February 24, 2025 • 41 mins
This podcast episode explores the journey of Katie. A semi-professional cyclist, weaving personal stories and insights into the world of competitive cycling. She shares her transition from triathlons to racing, her challenges and triumphs, and the team dynamics that define the sport.
• Katie discusses her injury days before her wedding
• Journey from grad school to becoming a competitive cyclist
• Importance of community support and proactive engagement in sports
• Breakdown of different types of cycling races
• Description of training routines and intense preparation
• Insights into the camaraderie and challenges during races
• Discussion on the realities of semi-professional cycling life
Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to our podcast, and share this episode with someone who loves cycling!
Make sure to follow the Dad Hat Chronicles: https://linktr.ee/TheDadHatChronicles
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, I've got a plate and 12 screws in this
wrist and my forearm from apretty horrific crash.
I had 12 days before my weddingbecause I was dumb enough to
raise right before my wedding.
Is anybody there?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
all right, all right, all right.
Well, welcome everybody to yetanother episode of the data
chronicles.
My name is ed, also known asthe dad hat, all right.
So, guys, as uh, as you guysalready know, uh, last episode a
couple of episodes I have donewhere we are going into having a
person who is in a differentsport than the one I love, which
is baseball.
(00:52):
Uh, we had our good friend, uh,mike sellers of the up to chat
podcast, do a little bit of uh,training.
Uh, well, training me into whatis called tennis.
Uh, that went.
I don't know how that went, butanyways, today I got a good
friend of mine who is a wellused to be a semi-pro athlete in
(01:12):
the world of cycling and she isgoing to teach me all about
this, and then I will probablyretain none of it, and then I'm
going to be feel bad aboutmyself because I don't have to
rewatch the episode.
So that's a good thing that itis recorded.
So, for all of those of youthat are watching, thank you so
much.
Make sure that you go on theYouTube channel and hit the like
and go ahead and make sure thatyou subscribe as well.
(01:34):
But now that we got that out ofthe way.
Katie, how are you today?
Speaker 1 (01:39):
I'm good.
Hopefully I'm exciting enough.
You remember something out ofthis episode.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
I Good, hopefully I'm exciting enough.
You will remember something outof this episode.
I will remember everythingbecause I watched the tour of
the fronts.
I watch it every time.
I was telling a friend of mineI said I was having you know, I
was going to have you come on,and they're like, oh, that's
cool.
I'm like like yeah, cause Iwatched the tour.
I even watched the tour of downunder the Australian one.
Uh, those are exciting stuff.
So I want to know, from yourpoint of view, someone, who, who
(02:05):
does the I'm sure you still,you know, get your bike out and
all that.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yep.
I want you to teach me aboutcycling.
Okay, okay, where do you wantme to start?
Cause there is a an entiremassive world of cycling that I
feel like most Americans don'tknow about because it's not a
huge sport here.
I'm sure every European underthe sun knows everything about
cycling because it's huge overthere.
(02:30):
It's like football and baseballover there is cycling.
So, where would you like me to?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
start.
Well, let's start with youright.
For example, how did you getinto the sport?
How did you?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
get into the sport.
Okay, so a long time ago, backin grad school.
I won't say how long ago it was.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
No, no, no, let's not get into that.
No, no, absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
That will age me.
I was into triathlons because Ihad been a runner throughout
high school and a little bit incollege, did track and field for
a year and then decided I'drather go study abroad.
So that didn't last long but Ikept running.
(03:17):
And then I decided to get intotriathlons in grad school
because I had swam a little bitwhen I was younger.
But in my first few triathlons Ifound out that I was really
good at cycling and I did notknow that you could race just
bikes.
(03:37):
Like I said, it's not a bigthing here in America, true.
And so I found a cycling clubat the University of Oklahoma,
which is where I was going tograd school, met a bunch of
awesome people who really helpedme get into the sport and just
started riding with local groupsaround Oklahoma and at the
(04:00):
university, did some collegiateracing, raced collegiate
nationals my first year, andthen it just took off from there
and I loved it so much, neverlooked back, just kept growing
in the sport for I don't know,the better of 10 years or so.
Wow, yes.
So it all started in grad school.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
So you're just like, yep, we're just going to go
ahead and you know, I'm justgoing to pick up a bike and then
, oh, I'm really good at this.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, and you know, what's funny is that my parents
didn't think that I would besticking with this sport because
it is so just not a huge thingin America.
So they didn't want to help mepurchase a bike at the time
because I was a, you know, poorgrad student basically, and or
(04:50):
undergrad, or yeah, and so Iused my dad's kind of cruiser
style bike for like my firstcouple of races and then, when
they saw I was actually decentat it, then I got my first bike
off of eBay, which was too bigfor me.
I didn't know anything aboutbike sizing and just rode it
till I figured out the sport andgot different bikes throughout
(05:14):
the years.
It actually fit me a little bitbetter that I could race.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
That's insane.
That is also really good, likeI mean, like if they weren't
going to be making a movie, Iwas like, was like yep, I just
started with a cruiser bike andthen off we went, that's how it
started yeah, it was uh funnywhen I rolled up with that bike
at the triathlon.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
People were looking at me like this girl has no idea
what she's doing oh my god, buthold on.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So you did triathlon, but did.
Did you ever do duathlons?
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I did a couple.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Yes, all right.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Yeah, I did triathlons for a couple of years
.
I did two half Ironmans.
I did some duathlons,triathlons of various distances.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
So I did a few of those.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
So the half Ironmans is the 70.3, correct?
Yes, okay, look at me.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Yes, you know everyone who's into the Ironmans
are very into it, but I did it.
I wasn't as so into it as maybesome of the other triathlete
communities.
I did not get the Ironmantattoo on my leg.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
We'll just say that oh God, see, that's's it, you're
out of the cult already I knowI was out of the culture at that
point, yeah, so it's liketriathlons and then like, uh,
crossfit, like that's whatthey're saying about that.
Those two sports, it's likeit's very cult, like like, once
you're in, you are in.
Yeah, yes, yes very true so?
(06:43):
so let me ask you this then allright, so you know, right you're
, you're doing your triathlons,you're doing your two athlons
and all that stuff, and like youget your first bike, which
didn't fit, uh, for you whichalso, by the way, I did find out
later on in life the same thingthat, like you, got to get
properly fitted for a bike,because if you don't, you're
going to be suffering, correct.
(07:04):
But how did you like, how didyou get discovered technically,
I guess that's my question is,like you know, to go into being
a professional,semi-professional athlete.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So back in Oklahoma, when I was living in Oklahoma
City, I was on a team called DNARacing.
That was a really well-knownteam kind of throughout the
Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas area,and it was mainly a men's team
but we had a small women's teamand I have to say that the guys
(07:44):
on that team and just the peoplewho arrived with the team and
the community really helped medevelop a lot of my core skills
as a cyclist and helped train mefrom being, you know, a
beginner, what we call categoryfour cyclist, all the way up to
category one, two cyclists,which is more of like the pro
(08:04):
fields.
And once I got to that point,it wasn't long after that that
we moved to South Carolina and Ino longer had this awesome team
that I was a part of and I wasdesperate to find another really
good team to ride with, and soI went to a lot of the local
(08:25):
races around here where I hadstopped some of the really good
women cyclists online to figureout where they were going to be
racing.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
There I'm going yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yes, I'm going, I want to meet these girls, I want
to meet these teams and I wantto go and beat these girls so
that they ask me to be on theirteam.
And that's exactly what I did.
Um, I there was a couple ofraces.
It came down to like a fieldsprint out of a smaller
(08:58):
breakaway group and I just madesure to make my stance and then
talk to them afterwards, and itwent from there.
I just got on a team that Istayed on for a few years after
that.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
That's awesome.
You're like I'm going to showyou, watch me the alpha.
Here I go.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Try to yeah, you succeeded.
Yeah, it was a good time.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
That's awesome.
I love that.
So, so I remember because I'mgoing to ask you a question here
but I remember one time we bythe way I don't know if you guys
know this, I well I didn't saythis, but katie and I we used to
work together at anothercompany, right, katie left
before me, I left afterwards.
But I remember in one of thethe trips that I went down to I
(09:43):
think we were doing a, one ofthe events um, you brought your
bike with you.
I did, I remember that.
And then you're like no, Ican't eat, I gotta eat a certain
amount of food that I have toeat and all this other stuff.
And I was like and then I gottago, because I gotta go in and
get on my bike and I gotta train.
I remember that very vividly.
You had it in your, in the backof your car seat, in yourly.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
You had it in the back of your car seat in your
car.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yep, I had it in the back seat of that company car
because they wouldn't allow meto put a bike rack on it, which
is hilarious, so I took thewheels off and shoved that thing
in the car because it was asmall car, but I made it work.
It was a very small car, andwhy would they not let you put a
bike rack?
It's beyond me.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
I don't know, it seems silly.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
It's one of the many things about that place.
Anyways, all right, you decidedokay, I'm going to go in how
you say it, suck these girls andI'm going to get them to know
me.
They're going to become my BFFsforever because we're going to
be on a team.
So did it happen Like?
You know?
How long did it take for you togo from racing against them to
(10:53):
racing with them as a team?
Speaker 1 (10:57):
It took two specific races where I was racing by
myself, just in a blank kit, andone of them was a circuit race,
which is where you're on asmaller course that you do
multiple laps around, so it waslike a twelve and a half mile
(11:19):
course.
I remember right that we didfour or five times.
And then another one was a uhcriterium race, which I like to
call a NASCAR on bikes.
This hides high speed, highspeed, cornering shoulder to
shoulder, like on a really smallcircuit, usually within a
downtown area.
(11:39):
It was in North Carolina like ahalf a mile circuit, um that I
made the break with these girls.
I did not win that race, though, but I at least stayed with
them, and then after that, thefollowing year is whenever they
asked me to be on the team.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
All right.
So let me ask you this let'sbacktrack a little bit, because
you said something and I want tomake sure that I explain it to
everybody, all right.
So let me ask you this let'sbacktrack a little bit, because
you said something and I want tomake sure that I explain it to
everybody.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I know what this term is, but what is a kit?
Oh yes, so a kit is your, yourcycling race suit.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And it can be a one piece, it can be a two piece,
but it's skin tight, likebasically to be as aerodynamic
as possible yeah, gotcha, Iremember I seen that it's like
you know, when I'm seeing thetwo of the fronts and because
this is you know what I what Iwatch every, every year, um, is
they have these very skin tight,like I mean it is tight, like I
mean it is a part of you.
Um, and what I did not reallyunderstand until recently, when
(12:44):
I bought my couple of bikeshorts, is the padding on the
shorts.
Thank you, jesus, for thosethings.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
The chamois yes.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, let me tell you , Because I was never used to
that.
And then when you start cyclingand then you don't have that,
it's not fun.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
It's not fun.
The chamois saves your life andif you have a properly fitted
bike saddle which you've set on,is also will save your life,
and the more uncomfortable thesaddle looks usually, the more
comfortable it is.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Which is wild to me.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
It is yeah, you don't want to be sitting on this big
cushy saddle.
You're going to be rubbed inall the wrong places.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
You got to have a saddle that's skinnier and
usually a little bit firmer, soit's only hitting your sit bones
.
I never knew that.
And I'm watching and I'm likeeverybody's like oh no, no, you
need this big thing because yougot it, you want comfort.
And then everyone's like no,you really don't.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
That's what the shammy's?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
for not the saddle.
No, you really don't.
That's what the shammy's for,not the saddle See.
Thank you for teaching methings here.
I like that.
Okay, so you did that.
And then you described tworaces right.
One of them was a criterium andthe other one was a circuit.
Yep, how many racing types arehere in the U?
(14:02):
S that people can, you know,watch?
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So we have all kinds of racing.
I would say the most well-knownrace, that's truly like what we
would say American style racing, is criterion racing, which I
said is like NASCAR on bikes, isin usually an hour to 90
minutes, full gas, like highspeed, high cornering, or high
(14:30):
speed cornering elbow to elbow,lots of elbow checking.
And then there is circuitracing which, like I said before
, a longer circuit that you domultiple times within a race.
There is a time trial which isjust point a to point b as fast
as you can and that's a solo one, correct yeah, or the team one,
(14:53):
you can do two you.
You can do a team time trial,but most time trials around here
are going to be solo on a timetrial bike, similar to like what
a triathlete would do in atriathlon.
And then you have a road race,uh, which for the women at the
pro level here in america.
Usually your races are anywherefrom 50 to 80 miles and it
(15:16):
could be one large loop, itcould be maybe a couple of loops
, but that usually involves alot more um mixed terrain, a lot
of climbing here in america andsome of the bigger road races
that we would go to um, butthose are the main races you can
do here gotcha.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
All right, then the average speed on on the stage
one.
What's the average speed forthat one?
Speaker 1 (15:45):
uh, for like a road race yeah, a road race depends
on the terrain so if you're ummountain climbing, because
there's a a race not far fromhere in the carolinas where you
climb up like a 2500 foot climbat the very end of the race and
that might be a little bitdifferent than a road race that
(16:06):
has a bunch of rolling terrain,but in the women's pro field, in
a road race you're always goingto be averaging at least over
20 miles an hour.
If the course is more flat, alot of times it's been upwards
of 23 miles an hour, yeah, umfor, like I said, 50 to 80 miles
(16:27):
.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
so it really depends on the train, but it can also
depend on the wind that'sinsanity to me, though, because,
like, I can average maybe 10 to12 miles an hour on my bike,
and I just threw up when yousaid, oh, 20 to 23 miles an hour
is on average the big packmakes a difference too.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
There's a lot of people yeah, yeah you will do.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
You have done something that I'll never
achieve and I'm so jealous rightnow, just so you know that's
awesome.
Um, okay, what about the nascaron two wheels?
Speaker 1 (17:01):
yes, how fast do you?
Speaker 2 (17:03):
the criteriums.
Yes, um how fast do you usuallygo there?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
oh gosh, I would say um, the fastest crit race I did
was one in um chicago, wherethey have 10 days of crit racing
back to back and, uh, pancakeflat and the women's field
average pretty darn close to 26miles an hour and the men's
field was averaging like 30miles an hour up pretty close,
(17:29):
god, some of the course, if it'snot technical and meaning, you
know there's not a lot of tightcornering, it's kind of open,
super flat and you have a groupof like 50 girls that are racing
.
I mean mean you can fly on abike, you can fly.
Oh my God, I would not say thatwas normal.
You know you're going to beaveraging more 23, 24 miles an
(17:53):
hour on other courses it's stillfast, but that one I
specifically remember beingparticularly fast.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Yeah, I mean it's super fast, first of all, and
then second of all, it's likeyou crash and there's not a lot
of padding there.
Actually, there's no paddingbecause you got the your kit on.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
But that, oh lord, have mercy I don't know if you
can see, I have yeah, I've got aplate and 12 screws in this
wrist and my forearm from apretty horrific crash I had 12
days before my wedding because Iwas dumb enough to raise right
before my wedding, Right beforeyour wedding.
(18:34):
Not smart.
I don't recommend anyone dothat.
Don't do it.
Oh my God.
Yeah, that was interesting.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
And you walking down with a cast on Nope.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I walked into an orthopedic surgeon a couple of
days after the race, when theyactually were open again, and
told him my situation.
He felt so bad for me.
He did surgery on me that sameday.
He promised I'd be in aremovable cast the day before my
wedding, and I was so I didn'thave to wear one.
But still don't.
I don't recommend racing thatclose to a big event in your
(19:12):
life.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
No, my wife just actually just had surgery on her
wrist.
So like I mean, we're goingthrough that Cause she has, she
has a plate.
Uh, through that because shehas, she has a plate.
Uh, not fun, no, not fun.
No, she's like the all, the,the, the pt that she has to do
and all that.
And you were like a I mean, howlong did it take you from that
injury to get back on a bike?
Speaker 1 (19:34):
because I mean, that's, that's a lot of stress
put on the, on your wrist andyour forearm yeah, I mean, I
probably rode before I wassupposed to, but I would ride
the trainer inside and once Igot in a cast where it was just
my forearm and my thumb and youknow my hand was kind of like
this I could grab my handlebar.
(19:56):
So I rode outside great for awhile, but I still did it and I
think I got my cast off maybesix weeks later or so.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, the tan line from that was hilarious when I
got that cast off so you get atan line from your kit and then
a tan line from your wrist?
Speaker 1 (20:17):
yes, I look ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
That's wild.
Good, I mean.
I mean good for you.
That's some dedication rightthere.
I I love it.
Okay, so you said you know thepeople that are listening here.
Why were you considered asemi-pro instead of a
(20:49):
professional athlete when you'redoing all of this?
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Yeah, that's a really good question.
So most of the teams here inAmerica, when you are racing at
what they call the pro categoryone two level, at what they call
the pro category one two level,a lot of those women would
really be considered more oflike a semi-pro because we
aren't paid a salary.
But we have all of our travelcosts paid for.
(21:15):
We have race support that doeverything for us, meal prep for
us, do everything for us, mealprep for us, drive in your team
car during the race so they cangive you feeds and food.
Mid-race you get all of yourgear given to you.
You know bikes, wheels, tires,kits, nutrition anything you can
(21:38):
think of was given to us on theteam, but we weren't paid a
salary.
Now, if you are to be on whatthey would call a UCI
continental team or a UCI worldtour team, that is a step above
where our team was at here inAmerica and those athletes are
(22:03):
given salaries and also have allthe other benefits that we had,
plus more.
So, those would be consideredlike your pro athletes, whereas
most people here in America youcould consider more semi-pro.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Gotcha.
Okay, that's pretty coolbecause you still got a lot of
gear.
Oh yeah, I mean it was awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
I'm not going to lie.
Oh yeah, I mean it was, it was.
It was awesome.
I'm not gonna lie, because ifyou get all your flights paid
for staff to really take care ofyou like you are a real pro
athlete, just without the paidsalary, I mean it was phenomenal
.
We traveled all over the us.
Our team got to race in europe,I mean places.
So we I mean we had a greattime on our team.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
That's cool.
I'm sure you racked up a lot ofuh mileage, though you know
frequent flyer miles oh yeah,for sure, um heck, yeah.
Yeah, it was fun good, all right, all right, so let me ask you
this then.
All right, so, and then we'llgo into uh, nutrition here in a
little bit here, but, and in thetraining and all that, but, um,
(23:06):
so you're the day of the.
Well, I guess I should back upbecause you know, obviously
training comes first and thenthe day of the race.
Yeah, like, what does thattraining look like?
When you are, when you make theteam, you're being asked what
are the demands, because I'msure not everybody lived close
enough to you to be part of theteam, or am I?
(23:28):
Am I assuming incorrect?
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Mm.
Hmm, yep, our team.
So it was technically based outof Charlotte, north Carolina,
but we had athletes that were inNorth Carolina, south Carolina,
pennsylvania, colorado,minnesota.
We had girls from variousplaces throughout the years that
I was on the team, variousplaces throughout the years that
(23:54):
I was on the team.
And our team was more of a Tourde France style racing team.
So we were mainly focused onstage racing, which that's what
the Tour de France is.
It's a long, 21 day stage race.
We would do some criteriumracing too, just to it's good
(24:15):
exposure.
We'll say here in America ifyour team shows up to these big
crit races.
But we were mainly focused onstage racing.
So the training for that isgoing to be different than teams
that were focused on criterionracing.
Criterion racing and thetraining for each athlete is
(24:41):
going to vary based on what yourstrengths are.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
So for me.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
I was a sprinter on the team, oh, okay yes, uh, I
had a decent sprint whenever Iwas not sick, which happened
frequently.
Sadly, the last like two yearsthat I was on the team, so my
weaknesses were climbing themountains long, long power.
(25:06):
So just on the pedals nonstop,as much power as you can for an
extended period of time.
Non-stop, as much power as youcan for an extended period of
time.
And that is necessary at a lotof the stage racing, because we
do a lot of climbing in stageracing and you also have to be
decent at time trialing in orderto make the time cut.
(25:28):
You can't be really slow andmake it through each stage, just
like in the Tour de France.
So a lot of my training wasfocused on what we call
functional threshold power,which is the total power you can
output for an hour, or like 95percent of what you can output
(25:51):
over a 20 minute period.
And I tried to increase myfunctional threshold power and
therefore my ability to climb aswell as I could.
And then I would also do sprinttraining so that I wouldn't
lose my sprint whenever the teamwould need me for that.
Because there are some stagesthat are sprint stages and I
(26:13):
would do my best that I couldhave for the team, but a lot of
my training would be focused onclimbing and threshold power.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Gotcha OK so and correct me you know if you know
at any point here and correct meyou know if you know at any
point here.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
So a lot of the teams that you know.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Obviously you want to win the whole race but you
concentrate on trying to win asmany stages as possible, and
every stage is different, right,Because you can.
One of them is designed for asprinter, another one it's a
climbing stage.
So there's a lot of stages inracing.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Yes, yes, that's correct, and you so, depending
on the composition of your team,you could be a team that is
going for stage wins, individualstage wins, because maybe you
don't have the best chance to goall in to try and win what's
called the generalclassification or the overall
(27:17):
winner of the entire, let's say,three or four day stage race.
Or you could be a team thatmaybe has a star individual or a
few star individuals that dohave the capability of winning
the general classification, andso you may strategically win
(27:40):
certain days, or especially thetime trial, because that's
always key if you're going towin the general classification
and your entire team may bebacking that one rider who could
win the overall race, and youcould be racing a totally
different race in that stagerace compared to a different
(28:01):
team who's just out to winstages there's so much yes it's
a big team sportvery much a team sport yeah,
people don't understand that.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Like well, I didn't at first.
I'm like, why is this dude likeyou know, all the way, like he
did all this work?
Now he's gonna fall all the wayto the back of the palatine and
just gonna stick there for therest of the time and it's you
know, to me it was like you know, um, uh, mark cavendish, like
he's the one that came to mindbecause he's a printer, uh, and
(28:33):
like he was like in the front.
You know, they brought him up.
They brought him up to win thesprint stage and then you just
fall him so far behind on theclimbing stages yep, that would
be me a lot of times too, or um,I was not like a pure sprinter.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
Um, I could climb decently well, and there were
definitely some races where, inthe last year that I was with
the team, we had two girls whowere phenomenal cyclists, who
could definitely win the GC, andthey did, and I would go all in
for them at specific times inthe race.
(29:12):
Let's say, if there was anotherteam's gc rider who was
threatening our gc riderscapability to win, um, and I
would sacrifice myself to dowhatever the job was at that
point let's say, close the gapif they were breaking away from
us.
Um, or sacrifice myself as muchas I could up a climb for
(29:36):
someone so that they're savingenergy behind us.
Um, yeah, I mean that that'struly like.
It's a.
It's a big team sport andpeople don't understand that.
Um, how much work goes into oneperson winning a big stage race
like the Tour de France, andthe people who are off the back
(29:59):
barely making the time cutbecause they went all in for
them are the reason why that oneperson is on the podium that's
insanity, yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
at the same time, right, because everybody thinks
like, oh, oh, cycling,individual sport Not really no,
no.
If you don't have a good teamaround you, then you're done for
.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
You are done, yeah, at the pro level.
If you don't have a good teambehind you, you're not going to
go anywhere.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
All right, so let's talk about training.
All right, so let's talk abouttraining.
What is that?
You know we're going toconcentrate on on the stage,
because that's what you're.
You know you mostly did, sotalk, talk to me like what a
typical training look like forfor the team.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Mm, hmm, so you don't talk about like for me
specifically or when we wouldhave like team training camp.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
So both right.
So for you, because I knowyours was different than a lot
of the other.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
You know, because everybody had their own specific
thing, that they needed totrain on, and then, when you
guys got together as a team, yes, so a typical training week, I
would say like a light trainingweek, would be 15 hours on the
bike and then a heavy trainingweek could be over 20 hours on
the bike and then a heavytraining week could be over 20
hours on the bike and um and youspread this out throughout the
(31:21):
week.
Yes, those hours, seven days.
And in order for you to, or inorder for me to increase my
functional threshold power, youraerobic capacity has to be
really high.
And so a lot of our training isgoing to be what we call zone
two training, which is arelatively moderate intensity
(31:48):
level but it helps build youraerobic capacity and your
ability to move oxygenefficiently throughout your body
.
And then you would have say,two days a week where you're
doing really high intensityintervals, whether it's
specifically training for me,the functional threshold power,
(32:08):
hold power, or working on yourVO2 max or doing sprints, and so
you would have, you know, twodays a week or so that were
spread out throughout the weekwe're in.
Between those high intensitydays, you'd be riding a lot of
zone two to work that your heartmuscle basically.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
So every day was a totally different training for
you.
Just because you had you wereworking on different things
right, and Mondays were alwaysmy recovery day.
Just an easy ride.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Easy hour Yep.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Okay, all right, so that was that.
Was that plan uh put togetherfor you?
Did you put that plan?
Was there a coach or a teammanager that put that plan
together?
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yes, I had a wonderful coach, Emma.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
And at the time she was my coach.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
she raced for TIPCO and EF Education First.
Hey, I didn't know that.
Yes, she was the road race USnational champ a few years ago.
She was absolutely wonderful.
She was the coach I needed,because she is a climber through
and through, and so she knewhow to help me become a better
climber, which is why I lovedhaving her as my coach.
That's great, she would planeverything out for me in this
program called training peaks.
(33:33):
I could log into see what Ineed to do that week.
I could upload my ride to itshowed me all of my stats.
She could see all the stats wecould communicate back and forth
in the program um and she wassuper key for me being able to
race big stage races.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
That's cool.
By the way, that team is stillgoing on the EF education first.
That's pretty cool, I lovetheir career Yep.
That's awesome.
So like you log in, you knowyou got your training.
I was like all right, what do Ineed to do?
Oh, here, I go.
I got to do this today.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Oh, some of those workouts I mean.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
I would tell her.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
she was so mean, they were so brutal, but worth it in
the end.
I mean some of them.
You know it was almost expectedthat you would fail, but it was
done on purpose.
Yes, yeah, yep, and if you madeit through, then that means the
(34:35):
next time we just weren't goinghard enough, got it and you
progress, like in your training,and so you keep upping the
power and, yeah, some of themwere brutal, brutal workouts.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
That's funny, that's funny.
Yes funny, that's funny.
Yes, so it's meant to literallyjust like, just beat you down
and not but not in a bad way,but like in a way in which you
would definitely have to workand you're on your own.
So like I mean yes, let me askyou?
This is something that I'vealways wanted to know, okay, and
(35:11):
and when you guys are racing,are you able to listen to music?
Are you guys listen to music,or it's just straight up you and
your thoughts and then you'rejust racing?
Speaker 1 (35:22):
yeah, so there's no, no headphones allowed when
you're racing.
That would be super dangerousif you couldn't hear what's
going on around you.
Um, there's a lot of uh, a lotof yelling.
Sometimes that happens in theraces.
A lot of not nice words.
You might hear a lot of elbows,getting in your rib cage
(35:45):
sometimes to move people out ofyour way, um.
But I always felt, um that mytraining that Emma would give me
was so hard some days that if Icould do it by myself, just
with my thoughts and solelyfocusing on how awful my legs
(36:07):
were feeling or how my heartfelt like it was going to beat
out of my chest, if I could doit myself, then when I'm in a
race around people and myadrenaline is through the roof
and I'm thinking about so manyother things other than just my
legs wanting to fall off, Ialways felt like I could perform
really well and do anything Iwas doing in training, plus more
(36:30):
at a race okay, I got you, gotyou.
Okay, yeah, because there's alot going on in those pelotons
sometimes.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
I was just going to say because I've always wanted
to know exactly what happens inthose pelotons, because you
watch it on TV and you watchwhen you go to a race and you
see them and like what isactually going on.
Obviously, there's a lot of ina not so nice in a nice way.
Just there's some nudging outof the way.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
But there's some nice talk too, because you know,
sometimes in the long races whenyou're on a super flat section,
there's not a whole lot goingon.
You're just cruising reallyfast and no one's going to be
breaking away Because, let's say, the wind's just really
inhibiting that.
I mean, I've had some niceconversations with friends on
other teams that I hadn't seenin a while.
But you know, when the goinggets tough, sometimes that stops
(37:17):
real fast.
And if people are doing thingsyou don't like and they're
disrupting your race and youneed them out of the way, then
there are choice words that comeout of people's mouth.
There's both.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
I would pay so much money to just to experience that
, just to see that happening,right Like get out of my way.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Yeah, pretty much a lot of bombs oh yeah, it's, you
know, it's in my vocabulary.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
I use that one word a lot.
I had to watch it, though,Cause I have a.
You know, I have a six year old, and she is a human recorder.
Oh yeah, so she will repeatevery single thing.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
I've learned.
I will learn that pretty soon,cause my girl I just had she's
two months old, so we're notwe're not to that stage yet, but
I do know I'm going to have towatch myself pretty soon but you
will yes, and let me tell youyou're gonna have a lot of fun
yeah
Speaker 2 (38:18):
hope you guys enjoy so far part one of my
conversation with my good friend, katie.
When it comes to cycling,that's right, cycling now.
Next week we are going tofinish a conversation.
We're going to touch ontraining.
We're going to touch ontraining.
We're going to touch onnutrition.
What is life after cycling?
Right, as once you're donecycling as a semi-professional,
(38:39):
like here in the United States,what life looked like after that
?
So, stay tuned for that episode.
Like I said, it'll come outnext week.
As far as the data chronicles,make sure you guys are following
me on all socials.
You know what.
Do me a favor, guys.
Give it five stars, rate,review it, all that fun stuff,
share it with someone.
Um, that way, people are ableto go ahead and enjoy it as much
(39:03):
as you can, right?
The honest truth is also, isthat, uh, the more that it goes
into other people, right?
They get to enjoy the episodeand the podcast, just like you.
Guys.
If you are able to watch it onyoutube, go on my youtube
channel, where I do put thevideo episodes.
(39:23):
Now and as well as everytuesday and thursday nights at 9
pm eastern time, we have thedad hat chronicle sports show.
Until then, guys keep grindingand always support the minor
leagues, see ya.
Yeah, I've got a plate and 12 screws in this
wrist and my forearm from apretty horrific crash.
I had 12 days before my weddingbecause I was dumb enough to
raise right before my wedding.
Is anybody there?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
all right, all right, all right.
Well, welcome everybody to yetanother episode of the data
chronicles.
My name is ed, also known asthe dad hat, all right.
So, guys, as uh, as you guysalready know, uh, last episode a
couple of episodes I have donewhere we are going into having a
person who is in a differentsport than the one I love, which
is baseball.
(00:52):
Uh, we had our good friend, uh,mike sellers of the up to chat
podcast, do a little bit of uh,training.
Uh, well, training me into whatis called tennis.
Uh, that went.
I don't know how that went, butanyways, today I got a good
friend of mine who is a wellused to be a semi-pro athlete in
(01:12):
the world of cycling and she isgoing to teach me all about
this, and then I will probablyretain none of it, and then I'm
going to be feel bad aboutmyself because I don't have to
rewatch the episode.
So that's a good thing that itis recorded.
So, for all of those of youthat are watching, thank you so
much.
Make sure that you go on theYouTube channel and hit the like
and go ahead and make sure thatyou subscribe as well.
(01:34):
But now that we got that out ofthe way.
Katie, how are you today?
Speaker 1 (01:39):
I'm good.
Hopefully I'm exciting enough.
You remember something out ofthis episode.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
I Good, hopefully I'm exciting enough.
You will remember something outof this episode.
I will remember everythingbecause I watched the tour of
the fronts.
I watch it every time.
I was telling a friend of mineI said I was having you know, I
was going to have you come on,and they're like, oh, that's
cool.
I'm like like yeah, cause Iwatched the tour.
I even watched the tour of downunder the Australian one.
Uh, those are exciting stuff.
So I want to know, from yourpoint of view, someone, who, who
(02:05):
does the I'm sure you still,you know, get your bike out and
all that.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yep.
I want you to teach me aboutcycling.
Okay, okay, where do you wantme to start?
Cause there is a an entiremassive world of cycling that I
feel like most Americans don'tknow about because it's not a
huge sport here.
I'm sure every European underthe sun knows everything about
cycling because it's huge overthere.
(02:30):
It's like football and baseballover there is cycling.
So, where would you like me to?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
start.
Well, let's start with youright.
For example, how did you getinto the sport?
How did you?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
get into the sport.
Okay, so a long time ago, backin grad school.
I won't say how long ago it was.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
No, no, no, let's not get into that.
No, no, absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
That will age me.
I was into triathlons because Ihad been a runner throughout
high school and a little bit incollege, did track and field for
a year and then decided I'drather go study abroad.
So that didn't last long but Ikept running.
(03:17):
And then I decided to get intotriathlons in grad school
because I had swam a little bitwhen I was younger.
But in my first few triathlons Ifound out that I was really
good at cycling and I did notknow that you could race just
bikes.
(03:37):
Like I said, it's not a bigthing here in America, true.
And so I found a cycling clubat the University of Oklahoma,
which is where I was going tograd school, met a bunch of
awesome people who really helpedme get into the sport and just
started riding with local groupsaround Oklahoma and at the
(04:00):
university, did some collegiateracing, raced collegiate
nationals my first year, andthen it just took off from there
and I loved it so much, neverlooked back, just kept growing
in the sport for I don't know,the better of 10 years or so.
Wow, yes.
So it all started in grad school.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
So you're just like, yep, we're just going to go
ahead and you know, I'm justgoing to pick up a bike and then
, oh, I'm really good at this.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, and you know, what's funny is that my parents
didn't think that I would besticking with this sport because
it is so just not a huge thingin America.
So they didn't want to help mepurchase a bike at the time
because I was a, you know, poorgrad student basically, and or
(04:50):
undergrad, or yeah, and so Iused my dad's kind of cruiser
style bike for like my firstcouple of races and then, when
they saw I was actually decentat it, then I got my first bike
off of eBay, which was too bigfor me.
I didn't know anything aboutbike sizing and just rode it
till I figured out the sport andgot different bikes throughout
(05:14):
the years.
It actually fit me a little bitbetter that I could race.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
That's insane.
That is also really good, likeI mean, like if they weren't
going to be making a movie, Iwas like, was like yep, I just
started with a cruiser bike andthen off we went, that's how it
started yeah, it was uh funnywhen I rolled up with that bike
at the triathlon.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
People were looking at me like this girl has no idea
what she's doing oh my god, buthold on.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So you did triathlon, but did.
Did you ever do duathlons?
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I did a couple.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Yes, all right.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Yeah, I did triathlons for a couple of years
.
I did two half Ironmans.
I did some duathlons,triathlons of various distances.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
So I did a few of those.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
So the half Ironmans is the 70.3, correct?
Yes, okay, look at me.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Yes, you know everyone who's into the Ironmans
are very into it, but I did it.
I wasn't as so into it as maybesome of the other triathlete
communities.
I did not get the Ironmantattoo on my leg.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
We'll just say that oh God, see, that's's it, you're
out of the cult already I knowI was out of the culture at that
point, yeah, so it's liketriathlons and then like, uh,
crossfit, like that's whatthey're saying about that.
Those two sports, it's likeit's very cult, like like, once
you're in, you are in.
Yeah, yes, yes very true so?
(06:43):
so let me ask you this then allright, so you know, right you're
, you're doing your triathlons,you're doing your two athlons
and all that stuff, and like youget your first bike, which
didn't fit, uh, for you whichalso, by the way, I did find out
later on in life the same thingthat, like you, got to get
properly fitted for a bike,because if you don't, you're
going to be suffering, correct.
(07:04):
But how did you like, how didyou get discovered technically,
I guess that's my question is,like you know, to go into being
a professional,semi-professional athlete.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
So back in Oklahoma, when I was living in Oklahoma
City, I was on a team called DNARacing.
That was a really well-knownteam kind of throughout the
Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas area,and it was mainly a men's team
but we had a small women's teamand I have to say that the guys
(07:44):
on that team and just the peoplewho arrived with the team and
the community really helped medevelop a lot of my core skills
as a cyclist and helped train mefrom being, you know, a
beginner, what we call categoryfour cyclist, all the way up to
category one, two cyclists,which is more of like the pro
(08:04):
fields.
And once I got to that point,it wasn't long after that that
we moved to South Carolina and Ino longer had this awesome team
that I was a part of and I wasdesperate to find another really
good team to ride with, and soI went to a lot of the local
(08:25):
races around here where I hadstopped some of the really good
women cyclists online to figureout where they were going to be
racing.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
There I'm going yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yes, I'm going, I want to meet these girls, I want
to meet these teams and I wantto go and beat these girls so
that they ask me to be on theirteam.
And that's exactly what I did.
Um, I there was a couple ofraces.
It came down to like a fieldsprint out of a smaller
(08:58):
breakaway group and I just madesure to make my stance and then
talk to them afterwards, and itwent from there.
I just got on a team that Istayed on for a few years after
that.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
That's awesome.
You're like I'm going to showyou, watch me the alpha.
Here I go.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Try to yeah, you succeeded.
Yeah, it was a good time.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
That's awesome.
I love that.
So, so I remember because I'mgoing to ask you a question here
but I remember one time we bythe way I don't know if you guys
know this, I well I didn't saythis, but katie and I we used to
work together at anothercompany, right, katie left
before me, I left afterwards.
But I remember in one of thethe trips that I went down to I
(09:43):
think we were doing a, one ofthe events um, you brought your
bike with you.
I did, I remember that.
And then you're like no, Ican't eat, I gotta eat a certain
amount of food that I have toeat and all this other stuff.
And I was like and then I gottago, because I gotta go in and
get on my bike and I gotta train.
I remember that very vividly.
You had it in your, in the backof your car seat, in yourly.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
You had it in the back of your car seat in your
car.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yep, I had it in the back seat of that company car
because they wouldn't allow meto put a bike rack on it, which
is hilarious, so I took thewheels off and shoved that thing
in the car because it was asmall car, but I made it work.
It was a very small car, andwhy would they not let you put a
bike rack?
It's beyond me.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
I don't know, it seems silly.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
It's one of the many things about that place.
Anyways, all right, you decidedokay, I'm going to go in how
you say it, suck these girls andI'm going to get them to know
me.
They're going to become my BFFsforever because we're going to
be on a team.
So did it happen Like?
You know?
How long did it take for you togo from racing against them to
(10:53):
racing with them as a team?
Speaker 1 (10:57):
It took two specific races where I was racing by
myself, just in a blank kit, andone of them was a circuit race,
which is where you're on asmaller course that you do
multiple laps around, so it waslike a twelve and a half mile
(11:19):
course.
I remember right that we didfour or five times.
And then another one was a uhcriterium race, which I like to
call a NASCAR on bikes.
This hides high speed, highspeed, cornering shoulder to
shoulder, like on a really smallcircuit, usually within a
downtown area.
(11:39):
It was in North Carolina like ahalf a mile circuit, um that I
made the break with these girls.
I did not win that race, though, but I at least stayed with
them, and then after that, thefollowing year is whenever they
asked me to be on the team.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
All right.
So let me ask you this let'sbacktrack a little bit, because
you said something and I want tomake sure that I explain it to
everybody, all right.
So let me ask you this let'sbacktrack a little bit, because
you said something and I want tomake sure that I explain it to
everybody.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I know what this term is, but what is a kit?
Oh yes, so a kit is your, yourcycling race suit.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And it can be a one piece, it can be a two piece,
but it's skin tight, likebasically to be as aerodynamic
as possible yeah, gotcha, Iremember I seen that it's like
you know, when I'm seeing thetwo of the fronts and because
this is you know what I what Iwatch every, every year, um, is
they have these very skin tight,like I mean it is tight, like I
mean it is a part of you.
Um, and what I did not reallyunderstand until recently, when
(12:44):
I bought my couple of bikeshorts, is the padding on the
shorts.
Thank you, jesus, for thosethings.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
The chamois yes.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, let me tell you , Because I was never used to
that.
And then when you start cyclingand then you don't have that,
it's not fun.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
It's not fun.
The chamois saves your life andif you have a properly fitted
bike saddle which you've set on,is also will save your life,
and the more uncomfortable thesaddle looks usually, the more
comfortable it is.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Which is wild to me.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
It is yeah, you don't want to be sitting on this big
cushy saddle.
You're going to be rubbed inall the wrong places.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
You got to have a saddle that's skinnier and
usually a little bit firmer, soit's only hitting your sit bones
.
I never knew that.
And I'm watching and I'm likeeverybody's like oh no, no, you
need this big thing because yougot it, you want comfort.
And then everyone's like no,you really don't.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
That's what the shammy's?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
for not the saddle.
No, you really don't.
That's what the shammy's for,not the saddle See.
Thank you for teaching methings here.
I like that.
Okay, so you did that.
And then you described tworaces right.
One of them was a criterium andthe other one was a circuit.
Yep, how many racing types arehere in the U?
(14:02):
S that people can, you know,watch?
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Yeah, that's a great question.
So we have all kinds of racing.
I would say the most well-knownrace, that's truly like what we
would say American style racing, is criterion racing, which I
said is like NASCAR on bikes, isin usually an hour to 90
minutes, full gas, like highspeed, high cornering, or high
(14:30):
speed cornering elbow to elbow,lots of elbow checking.
And then there is circuitracing which, like I said before
, a longer circuit that you domultiple times within a race.
There is a time trial which isjust point a to point b as fast
as you can and that's a solo one, correct yeah, or the team one,
(14:53):
you can do two you.
You can do a team time trial,but most time trials around here
are going to be solo on a timetrial bike, similar to like what
a triathlete would do in atriathlon.
And then you have a road race,uh, which for the women at the
pro level here in america.
Usually your races are anywherefrom 50 to 80 miles and it
(15:16):
could be one large loop, itcould be maybe a couple of loops
, but that usually involves alot more um mixed terrain, a lot
of climbing here in america andsome of the bigger road races
that we would go to um, butthose are the main races you can
do here gotcha.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
All right, then the average speed on on the stage
one.
What's the average speed forthat one?
Speaker 1 (15:45):
uh, for like a road race yeah, a road race depends
on the terrain so if you're ummountain climbing, because
there's a a race not far fromhere in the carolinas where you
climb up like a 2500 foot climbat the very end of the race and
that might be a little bitdifferent than a road race that
(16:06):
has a bunch of rolling terrain,but in the women's pro field, in
a road race you're always goingto be averaging at least over
20 miles an hour.
If the course is more flat, alot of times it's been upwards
of 23 miles an hour, yeah, umfor, like I said, 50 to 80 miles
(16:27):
.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
so it really depends on the train, but it can also
depend on the wind that'sinsanity to me, though, because,
like, I can average maybe 10 to12 miles an hour on my bike,
and I just threw up when yousaid, oh, 20 to 23 miles an hour
is on average the big packmakes a difference too.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
There's a lot of people yeah, yeah you will do.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
You have done something that I'll never
achieve and I'm so jealous rightnow, just so you know that's
awesome.
Um, okay, what about the nascaron two wheels?
Speaker 1 (17:01):
yes, how fast do you?
Speaker 2 (17:03):
the criteriums.
Yes, um how fast do you usuallygo there?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
oh gosh, I would say um, the fastest crit race I did
was one in um chicago, wherethey have 10 days of crit racing
back to back and, uh, pancakeflat and the women's field
average pretty darn close to 26miles an hour and the men's
field was averaging like 30miles an hour up pretty close,
(17:29):
god, some of the course, if it'snot technical and meaning, you
know there's not a lot of tightcornering, it's kind of open,
super flat and you have a groupof like 50 girls that are racing
.
I mean mean you can fly on abike, you can fly.
Oh my God, I would not say thatwas normal.
You know you're going to beaveraging more 23, 24 miles an
(17:53):
hour on other courses it's stillfast, but that one I
specifically remember beingparticularly fast.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Yeah, I mean it's super fast, first of all, and
then second of all, it's likeyou crash and there's not a lot
of padding there.
Actually, there's no paddingbecause you got the your kit on.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
But that, oh lord, have mercy I don't know if you
can see, I have yeah, I've got aplate and 12 screws in this
wrist and my forearm from apretty horrific crash I had 12
days before my wedding because Iwas dumb enough to raise right
before my wedding, Right beforeyour wedding.
(18:34):
Not smart.
I don't recommend anyone dothat.
Don't do it.
Oh my God.
Yeah, that was interesting.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
And you walking down with a cast on Nope.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I walked into an orthopedic surgeon a couple of
days after the race, when theyactually were open again, and
told him my situation.
He felt so bad for me.
He did surgery on me that sameday.
He promised I'd be in aremovable cast the day before my
wedding, and I was so I didn'thave to wear one.
But still don't.
I don't recommend racing thatclose to a big event in your
(19:12):
life.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
No, my wife just actually just had surgery on her
wrist.
So like I mean, we're goingthrough that Cause she has, she
has a plate.
Uh, through that because shehas, she has a plate.
Uh, not fun, no, not fun.
No, she's like the all, the,the, the pt that she has to do
and all that.
And you were like a I mean, howlong did it take you from that
injury to get back on a bike?
Speaker 1 (19:34):
because I mean, that's, that's a lot of stress
put on the, on your wrist andyour forearm yeah, I mean, I
probably rode before I wassupposed to, but I would ride
the trainer inside and once Igot in a cast where it was just
my forearm and my thumb and youknow my hand was kind of like
this I could grab my handlebar.
(19:56):
So I rode outside great for awhile, but I still did it and I
think I got my cast off maybesix weeks later or so.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, the tan line from that was hilarious when I
got that cast off so you get atan line from your kit and then
a tan line from your wrist?
Speaker 1 (20:17):
yes, I look ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
That's wild.
Good, I mean.
I mean good for you.
That's some dedication rightthere.
I I love it.
Okay, so you said you know thepeople that are listening here.
Why were you considered asemi-pro instead of a
(20:49):
professional athlete when you'redoing all of this?
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Yeah, that's a really good question.
So most of the teams here inAmerica, when you are racing at
what they call the pro categoryone two level, at what they call
the pro category one two level,a lot of those women would
really be considered more oflike a semi-pro because we
aren't paid a salary.
But we have all of our travelcosts paid for.
(21:15):
We have race support that doeverything for us, meal prep for
us, do everything for us, mealprep for us, drive in your team
car during the race so they cangive you feeds and food.
Mid-race you get all of yourgear given to you.
You know bikes, wheels, tires,kits, nutrition anything you can
(21:38):
think of was given to us on theteam, but we weren't paid a
salary.
Now, if you are to be on whatthey would call a UCI
continental team or a UCI worldtour team, that is a step above
where our team was at here inAmerica and those athletes are
(22:03):
given salaries and also have allthe other benefits that we had,
plus more.
So, those would be consideredlike your pro athletes, whereas
most people here in America youcould consider more semi-pro.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Gotcha.
Okay, that's pretty coolbecause you still got a lot of
gear.
Oh yeah, I mean it was awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
I'm not going to lie.
Oh yeah, I mean it was, it was.
It was awesome.
I'm not gonna lie, because ifyou get all your flights paid
for staff to really take care ofyou like you are a real pro
athlete, just without the paidsalary, I mean it was phenomenal
.
We traveled all over the us.
Our team got to race in europe,I mean places.
So we I mean we had a greattime on our team.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
That's cool.
I'm sure you racked up a lot ofuh mileage, though you know
frequent flyer miles oh yeah,for sure, um heck, yeah.
Yeah, it was fun good, all right, all right, so let me ask you
this then.
All right, so, and then we'llgo into uh, nutrition here in a
little bit here, but, and in thetraining and all that, but, um,
(23:06):
so you're the day of the.
Well, I guess I should back upbecause you know, obviously
training comes first and thenthe day of the race.
Yeah, like, what does thattraining look like?
When you are, when you make theteam, you're being asked what
are the demands, because I'msure not everybody lived close
enough to you to be part of theteam, or am I?
(23:28):
Am I assuming incorrect?
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Mm.
Hmm, yep, our team.
So it was technically based outof Charlotte, north Carolina,
but we had athletes that were inNorth Carolina, south Carolina,
pennsylvania, colorado,minnesota.
We had girls from variousplaces throughout the years that
I was on the team, variousplaces throughout the years that
(23:54):
I was on the team.
And our team was more of a Tourde France style racing team.
So we were mainly focused onstage racing, which that's what
the Tour de France is.
It's a long, 21 day stage race.
We would do some criteriumracing too, just to it's good
(24:15):
exposure.
We'll say here in America ifyour team shows up to these big
crit races.
But we were mainly focused onstage racing.
So the training for that isgoing to be different than teams
that were focused on criterionracing.
Criterion racing and thetraining for each athlete is
(24:41):
going to vary based on what yourstrengths are.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
So for me.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
I was a sprinter on the team, oh, okay yes, uh, I
had a decent sprint whenever Iwas not sick, which happened
frequently.
Sadly, the last like two yearsthat I was on the team, so my
weaknesses were climbing themountains long, long power.
(25:06):
So just on the pedals nonstop,as much power as you can for an
extended period of time.
Non-stop, as much power as youcan for an extended period of
time.
And that is necessary at a lotof the stage racing, because we
do a lot of climbing in stageracing and you also have to be
decent at time trialing in orderto make the time cut.
(25:28):
You can't be really slow andmake it through each stage, just
like in the Tour de France.
So a lot of my training wasfocused on what we call
functional threshold power,which is the total power you can
output for an hour, or like 95percent of what you can output
(25:51):
over a 20 minute period.
And I tried to increase myfunctional threshold power and
therefore my ability to climb aswell as I could.
And then I would also do sprinttraining so that I wouldn't
lose my sprint whenever the teamwould need me for that.
Because there are some stagesthat are sprint stages and I
(26:13):
would do my best that I couldhave for the team, but a lot of
my training would be focused onclimbing and threshold power.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Gotcha OK so and correct me you know if you know
at any point here and correct meyou know if you know at any
point here.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
So a lot of the teams that you know.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Obviously you want to win the whole race but you
concentrate on trying to win asmany stages as possible, and
every stage is different, right,Because you can.
One of them is designed for asprinter, another one it's a
climbing stage.
So there's a lot of stages inracing.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Yes, yes, that's correct, and you so, depending
on the composition of your team,you could be a team that is
going for stage wins, individualstage wins, because maybe you
don't have the best chance to goall in to try and win what's
called the generalclassification or the overall
(27:17):
winner of the entire, let's say,three or four day stage race.
Or you could be a team thatmaybe has a star individual or a
few star individuals that dohave the capability of winning
the general classification, andso you may strategically win
(27:40):
certain days, or especially thetime trial, because that's
always key if you're going towin the general classification
and your entire team may bebacking that one rider who could
win the overall race, and youcould be racing a totally
different race in that stagerace compared to a different
(28:01):
team who's just out to winstages there's so much yes it's
a big team sportvery much a team sport yeah,
people don't understand that.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Like well, I didn't at first.
I'm like, why is this dude likeyou know, all the way, like he
did all this work?
Now he's gonna fall all the wayto the back of the palatine and
just gonna stick there for therest of the time and it's you
know, to me it was like you know, um, uh, mark cavendish, like
he's the one that came to mindbecause he's a printer, uh, and
(28:33):
like he was like in the front.
You know, they brought him up.
They brought him up to win thesprint stage and then you just
fall him so far behind on theclimbing stages yep, that would
be me a lot of times too, or um,I was not like a pure sprinter.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
Um, I could climb decently well, and there were
definitely some races where, inthe last year that I was with
the team, we had two girls whowere phenomenal cyclists, who
could definitely win the GC, andthey did, and I would go all in
for them at specific times inthe race.
(29:12):
Let's say, if there was anotherteam's gc rider who was
threatening our gc riderscapability to win, um, and I
would sacrifice myself to dowhatever the job was at that
point let's say, close the gapif they were breaking away from
us.
Um, or sacrifice myself as muchas I could up a climb for
(29:36):
someone so that they're savingenergy behind us.
Um, yeah, I mean that that'struly like.
It's a.
It's a big team sport andpeople don't understand that.
Um, how much work goes into oneperson winning a big stage race
like the Tour de France, andthe people who are off the back
(29:59):
barely making the time cutbecause they went all in for
them are the reason why that oneperson is on the podium that's
insanity, yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
at the same time, right, because everybody thinks
like, oh, oh, cycling,individual sport Not really no,
no.
If you don't have a good teamaround you, then you're done for
.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
You are done, yeah, at the pro level.
If you don't have a good teambehind you, you're not going to
go anywhere.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
All right, so let's talk about training.
All right, so let's talk abouttraining.
What is that?
You know we're going toconcentrate on on the stage,
because that's what you're.
You know you mostly did, sotalk, talk to me like what a
typical training look like forfor the team.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Mm, hmm, so you don't talk about like for me
specifically or when we wouldhave like team training camp.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
So both right.
So for you, because I knowyours was different than a lot
of the other.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
You know, because everybody had their own specific
thing, that they needed totrain on, and then, when you
guys got together as a team, yes, so a typical training week, I
would say like a light trainingweek, would be 15 hours on the
bike and then a heavy trainingweek could be over 20 hours on
the bike and then a heavytraining week could be over 20
hours on the bike and um and youspread this out throughout the
(31:21):
week.
Yes, those hours, seven days.
And in order for you to, or inorder for me to increase my
functional threshold power, youraerobic capacity has to be
really high.
And so a lot of our training isgoing to be what we call zone
two training, which is arelatively moderate intensity
(31:48):
level but it helps build youraerobic capacity and your
ability to move oxygenefficiently throughout your body
.
And then you would have say,two days a week where you're
doing really high intensityintervals, whether it's
specifically training for me,the functional threshold power,
(32:08):
hold power, or working on yourVO2 max or doing sprints, and so
you would have, you know, twodays a week or so that were
spread out throughout the weekwe're in.
Between those high intensitydays, you'd be riding a lot of
zone two to work that your heartmuscle basically.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Interesting.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
So every day was a totally different training for
you.
Just because you had you wereworking on different things
right, and Mondays were alwaysmy recovery day.
Just an easy ride.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Easy hour Yep.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Okay, all right, so that was that.
Was that plan uh put togetherfor you?
Did you put that plan?
Was there a coach or a teammanager that put that plan
together?
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yes, I had a wonderful coach, Emma.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
And at the time she was my coach.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
she raced for TIPCO and EF Education First.
Hey, I didn't know that.
Yes, she was the road race USnational champ a few years ago.
She was absolutely wonderful.
She was the coach I needed,because she is a climber through
and through, and so she knewhow to help me become a better
climber, which is why I lovedhaving her as my coach.
That's great, she would planeverything out for me in this
program called training peaks.
(33:33):
I could log into see what Ineed to do that week.
I could upload my ride to itshowed me all of my stats.
She could see all the stats wecould communicate back and forth
in the program um and she wassuper key for me being able to
race big stage races.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
That's cool.
By the way, that team is stillgoing on the EF education first.
That's pretty cool, I lovetheir career Yep.
That's awesome.
So like you log in, you knowyou got your training.
I was like all right, what do Ineed to do?
Oh, here, I go.
I got to do this today.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Oh, some of those workouts I mean.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
I would tell her.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
she was so mean, they were so brutal, but worth it in
the end.
I mean some of them.
You know it was almost expectedthat you would fail, but it was
done on purpose.
Yes, yeah, yep, and if you madeit through, then that means the
(34:35):
next time we just weren't goinghard enough, got it and you
progress, like in your training,and so you keep upping the
power and, yeah, some of themwere brutal, brutal workouts.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
That's funny, that's funny.
Yes funny, that's funny.
Yes, so it's meant to literallyjust like, just beat you down
and not but not in a bad way,but like in a way in which you
would definitely have to workand you're on your own.
So like I mean yes, let me askyou?
This is something that I'vealways wanted to know, okay, and
(35:11):
and when you guys are racing,are you able to listen to music?
Are you guys listen to music,or it's just straight up you and
your thoughts and then you'rejust racing?
Speaker 1 (35:22):
yeah, so there's no, no headphones allowed when
you're racing.
That would be super dangerousif you couldn't hear what's
going on around you.
Um, there's a lot of uh, a lotof yelling.
Sometimes that happens in theraces.
A lot of not nice words.
You might hear a lot of elbows,getting in your rib cage
(35:45):
sometimes to move people out ofyour way, um.
But I always felt, um that mytraining that Emma would give me
was so hard some days that if Icould do it by myself, just
with my thoughts and solelyfocusing on how awful my legs
(36:07):
were feeling or how my heartfelt like it was going to beat
out of my chest, if I could doit myself, then when I'm in a
race around people and myadrenaline is through the roof
and I'm thinking about so manyother things other than just my
legs wanting to fall off, Ialways felt like I could perform
really well and do anything Iwas doing in training, plus more
(36:30):
at a race okay, I got you, gotyou.
Okay, yeah, because there's alot going on in those pelotons
sometimes.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
I was just going to say because I've always wanted
to know exactly what happens inthose pelotons, because you
watch it on TV and you watchwhen you go to a race and you
see them and like what isactually going on.
Obviously, there's a lot of ina not so nice in a nice way.
Just there's some nudging outof the way.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
But there's some nice talk too, because you know,
sometimes in the long races whenyou're on a super flat section,
there's not a whole lot goingon.
You're just cruising reallyfast and no one's going to be
breaking away Because, let's say, the wind's just really
inhibiting that.
I mean, I've had some niceconversations with friends on
other teams that I hadn't seenin a while.
But you know, when the goinggets tough, sometimes that stops
(37:17):
real fast.
And if people are doing thingsyou don't like and they're
disrupting your race and youneed them out of the way, then
there are choice words that comeout of people's mouth.
There's both.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
I would pay so much money to just to experience that
, just to see that happening,right Like get out of my way.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Yeah, pretty much a lot of bombs oh yeah, it's, you
know, it's in my vocabulary.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
I use that one word a lot.
I had to watch it, though,Cause I have a.
You know, I have a six year old, and she is a human recorder.
Oh yeah, so she will repeatevery single thing.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
I've learned.
I will learn that pretty soon,cause my girl I just had she's
two months old, so we're notwe're not to that stage yet, but
I do know I'm going to have towatch myself pretty soon but you
will yes, and let me tell youyou're gonna have a lot of fun
yeah
Speaker 2 (38:18):
hope you guys enjoy so far part one of my
conversation with my good friend, katie.
When it comes to cycling,that's right, cycling now.
Next week we are going tofinish a conversation.
We're going to touch ontraining.
We're going to touch ontraining.
We're going to touch onnutrition.
What is life after cycling?
Right, as once you're donecycling as a semi-professional,
(38:39):
like here in the United States,what life looked like after that
?
So, stay tuned for that episode.
Like I said, it'll come outnext week.
As far as the data chronicles,make sure you guys are following
me on all socials.
You know what.
Do me a favor, guys.
Give it five stars, rate,review it, all that fun stuff,
share it with someone.
Um, that way, people are ableto go ahead and enjoy it as much
(39:03):
as you can, right?
The honest truth is also, isthat, uh, the more that it goes
into other people, right?
They get to enjoy the episodeand the podcast, just like you.
Guys.
If you are able to watch it onyoutube, go on my youtube
channel, where I do put thevideo episodes.
(39:23):
Now and as well as everytuesday and thursday nights at 9
pm eastern time, we have thedad hat chronicle sports show.
Until then, guys keep grindingand always support the minor
leagues, see ya.
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