain bike race. You know which I did pay my son's uh, um, uh, robotics team to time the event.
Speaker 3:Um, so technically it was $1,200, but that was again a 12 hour race, you know, and um, so I was, you know, I'm like all right, I'm listening, and then so next thing was, you know, I'm like all right, I'm listening, and then so next thing, you know, um, you know, rory, with the clara more race, chad sprague with bales, um, we all, we all, we, we got together. And it wasn't like we got together six months ago. We got together, um, probably a month and a half, two months ago, and we talked about it and um said, you know, do we really is this something we want to do you know? There's a lot of guys. Do you have a four race series? We're looking at doing six races. So there's excuse me, there's Bales, there's.
Speaker 3:So Ryan Palamba is going to put on a race and we're not sure exactly. It's probably it may end up at Keystone, um, but uh, excuse me, um, you have, we have Rory, we have myself, we have cold Turkey and then, I believe, bike club is gonna, is gonna, put one on as well. Um, and I may, I, I'm sorry, like I'm on the spot, I may be no you're good, you're good but so it's, obviously springtime series or summer series, like how well.
Speaker 3:So, like three of our races are three of our races are already in the fall, okay, and then um. And then um chad has his race in the spring and he was like I really want to keep it in the spring because you know his team, he can get, he can get involvement to get it done. And then it's like you know, get that, check that box and the race is out of the way and then make his team can focus on training and racing the rest of the year. And so we're gonna, we're gonna try the format this this year and see how it goes. I mean, we've already talked about it. Like you know, if it, if it doesn't work out that doing three races in the spring and three races in the fall, if it's like it's too much and I say too much, you know it may be the guys are like, hey, that's, you know it's too spread out, but what we're going to do is three in the fall, three in the spring, or three in the spring, three in the fall, um, and then we'll do, you know, the the cold turkey will be the season finale, uh, which you know just happened. That was just this last weekend. So this time next year, you know the season would wrap up, um, we're going to allow one drop out of the six races.
Speaker 3:Um, so you know, again, you know, trying, what we're hoping is is, um, part of the. You know, like the, the last race that we had here, I, there was zero, not one single 19 to 39 year old cat. One racer came out and raced, uh, cold turkey had, uh, probably two more than what I had, um, I don't even actually technically they probably had one, because I know that one of the guys my age that raced it, um, so the young guys just aren't racing, so something's, something's not working and um, so we're just kind of, you know we're, we're just hoping to put together like the smaller, uh, you know, grassroot little series and, um, if you know, hopefully we succeed um, um, you know I, I personally still plan on doing tour de dirt races. Um, you know there's a lot of venues and there's a lot of really good guys that you know there's.
Speaker 3:Promoting is not easy, you know, and um, I haven't raced a whole lot lately because you know, for one I'm, you know, every third weekend is the only weekend I have off and I have three kids and you know they're not cyclists. You know, chris, chris is lucky. His kids are doing the same thing that he loves to do. My son told me four years ago he doesn't want to ride bikes anymore, and so you know it's like making it to a race on a weekend that I'm off is not always easy and uh. But I'm going to retire in 18 or 17 months. I'm going to retire from the fire department and my plan is to go full, go more in on my races, but also be able to do more races, not good and I'll build it.
Speaker 2:Not good news for well, I've got plans. I'm so.
Speaker 1:I can't turn it into a new job? Yeah, that's good thinking.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I plan on beating Chris again is what I'm planning on doing. So you know. Back to the series. You know we just obviously it's yeah, it's just locally around Tulsa area. You know, I mean I had lost a lot of sleep over making the decision. I told Bobby I'm not real sure, if you know like it was not an easy decision.
Speaker 1:You know I I love the fact that you're doing a one day state championship, which I've talked about for years and I've we've talked about, I've talked about with Troy Cowan forever Like, and so whenever that popped up, I was like this is phenomenal and that's something we've got a, and you know, like I was talking about that, we're still working things out.
Speaker 3:That's something that I would love to see done and what I, what I, when I verbalize that, what I envision is, is something that can travel from, uh, you know like it could be. You know, at a rate, it could be at a venue on tour de dirt side one year and then our you know part of the, the, the, you know GCXC series the next year, but it doesn't and it doesn't have to be the end of the season. It could be, you know, a race in the spring.
Speaker 2:You know, and you know, obviously, I mean, I think they should, should move around a little bit because you know know, people have different priorities during different times of the year. Right, yeah, right, a traveling date and venue. It's kind of what I've been pitching. I'm sure you and I have talked about it numerous times but it makes sense.
Speaker 3:That's. That's something that I personally would like to see happen. Um, we, you know, we gotta, we gotta try to make you know, we gotta iron out some more details and make that happen. You know, obviously have some meetings with some folks and, uh, but, um, I'd love to see that, um, as a thing that spurs out of this.
Speaker 3:Um, so, you know, the and the thing is with our series is we're we're not, we're not overlapping any race with tour de dirt. Um, if somebody is like man, I just really love doing all the races, well, they could still do all the races, and I know that the drawback, or the fear is that less guys will travel going either direction. Less guys will travel west to east and vice versa. I hope not, but what I do hope is that there's a lot of guys, like I know there's a lot of guys at Tulsa that, um, they don't do the tour de dirt series and it's not because, in part of this is that they, they just don't want to travel. You know, they just like myself, like I said, you know, like with kids and priorities, you know other things, I can't commit to doing 10 races for the season.
Speaker 1:Um, but I can. This is a pretty good sweet spot from and that's from again, like what you said, my personal experience, friends, personal experiences like committing to like 10 plus races and traveling from Wichita falls to Kansas, to Tulsa, to Oklahoma city Like it's a big ask for people.
Speaker 3:It is and, uh, you know. So, you know you can make a, you know I can make a five race commitment out of the freaking, you know, out of five weekends out of the whole year. Yeah, you know, I can make that happen. You know, um, I can, you know I can miss, you know, if I had to miss one kid activity, I can, you know, I can justify being like, hey, you know, I'm gonna have to miss this one particular weekend, but, um, you know, 10 weekends is a lot more to try to, to, you know, bite off and and accomplish, but, uh, so that's, you know, that's, that's, that's what we're hoping to acquire or gain from.
Speaker 3:It is is we'll pick up some more people that that just don't want to make as big of a commitment, and then they're, you know, and unfortunately you know there are, there are a lot of people that just they, just they don't want to buy a USAC license. And, and you know, one of the things that we're hoping is that we can get more youth involved. We're not only trying to make sure we work with Tour de Dirt, but we're also working with with a bike club, with nika. We want to make sure that you know that those nika kids can come race as well. They already have like 140 kids that are committing to do the the oklahoma nika series you know, and it's amazing.
Speaker 3:You know it's. That's awesome and that's. You know that could be. That's awesome and that's you know that could be.
Speaker 1:Are you guys going to have a? I mean, I know Bales is your first race, I believe right, yeah, first of March. Are you guys going to have an Instagram page or a website or Facebook page so people can follow along and get updates on this?
Speaker 3:So we already have. We have a Facebook page, we have an instagram page and, um, we're we're. So we started this, launched this thing, announced it, you know, um, at the conclusion of the towarded earth series. But what we, you know like bobby bobby was the key player on it and bobby was, you know, that was two weeks before his race at turkey, so it we've been kind of radio silence, uh, since we made the announcement. That's because, you know there was, bobby had to get ready for his race. And since we made the announcement, that's because you know there was, bobby had to get ready for his race. And and, uh, you know now that that's, uh, you know in the books, um, we're going to, you know, switch gears and get back towards, uh, doing some communicating and planning.
Speaker 3:We, uh, we actually are, uh, we're trying to find somebody to help us with a website. Obviously, budget budget is, you know, is one thing. So if you're a, if somebody listening is a web designer and wants to help a brother out, you know, reach out. You know I'm not asking for free, but you know, if somebody you know wants to help in some way, you know, that'd be, that'd be awesome. But we do have somebody that we're talking to. So we're going to launch a website. My wife is actually creating an LLC for the you know, for the series. That way, obviously, we're working. We're operating under that umbrella versus you know someone. If someone gets injured and wants to try to uh, you know try to sue somebody, they're suing, they're not going to come take chris's house right, they're not going to come take chris's house.
Speaker 3:They're going to sue, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're going to sue gcxc, which owns nothing, you know, and uh um but uh, yeah, well, before we wrap this up, because I am about to die on battery, we normally wrap this up with um, a like a quick question series, uh called yard sale, which has a mountain biker you get. Well, you've seen chris do it, so you understand what that is yeah, yeah I mean, so I'm kind of chris dictate this and I didn't tell him I was going to do this, but I want to have you.
Speaker 1:They can be just quick, short answers, first thing that comes to your mind. They're just quick, short, stupid questions. So I'll start it off while Chris is trying to think of something. But what's your favorite piece of bike equipment?
Speaker 3:My favorite piece of bike equipment. I don't know why it would just pop in. I don't even use them anymore, but it was grip shift.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's a good one.
Speaker 3:That's a good one, I'll agree I I missed the sound, the pow pow.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, but, yeah. But every now and then you'd hit a rock or something. You'd shift like nine gears at once I never did that just me all right um what's your most memorable race my most memorable race, uh, gosh, uh.
Speaker 3:So I did a race in in florida and uh, which I've done this twice now but, um, I flatted. It was it was when I was still I was racing the sport class and I flatted and then my tube failed and so I just ripped the tire off and finished the rest of the race on just the rim and, uh, it was like muddy, shitty conditions and you know so I'm bouncing off the rocks. All you hear is, you know, the this rim ding in all across the. You know you know what I mean, and but it's just like I'm not gonna quit, I'm gonna finish this thing. And uh, um, and when I would come through which it was a pretty big series back then and actually the guy who runs it, uh, david burger, is actually from yale, oklahoma, but uh, when I'd come through the, you know it was a short, multiple lap race, so I kept coming through, you know, and they're just. You know it was just the energy I was getting from, you know, not quitting and riding on a rim, it was just sticks out.
Speaker 1:All right, two more questions.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I'm not good at this, you got it.
Speaker 1:You got it. Do you? Did you ever, do you still talk to, or was the last time you talked to, the guy in Florida that got you started on your first ride?
Speaker 3:You know, so I, I, I, literally, I literally, I think of him, I think of him often and then I'm like I need to try to try to get in touch with him. Um, so we, we, uh, we had connected in 2009, I think it was, and um, anyways, life I, I, life took a dive for a while back then and we lost track with each other, and I need to look him up again he must have been blown away with what you ended up accomplishing I'll get back with you on that all right, all right, grumman last question
Speaker 2:I, I don't have one. I I just want to thank ray um for everything you do within within ok, oklahoma cycling, but like a huge inspiration to me. I mean, as far as mountain biking goes, I would have probably never gotten near where I did without someone like you to chase, like you and Chris Renshaw, um, and, and the people you were like you were you were top of the heap at the time, but you guys were both super cool to me. Um always helped me out, answered questions when I had questions, um, which is something you know. I now try to reciprocate, but, um, yeah, I really looked up to you guys and so so thanks for giving back the way you did and kind of taking me in and helping me the way you did.
Speaker 3:Man, well, it's been an honor man. I mean, honestly, it's been great seeing, seeing everything that you've accomplished, you know, since you uh entered the sport and uh, um, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and Ray, I think I'll. I'll wrap us up with just saying thanks for being a good human. I think I think that kind of sums it up. And screw being fast on a bicycle, like who cares, but thanks for being a good human and for for just kicking ass in that department, and not just in your career and in your job but in what you do outside of that. And yeah, greatly appreciated.
Speaker 3:Well, I appreciate it. Like I said, seeing everybody, you know putting on an event and seeing everybody have fun, that's what makes everything worth it. And then, you know, putting on an event and seeing everybody have fun, that's what makes everything worth it. And then, uh, you know, um, again, like with the 12 hour uh that we're getting ready to have in March, uh, you know, donating to a family that truly, truly you know needs and appreciates, uh, you know, being the beneficiary of it uh makes it all worthwhile. And uh, I just uh hope we can keep it going for many more years.
Speaker 1:So thanks for your evening and, yeah, I think we'll see you on the trail soon.
Speaker 3:All right, brothers, y'all take care and we'll see you.
Speaker 1:All right, thank you, sir. Thank you, bye, bye.