November 12, 2025 • 39 mins
OVERVIEW
Cyclists rely on their sense of hearing more than you might imagine, to hear traffic coming, to communicate with fellow riders during group rides and races, to listen for gear shifts and labored breathing from competitors, and even to discern wind direction. Dmitry Rossoshansky doesn't hear any of that, nor does he hear your pleas for mercy when he's crushing it at the front!
In Episode #280 of "The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast", Dima and CTS Coach Adam Pulford, with the assistance of sign language interpreters Maureen Plonk and Courtney Szymanski, discuss navigating group rides and races as a deaf athlete and a teammate to hearing athletes, along with how he is training for the 2025 Deaflympics in Japan as a Time-Crunched Cyclist with a full-time job, a spouse, and a young daughter.
Note: The female voice you hear is Courtney interpreting as Dmitry communicates via sign language.
Topics Covered In This Episode:
- About the Deaflympics
- Navigating races and group rides without sound
- Training tools for hearing impaired athletes
Resources
- Donations to Deaflympic Cycling Team:
- Deaf Cycling Team IG:
- Deaflympics:
- Dima's Instagram
- Paralympic Podcast with Jim Lehman
Guest Bio:
Dmitry Rossoshansky's journey as a cyclist began in 2018, inspired by a close friend and fueled by his passion for endurance sports. Cycling challenges his physical and mental limits, pushing him toward growth. Every race, every training session is a testament to the dedication he's poured into the sport. He is based in Hyattsville, MD. and currently races for the DC Velo Limited team, based in DC/MD/VA.
Notable Achievements:
- Participated in the Deaflympics 2022 in Caxias Do Sul, Brazil
- Participated in the World Championships 2024 in Swietokrzyskie, Poland
- 1st Place - MABRA Road Race Championship, Poolesville 2024
Dima aims to inspire others in the deaf community and show that no barrier is too great to overcome.
HOST
Adam Pulford has been a CTS Coach for nearly two decades and holds a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He's participated in and coached hundreds of athletes for endurance events all around the world.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
From the team at Seat Guest, this is the Time
Crunch Cyclist Podcast, our showdedicated to answering your
training questions and providingactionable advice to help you
improve your performance, evenif you're shot for time.
I'm your host, Coach AdamPolford, and I'm one of the over
50 professional coaches who makeup the team at Seat Guest.
(00:27):
In each episode, I draw on ourteam's collective knowledge,
other coaches, and experts inthe field to provide you with
the practical ways to get themost out of your training and
ultimately become the bestcyclist that you can be.
Now, on to our show.
(00:48):
Training and racing in the sportof cycling is already hard
enough for all of us listeninghere.
But what if you were deaf?
What if you couldn't hear thesound of free hub bodies behind
you?
What if you couldn't hear peoplecalling out the pothole in the
road?
Or you couldn't hear the carsbuzzing all around you.
That certainly adds a dimensionto it all, and here to discuss
(01:11):
this and much more is CTSathlete and Deflimpic athlete
Dmitry Rosichansky.
Dima, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_01 (01:22):
Hey, yeah, I'm honored to be here, really
excited for this conversation.
Thanks.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
Same as well.
But just for our listeners, Iwant to clarify a few things uh
to our audience right now.
If you're on YouTube, you getit.
Dima's speaking through a coupleof interpreters, and one of
which is named Courtney.
And yes, Dima is a man andCourtney is a woman.
You are hearing Courtney'sactual voice.
So just to clear up anyconfusion, I also call uh uh
(01:51):
Dimitri's nickname is Dima, so II just kind of naturally call
him that.
Uh so that that is him, andthroughout the interview, I'm
just gonna call him uh Dima,okay?
Uh and because he's a localathlete, uh I've had the
privilege to go out to dinnersand get to meet Courtney as
she's attended uh a couplethings, including uh DC Vellow
(02:11):
banquets that Dima, his wife,and my wife have all attended.
Also, we have a secondinterpreter.
Her name is Maureen, and she'shere to help in the
interpretation process.
So it is a privilege and honorto have all of you on the show
today.
SPEAKER_01 (02:26):
Yeah, thanks so much.
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
Totally.
Okay, so Dima, can you tell ouraudience a bit more about
yourself as they don't know youlike I do, and maybe start with
uh just where you're callingfrom today?
Uh tell us about your job, yourfamily, and maybe uh what type
of rider that you are.
SPEAKER_01 (02:43):
Yeah, sure.
Um, so I live here in Maryland.
Um that's where I'm callingfrom, about 20 minutes away from
DC in a town called Hyattville.
Um I've been in the cyclingworld, I want to say maybe 2018
roughly.
Um It was actually my birthdayweekend that year.
(03:06):
I decided, you know, what I wasgonna do for my birthday.
I flew to San Francisco, visit afriend of mine, hadn't seen them
for a long time.
Um, he had a bike.
Um he was gonna go on kind of acycling trip.
I said, hey, I'll I'll joinalong.
Let me borrow a bike that youhave.
Um I've never used a bike with aclip before.
It was a very new experience.
I said, sure, I'm gonna try itout.
(03:28):
Um there was a huge uphill onthe course we were on.
I didn't know if you know I hadthe stamina to do it.
I felt from that moment usingthat energy, that stamina,
addicted to the whole thing.
I bought a bike after thatweekend.
Um, I didn't start trainingthough until 2019, 2020,
roughly.
I found Coach Adam Pulford.
(03:49):
We got connected, and really therest of that is history.
Um, I worked I um really amfocused in uh sprinting,
specialize in sprinting.
Um, I do have some time trialexperience.
My favorite expertise um is alot of you know, physicality,
physical contact, um, getting inthere.
(04:11):
One of my favorite things to dois really get down and dirty.
Um, you know, I'm a big guy,which helps that aspect of that
specialty, but that's a littlebit about me.
Uh I work as a data scientistfor Booze Allen Hamilton for a
couple of years now, with thatas a full-time job, plus
(04:33):
training.
I do have a daughter, she's 10months old.
Um, so adding that into the mixis tough, but I always find time
to train.
So I'm definitely atime-crunched athlete.
It fits my lifestyle.
Uh, it doesn't require me tohave 20 hours a week, you know,
the luxury of having that amountof time to train.
Um, but I make it work.
(04:54):
I have a wonderful supportivewife who is there every step of
the way in this journey.
Um, I'm really fortunate to havethat.
SPEAKER_00 (05:02):
Yeah, it exactly.
And you have such a supportnetwork around you with um your
whole family, and I think that'ssome of the magic of what makes
it work, as well as just uh yourrelentless pursuit of this.
I mean, if if uh if anybodyknows Dima and has raced against
him here in the DMV area, youknow he's super hard worker,
(05:23):
goes really deep.
And if you bring him to theline, watch out because he uh
he's got a ferocious uh sprint.
So um Dima.
Um it's true.
It is very true.
I cannot hold your wheel whenwhen uh when you go full tilt.
In fact, you just uh collapsed abike while you were sprinting,
which we don't need to get into,but that was super gnarly.
(05:44):
And it was he totally ruined theback end of his bike while he
was uh sprinting.
It was crazy to me.
SPEAKER_01 (05:50):
Uh anyway, Dima.
SPEAKER_00 (05:53):
First question to you uh on this kind of official
interview is there's probably alot of people wondering how big
is the deaf cycling community,and how the heck do you ride
your bike when you can't hearanything?
SPEAKER_01 (06:08):
Yeah.
Good question.
So the number of deaf cyclistsum is not a big number.
It's pretty a pretty smallcommunity.
There's a large number of um,you know, deaf individuals who
cycle, who go for different um,you know, rides here and there.
(06:29):
Um there are several out there,um, you know, even in the DMV
area, also throughout thecountry.
Um, but in specific racingformat, I'd say less than 10.
Um less than 10 of us whoactually specialize in racing.
I'm fortunate to live here inthe DMV area, DC, Maryland,
(06:50):
Virginia.
There's you know, greatcyclists, great ways to race
together.
There's three deaf athletes herein the area, so we're able to
share a lot of resources, um,share our experience as deaf
cyclists, and that really helpsme.
It helps the other cyclists tryto, you know, get our get our
footing into the world.
Um, another deaf cyclist hasbeen doing it for quite a long
(07:14):
time.
Um, so we're now in the samecategory, same level, and that's
been a really, really coolexperience.
SPEAKER_00 (07:22):
That yeah, super cool experience.
And the second part of thatquestion is I mean, I've come
across a lot of people when youknow they meet you for the first
time, they're like, how does heride without being able to hear?
So, how would you uh answer thatto somebody who says, Yeah, how
do you not run into somebody?
How do you not hear the cars?
I mean, tell us a little bitmore about uh riding your bike
(07:43):
and not being able to hear.
SPEAKER_01 (07:45):
So, first things first, um we rely on our
eyesight.
Deaf people are always using oureyes, that visual access.
Um, you know, our heads arealways on a swivel, looking
around all the time.
Um, you know, we can't rely onsomething else, someone else to
tell us.
We're doing that ourselves.
A lot of intuition um isinvolved with that as well.
(08:09):
You know, being deaf, havingthat experience.
Another thing, also, I do use uma bike computer.
Um, it communicates from thatdevice different things, Garmin.
Um, it's similar to somethinglike that.
It's a computer device on thebike that notifies me,
communicates me.
(08:30):
Instead of instead of having tolook around constantly, it
notifies me of differentmovements that are happening.
So I can keep my eyes on theroad.
For racing, for group rides, um,I like to stay in the front.
I can see clearly.
Um, so that's kind of one aspectof it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:49):
Yep, yep, that's it.
And I've had conversations withyou and and Blake.
We'll we'll talk about Blake,uh, a good training partner of
yours and another athlete that Ithat I coach, um, of how you
guys do have kind of a another asixth sense, if you if you will,
or a fifth sense that kind ofbridges that gap.
You guys are really in tune withlike feeling the Peloton,
(09:10):
sensing when something's goingto happen, much more than I
would say the the typicalmaster's racer out there, you
know, and it is very evident.
SPEAKER_01 (09:21):
Yeah, right.
Just like you mentioned, um,that's one thing I often
encourage those who want torace.
I say, you know, get in thosegroup rides.
Um, you have that connection,that contact experience, um, you
know, that good physicality tobe able to reach out, you know,
(09:42):
tap people on the shoulder, havethat feeling of racing in that
group ride, and how you applythat to racing is really
important.
SPEAKER_00 (09:49):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
And we'll get into a few morespecifics of that here in just a
minute.
But um, you're preparing for thedeaf Olympics.
unknown (09:57):
Cool.
SPEAKER_00 (09:58):
And that's coming up here in just a few weeks of this
recording.
So tell us more about the DeafOlympics and the the races that
you'll be competing in there.
SPEAKER_01 (10:10):
Yeah, sure.
So the Deaf Olympics is uh it'sbeen standing, long time
standing for 30 years.
Um it's very unique, I will say.
Um the events that I'll beparticipating in, I'll explain
that first, is the 1,000-metersprint fastening event because
(10:33):
hearing athletes or Paralympics,um, regular Olympics, it's
usually on the track, the mellowdrome, or those high high-lined
walls.
In the deaf Olympics, that's notthe case.
It's just on the street.
It's 500 meters there, a U-turn500 meters back for that total
of a thousand-meter sprint.
The reason for that um is, youknow, there's deaf cyclists all
(10:57):
over the world.
However, there's not a ton thatare professional cyclers going
to the Deaf Olympics.
Budget is a huge thing for them.
Um, having access to a melodrometrack.
Um, so deaf athletes don't havethat luxury compared to other
athletes.
Again, money, budget, um,thinking about the time to work
(11:19):
out, to train, all of thosethings are key factors involved
with that.
So there's there's deaf athletesthat were that will complete in,
compete in two, three eventsrather than that one specialized
event.
For the sprint, there's a200-meter fly, and then there's
a time that will begin thebeginning of that uh tracking
(11:43):
from number one to athlete 20.
They will start to go againsteach other in that tracking for
the 500 meters down to theU-turn and make your way back to
500 meters based on whoeverwins, they'll move forward.
Um, very similar to the rulesand regulations on the track
that you might expect.
The second event is the pointsrace.
(12:05):
Again, rules are very similarfor the time trial.
Um, same thing there.
And there's a road race, whichis that fourth and final event.
SPEAKER_00 (12:15):
Yep, exactly.
And there is a mountain bikerace too.
I think Blake's uh competing inthat one.
Yeah.
Um, so and that happens the weekafter, right?
SPEAKER_01 (12:25):
Yes, yep, exactly.
And some deaf cyclists will dothose four events for road
cycling, and then they'll jumpto the two events for the
mountain bike racing as well.
So first for those athletes whoare doing six events.
SPEAKER_00 (12:39):
Yeah, which, yeah, just a huge, huge 10 days over
in Tokyo this year is where thegames will be held, correct?
SPEAKER_01 (12:48):
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
The race will actually behappening in Izu, Izu, Japan.
Um it's about an hour and ahalf, two hours south of Tokyo.
SPEAKER_00 (13:02):
That's right.
Yep, that's right.
Um and I mean, huge, huge effortto get there, all the travel,
all the preparation leading upto it.
And I'm gonna touch on that too,just because it it leads into
the preparation, the highdemands, the high stakes of this
competition.
But I'll kind of zoom out just alittle bit here because uh the
(13:22):
Deaf Olympics, a lot of peopleprobably have not heard about
them.
And so what I learned throughoutthis process is that the Deaf
Olympics, they are very separatefrom the Paralympics.
And if if in case people arewondering, and it's for many
reasons, including uh the DeafOlympics, uh they they use a
bunch of visual cues, signlanguage, light, and things like
(13:45):
this as indicators to start andstop races, and uh whereas the
Paralympics have a wider rangeof physical disabilities and
they have categories based onthat um for competition.
And uh if you want more detailson the whole Paralympic uh
Games, you can check out episodenumber 79, where I uh interview
(14:07):
CTS and Paralympic coach JimLehman for a deep dive on
Paralympics.
Uh but the Deaf Olympics, Idon't know.
I I was reading this earlier,Dima, and you can correct me if
I'm wrong, but the Deaf Olympicsactually predate Paralympics by
almost 30 years.
Is that true?
SPEAKER_01 (14:24):
Yeah, you're exactly right.
SPEAKER_00 (14:26):
Which I I think is so awesome, right?
And there's I mean, there's uhall the sports that you can
think of um that are going on,not just obviously cycling, but
track and field and wrestling, II saw was was on the docket.
Um but they they use like like Isaid, a bunch of visual cues and
sign language, and it's a veryum uh very separate from
(14:48):
Paralympics for for obviousreasons.
I mean, it's just a different uhculture, which I think is
awesome that we live in asociety that we can have
something like the Deaf Olympicsand have people compete at the
highest level across the worldto get after it and uh chase
some gold medals down.
SPEAKER_01 (15:04):
Yeah, that exactly.
Really cool.
Def Olympics, um, how youqualify for Deaf Olympics, you
must have at least 55 decibelshearing.
Um, it doesn't require you tosign, it's just related to um
your hearing test and thespecific qualifications needed
(15:24):
there.
SPEAKER_00 (15:25):
Interesting.
I did not know that either.
Okay, so Dima, here's here's agood question uh when I was
asking some other um athletesthat I coach and and um some
other people who wanted to knowmore about the deaf um uh
community is you compete prettymuch exclusively year-round in
uh with with normal hearingpeople.
(15:45):
Okay, so what are some of thechallenges that you face in the
races in group rides when you'reriding with normal hearing
people uh as a deaf cyclistyourself?
SPEAKER_01 (15:55):
Yeah, um in the DMV area, um it's a pretty good
space because a lot ofindividuals are familiar with
the deaf community.
If you go to other states acrossthe country, I think you'll
notice more of a challenge.
Um, some races, some riders thataren't from DMV that come in
here to ride, um, you can kindof sense that, see that.
(16:15):
Um, you know, in this area, if Ilet people know I'm deaf, you
know, the hearing rider will,you know, realize, okay, cool.
You know, how do we communicatethrough that?
Um, we'll be able tocommunicate, you know, if we
want to attack or if we want todo something in a specific
scenario or situation.
Sometimes I don't have thatcommunication advantage that
(16:37):
other hearing writers mighthave.
I really rely on body language,sensing what's going, um, seeing
that repetitive pattern that'shappening and kind of tuning in
on that, um, trying to see wherepeople are talking.
There are some challenges inthose scenarios, you know,
trying to point to communicatewhile writing as a deaf athlete.
(17:02):
You know, uh, you know, havinghearing writers and hearing
teammates be mindful of a deafathlete, you know, that can be a
challenge.
To communicate, you know,reaching out to someone,
touching someone on theshoulder.
Many hearing athletes don't haveexperience to do that.
Um, so they might, you know, bea little shocked or jarred when
that happens.
(17:22):
So I've been through thosechallenges.
There's, you know, many thingsto work through.
Um the bell at the race, youknow, for preams specifically.
Uh, that's one thing I'd like tochange, work on changing.
I think it'd be a huge benefitfor all riders, not just deaf
riders, when a pream isannounced.
(17:42):
Um, you know, for a 1,000.
Yeah.
Um, exactly.
You know, if there's someonethat can't hear it or they're
paying attention, you know, forone thousand months$1,000 on the
line for a pream, I'm gonna gofull out.
You know, I'm gonna sprint, I'mgonna go for it.
But sometimes I don't know whenthat's happening.
(18:03):
Um, you know, instead of, youknow, if they were announced a
cookie basket or a cookiesomething for that, for that,
I'm not gonna go for that.
But it'd be nice.
It'd be nice, like you said, tohave some sort of flashing light
or something for that visualcue.
Or, you know, what again I relyon is the deaf community.
Um, we communicate, we kind ofsign to each other on the start
(18:24):
line or get those things out.
If there's a gap, um, we'll youknow say, hey, 15 seconds, break
away, and we'll be able tocommunicate that with other deaf
riders.
Um, so it's nice to see, youknow, people will see, I see
them on their bikes looking atus like, whoa, that's you know,
pretty crazy.
So it's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_00 (18:43):
Yeah, yeah, it it is, it's it's incredible to me.
Um but a couple of things thatyou said is like it's you know,
the riders here are pretty coolwith uh deaf cyclists relative
to other parts of the country.
I think it's well, I think it'sbecause we in this area we just
have so much culture in general,but in particular we have
(19:03):
Galludet University.
Would you would you agree in inin saying that because uh
Galludet University is uhuniversity for the deaf
community?
And um that is I don't know,just northeast of here.
Um and because that has been along-standing um university in
this area, I think we just havea lot more openness to the the
(19:25):
deaf culture.
Is that right?
SPEAKER_01 (19:27):
Right.
Absolutely.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (19:29):
Yeah.
So I think that it's it's reallyunique and it's it's also
important for people torecognize that.
Uh but also, you know, havingconversations like this podcast
is when you, you know, aroundthe nation or around the world,
when you come upon somebody inthe deaf community, or if you're
talking to somebody and theydon't respond to you, maybe you
can assume that they're probablydeaf, uh of which, you know, a
(19:52):
little tap on the shoulder, alittle wave goes a long way.
Uh and one thing, Dima, thatstood out uh something that you
said that stood out to me uh wasbecause uh I was kind of raised
through the CTS system where weused a lot of hand language uh
for indicating everything on theon the road, like something
coming up, um you know, slowing,stopping, you know, right turn,
(20:16):
left turn.
Even to this day, like I'malways using hand signals to do
that because uh uh the way wework is we have groups of 20, 30
people at a camp or in a racescenario, and uh not everybody
can hear, especially if you'reyou know 30 wheels back.
So that's why we were using youknow uh hand signals in sign
(20:37):
language.
But I do that here, and that wasone thing that you said.
I mean, this is like five yearsago.
He's like you you told me it'slike I really appreciate that.
So I think for anyone listeninghere, start to use more hand
signals for everybody, let alonethe deaf community.
But I think it goes a long waybecause we've all been on this
(20:57):
group ride.
Well, Dima, you probably can'trelate to this, but been on the
group ride before where peoplejust yell out pothole or yell
out on the right, and it's likevery distracting and it doesn't
really tell you much.
It's just a loud noise.
SPEAKER_01 (21:11):
Right.
Right.
Yeah, exactly that.
You know, I think maybe a funnystory I'll say.
Um, I happened to lead out.
Um, and Adam was behind me um inone situation.
Um, and I used my voice actuallyas loud as I could to let you
know something was coming up.
(21:33):
And many, many of the ridersbehind us were like, what the
hell?
We're not expecting it at all.
And you know, I went zero to onehundred real quick just to let
people know what was going on.
So I I've been there.
SPEAKER_00 (21:45):
Yeah, that was true.
Everybody was like, wait, whatwhat is going on?
And I don't know, like I'd neverheard your voice before, too.
It just like motivated me.
I was like, Oh, I better winthis sprint.
Um better go deeper.
Uh yeah, that was that was supercool.
That was absolutely cool.
Um, but yeah, I mean, there'salways ways.
SPEAKER_01 (22:05):
That's a good good memory for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (22:07):
Yeah, totally, totally.
So, you know, there's alwaysways to you know communicate
with others when you're outthere on the road.
Um, you know, may maybe realbriefly, uh, can you talk about
um when we have our pre-racemeetings?
So uh DC Velo, that's a teamthat you and I both race on.
We have uh pre-race meetings totalk about tactics, how this is
(22:28):
gonna go, who should cover what.
Um tell us how we do it with youand Blake.
SPEAKER_01 (22:33):
So typically um we host a Zoom.
Um, and that Zoom will usuallyhave uh a feature for captions.
You know, you have that in theZoom platform.
Um it's also added Convo uh inZoom.
So um if someone has an accountwith Convo, which is a way deaf
folks can call, um, we can havean interpreter right there in
(22:56):
the Zoom, in the Zoom screen togo over, you know, kind of
rules, discussions, what we'redoing.
We do that.
Um and then, you know, same daywe have that discussion, um, me,
Blake will use our phones.
And we have an app that hascaptions there that'll
automatically detect one thingthere that I will say, it
(23:18):
doesn't catch everything.
You know, if there's two orthree people um talking at the
same time, or if someone's alittle farther away, it's not
gonna catch everything.
But if we are close, if you knowit's you, myself, Blake, we're
all there talking, it'll be ableto catch that up.
Sometimes, Coach Adam, um,you'll fill me in, what's going
on, what people are saying, whatI need to do.
Um, so that's kind of what we'lldo in that pre-race um meeting.
(23:42):
During the race, it's all up inthe air.
We set up, you know, thecommunication we need, we use
our eyes, we see gestures, bodylanguage, and kind of go from
there.
SPEAKER_00 (23:52):
Yeah.
I mean, once the gun goes off, Imean, it's you got to think on
your feet.
But that actually reminds me ofuh Kopy road race a couple years
ago where uh I was up in a breakwith uh Chris, right?
The the other uh D3 or deafcyclist.
Um it was Chris and um uh Eddie,Eddie Buckley.
(24:16):
And the only reason I bring thisup is uh we were in the break
and they were giving us timegaps.
And so he would you know themoto would come up and just yell
and then go back, and all of asudden I realized I'm crossing
here and that through my throughmy own like hack, like like
point to my wrist, like threezero back.
Uh he was like, oh, okay.
(24:37):
And he super appreciated it,which I think then because he's
on a different team, motivatedhim to work a little bit more.
So then you know, we eventuallywe stayed away, uh, which was
super cool.
Uh but but again, I think it itcomes down to like uh just being
a good person, having someempathy, and being like, hey,
this this guy needs some help incommunication.
(24:57):
Meanwhile, somebody like Chris,that dude can hold 400 watts for
30 minutes.
So he you definitely want tohelp him out in a break because
he's gonna help you out.
SPEAKER_01 (25:07):
Yeah, exactly.
And you know, um, the worldtour, you know, all of the
cyclists uh don't speak the samelanguage, right?
They use gestures um tocommunicate, and in a gap, um,
usually there's a board that'sheld up um to show those times
(25:27):
um on a motorcycle or someonestands to show what's going on.
It's clear um that visual um,you know, visual cue happening,
which is cool.
So I might be bringing that upum to uh you know different
boards that can make thathappen, um, not just for deaf
athletes, but for all athletes.
SPEAKER_00 (25:49):
Yep, yep.
Excellent point for sure.
And just to round that off, I Ithink that for any listener who,
you know, will come across uh,you know, a deaf competitor,
just slow down, realize if ifthey ain't hearing you, that's
probably for a reason.
And you know, think on yourfeet, use a different way to
communicate with them, andyou'll probably develop a friend
(26:09):
and uh go even faster for doingso.
SPEAKER_01 (26:12):
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (26:14):
Yeah.
So I'm gonna I'm gonna pivothere a little bit to talk more
about you personally, and thenwe'll talk about some tips that
uh everybody can apply to theirtraining because you know, we're
all crunched on time.
Uh you have a wife, a youngchild now, dogs, full-time job.
You actually have a part-timejob as a photographer.
I don't even know if we'll getinto that.
(26:35):
Uh but like many listeners,you're busy, you're ambitious,
you have big goals, but youdon't have a ton of time uh to
you know pour into that,especially for in a big event
like the Deaf Olympics.
So I mean, in some sense, you'rethe perfect time crunched
athlete with those big loftygoals to ask this question.
What are some of those tips thatyou can offer to people
(26:58):
listening to help you stay ontask so that you can focus and
stick to your training programwhen you're coming up to a big
race like this?
SPEAKER_01 (27:08):
Right.
Yeah, absolutely.
So to be honest, um I don't knowhow exactly to answer it, but
you know, I do know some thingsI put in practice.
Um growing up, um, I playedsports my whole life, never
stopped running, doing, um,playing those sports.
So I find cycling um a hugefascination, a huge almost uh,
(27:31):
you know, passion of mine.
I love doing it, I love being umin the races.
And with the Deaf Olympics, youknow, I saw that was an event.
I said, you know, I want to dothat.
My goal was to get there.
And that kind of led me tofigure out um from there, how
can I make it with my training?
How can I dial this in?
(27:52):
Now that I have a daughter, youknow, I always make sure that I
have time for training.
Consistency is really key there.
Um, and consistency is not easy,as you know.
Um, how to keep up with thatconsistency.
I try to keep telling myself,um, you know, keep uh exploring
the bike, have fun.
(28:13):
Um, if you're not having fun atthe end of the day, you know,
you're not gonna continue.
You're not gonna be able to keepup your training, you're not
gonna hit that goal.
Um, and you're gonna suffersomewhere else.
So I always tell myself, enjoythose moments, enjoy what you
can.
And that led me to, you know,it's led me to enjoying my
training consistently.
The second thing I think is justcommunication.
(28:34):
Communicate with your family,keep that up, and it's just as
important.
Um, I support my, you know,wife, my family.
Um, what's gonna make her happy?
What's gonna, you know, continuepushing both of us.
It goes both ways.
SPEAKER_00 (28:48):
Yeah.
Agreed.
A happy wife, happy life, happycyclist.
And to that end, I I would say,you know, one thing, you know,
one thing that is evident is isand one thing I learned about
you too is um when you've gottenbusy, like uh everybody has
excuses.
(29:09):
Life gets in the way andtraining sessions you know, they
get they go by the wayside, theydon't get done.
And uh one of the things Ilearned with you is when a
couple of those sessions weren'tgetting done, I was like, okay,
I don't want to bother himbecause I know I know he's
slammed right now.
But through some of ourconversations and and you know,
(29:30):
butting of heads and comingback, if I don't see a session
done, I send you a text.
I just like poke you.
I'm just like, hey man, likewhere's that workout?
Like, like, hey, do you have anyquestions about that?
So just coming back to thecommunication.
It's like, hey, how you doing?
Versus, okay, I know he's busy,don't want to necessarily get in
the way.
And I think that has increasedyour consistency, uh, which I
(29:51):
think has uh then you knowplayed into fitness, which then
goes into uh probably the thenumber one thing that I realized
that you're doing better this.
Here is even if we miss asection, you identify the most
important section and youprioritize that.
Like you get that done, yousmash it out of the park
normally.
(30:11):
And then sometimes like the easyendurance ride, that doesn't get
done because work, uh, daughter,uh, wife, uh, build the bike, w
whatever needs to beprioritized.
So you've done a uh just afantastic job of getting the
bigger, more important workoutsdone and not sweating the small
details, which I think is hugelyimportant.
SPEAKER_01 (30:34):
Yeah, exactly that.
And, you know, in the past, um,you know, I might have a you
know a weird year where I um,you know, I didn't work out or
you know, I kind of got into afunk, and I don't enjoy those
times, right?
Um, so I want to kind of obsessover the details.
(30:57):
Um, however, if you do that toomuch, you're gonna burn out.
Um, so as that was happening ayear or two later, I decided,
hey, I'm just gonna have funwith this.
You know, why did I start ridingin the first place?
There's a reason for that.
And just like you mentioned, um,often looking at the training
plan, what's the most importantride?
I know in my mind I have to dothat.
(31:18):
I'm gonna communicate with mywife, I'm gonna communicate with
my family, whoever other familymembers can come and support,
um, you know, babysit, watch ourdogs, whatever needs to do, then
then I'm gonna head out for myride.
Um, you have to find a wayinstead of just saying, I can't,
you know, um, and it's just notgonna work out.
Yep, yep.
(31:39):
I do admit, um, you know, I dolook at other riders who have
that 20-hour a week trainingschedule.
I uh kind of am jealous of that.
But when I realize, you know,what they're doing, it's not all
about the hours.
It's not at the end of the day,it's quality versus quantity.
Um, you know, unless I do, youknow, stages, it might be a
(32:01):
different story.
Um, but I don't do don't dostages.
SPEAKER_00 (32:05):
Yeah, like stage is referring to stage racing.
That's where the aerobic depthwould really play into it.
But yeah, completely agree for alot of the crits in one-day
races we do.
Um uh the Deaf Olympics is alittle bit of an asterisk uh
because there are someback-to-back days.
However, um I think we've beenpreparing for it as best we can.
(32:25):
So you know, uh one other thingthat I think is really important
uh when it comes to uh uh whenyou're time crunched, you need
motivation having a trainingpartner.
I think is vitally important.
And that's where you know Blakeand there's been you know a few
others, but just like we'reblessed here in the DMV area
(32:46):
where you can jump in a group,I've said this on the podcast
several times, you can jump intoa group ride pretty much any
single day of the week and getafter it, right?
There's people riding, there'speople riding hard.
So you know, that accountabilityand the level of people to push
you like it is wildly importantfor motivation, uh, for
(33:06):
accountability, and you know,for fitness gaining and for
tactics, because that's how I Imean I use like basically you
and Blake.
You know, we just createscenarios of how you're going to
uh sharpen each other up, how tohelp each other out.
And then when you go and competewith each other, uh it's it's uh
old hat.
SPEAKER_01 (33:23):
And maybe I'll say this DMV is um a luxury to be
able to train in this areabecause of all of that that you
mentioned.
We have a lot of group rides,um, high pace, you know,
weekends, um lot ofopportunities.
Myself and Blake were verygrateful to have, I'm grateful
to have Blake, also Chris, umgrateful to have them as
(33:44):
training partners.
We're able to get together,discuss strategy, how can we
win, throw out those game plans,those ideas, um, and really
bounce off each other during therace.
We're able to, you know, say,okay, who's gonna watch, who's
gonna monitor, who are we gonnatarget, um, who are we gonna
mark.
Um and this year I do feel alittle bit different because I
(34:06):
started to talk um, you know,how to win at the end.
In the past, as you know, Iwould stay, you know, stay in
the crowd.
What am I gonna do?
Now I'm kind of gaining thatstrategy, how to lead out, how
to do that a little better.
And that's been the most fun inthe journey.
Um, with Blake, having thatopportunity.
I'm really excited to see how wedo at the Deaf Olympics this
(34:28):
year.
Um, and we have amazing strongriders on the team.
Really excited for everyone tosee what we're uh see what we're
gonna do and hope we bring backa medal.
SPEAKER_00 (34:37):
Yeah, that is uh I'm looking forward to it.
I I think you guys can for sure.
And I'm I'm excited to to watchand see what happens.
So I guess to wrap this up, andfinally, if anyone listening
wants to follow you leading intothe Def Olympics, that again is
coming up in about three weeksfrom now, um, or the the tail
(34:58):
end of uh November, um, wherecan they where can they find
you?
How can they follow you?
SPEAKER_01 (35:03):
Yeah, thanks.
I appreciate the question.
Uh for sure.
Um I'm happy to provide all ofthose links for social media.
Um there's USA Deaf Cyclists,um, deaf cycling, um, and they
post uh rather frequently.
I'll also add um, you know,another link.
(35:24):
Um, I'll be posting as much as Ican on my social media.
I'm not a huge social media guy.
I have a lot on my plate, um,and I, you know, do different
things in different areas, but Iwill be posting there.
You can look at the website, DefOlympics.
Um, we'll have Adam includethat.
2025 um Japan.
Um, we'll include all the links,follow there.
(35:47):
Um, stay up on Instagram,Facebook, all the social media,
they'll be posting.
I'll be posting as much as I canum for a live stream.
Fingers crossed, hopefully theywill have that provided.
That is the plan that I've heardas of as of thus far.
So watch there if you can.
Um, I know uh it's unique aboutDeaf Olympics.
(36:07):
Um, so hopefully we get thataccess too.
SPEAKER_00 (36:10):
Yeah, for sure.
Now, and if anyone's wondering,I mean, getting to the Deaf
Olympics is not cheap.
So athletes are pretty muchfunding the entire trip on their
own, uh, even though they havesome support on the ground.
So uh if anyone wishes to donateand support to uh your team,
Dima, or you as an individual,how best can they do that?
SPEAKER_01 (36:31):
Yeah, I'm happy you asked.
Thanks.
Yeah, I want to expand a littleon that, kind of explain Deaf
Olympics as a whole.
Um, Deaf individuals don't fallinto either of the other
categories, Paralympics, SpecialOlympics, um, same as those
athletes don't fall into theDeaf Olympics.
(36:51):
They're each their own separateentity.
Um and for Deaf Olympics, um,it's such an enriching
experience.
Same with Paralympics andSpecial Olympics, as athletes
that get to go there, being apart of a whole community of
other athletes all over theworld with the same culture,
deafness, um, such a coolopportunity.
(37:14):
Um, and as deaf athletes, we arenot funded by um any
organization like IOC.
Um, we don't get that support,we are on our own.
Um, we do have a little bit ofsupport from different spots,
but we are out of pocket, we payfor it on our own.
Um, we just have that, you know,proud pride to support our
country.
(37:34):
We do fundraise, um, and we useGiveButter.
It's a platform.
Um, you can donate if you'reinterested to the team, Def Team
USA, or each individual athlete.
Um, you can donate and it'll getspread out between the team if
you provide that to the team.
And we'll provide that link aswell, like Adam mentioned.
SPEAKER_00 (37:54):
Yeah, yeah.
And I wanted to specify thatbecause I I think too, when
you're you know over therecompeting in the USA jersey, it
may seem like you're you knowfully funded by USA cycling or a
governing body or something likethis, but it's it's not.
I mean, it's it's all coming outof pocket, which uh s sad as it
is, I mean, um it that's hardfor for uh an athlete to do
(38:18):
that.
And I know you know manyParalympic athletes um that have
you know gone through thatprocess.
So it's challenging.
So you know, uh again, just moremore respect and uh to all of
you know the the whole DeafOlympic team, um, the cycling
team and all other sports there,but I just wanted to bring some
awareness to how that works.
(38:40):
And I guess yeah, in in closing,um Dima, I mean your your story
your story is so awesome.
I mean, and you are anincredible person.
So I I am honored to have you onthe podcast today.
Thank you for making time out ofyour busy schedule to join us
and sharing your journey withour listeners.
I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01 (39:00):
Yeah, not a problem at all.
I've enjoyed this time.
Really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00 (39:06):
Awesome, man.
SPEAKER_01 (39:07):
Well Thanks for inviting me, Adam.
SPEAKER_00 (39:10):
Yeah, absolutely, and hopefully uh see you out
there on the group right heresoon.
SPEAKER_01 (39:13):
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (39:15):
All right, thanks, Tima.
Thanks for joining us on theTime Crunch Cyclist Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
If you want even more actionabletraining advice, head over to
trainwright.com backslashnewsletter and subscribe to our
free weekly publication.
Each week you'll get in depthtraining content that goes
(39:37):
beyond what we cover here on thepodcast that'll help you take
your training to the next level.
That's all for now.
Until next time, train hard,train smart.
From the team at Seat Guest, this is the Time
Crunch Cyclist Podcast, our showdedicated to answering your
training questions and providingactionable advice to help you
improve your performance, evenif you're shot for time.
I'm your host, Coach AdamPolford, and I'm one of the over
50 professional coaches who makeup the team at Seat Guest.
(00:27):
In each episode, I draw on ourteam's collective knowledge,
other coaches, and experts inthe field to provide you with
the practical ways to get themost out of your training and
ultimately become the bestcyclist that you can be.
Now, on to our show.
(00:48):
Training and racing in the sportof cycling is already hard
enough for all of us listeninghere.
But what if you were deaf?
What if you couldn't hear thesound of free hub bodies behind
you?
What if you couldn't hear peoplecalling out the pothole in the
road?
Or you couldn't hear the carsbuzzing all around you.
That certainly adds a dimensionto it all, and here to discuss
(01:11):
this and much more is CTSathlete and Deflimpic athlete
Dmitry Rosichansky.
Dima, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_01 (01:22):
Hey, yeah, I'm honored to be here, really
excited for this conversation.
Thanks.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
Same as well.
But just for our listeners, Iwant to clarify a few things uh
to our audience right now.
If you're on YouTube, you getit.
Dima's speaking through a coupleof interpreters, and one of
which is named Courtney.
And yes, Dima is a man andCourtney is a woman.
You are hearing Courtney'sactual voice.
So just to clear up anyconfusion, I also call uh uh
(01:51):
Dimitri's nickname is Dima, so II just kind of naturally call
him that.
Uh so that that is him, andthroughout the interview, I'm
just gonna call him uh Dima,okay?
Uh and because he's a localathlete, uh I've had the
privilege to go out to dinnersand get to meet Courtney as
she's attended uh a couplethings, including uh DC Vellow
(02:11):
banquets that Dima, his wife,and my wife have all attended.
Also, we have a secondinterpreter.
Her name is Maureen, and she'shere to help in the
interpretation process.
So it is a privilege and honorto have all of you on the show
today.
SPEAKER_01 (02:26):
Yeah, thanks so much.
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
Totally.
Okay, so Dima, can you tell ouraudience a bit more about
yourself as they don't know youlike I do, and maybe start with
uh just where you're callingfrom today?
Uh tell us about your job, yourfamily, and maybe uh what type
of rider that you are.
SPEAKER_01 (02:43):
Yeah, sure.
Um, so I live here in Maryland.
Um that's where I'm callingfrom, about 20 minutes away from
DC in a town called Hyattville.
Um I've been in the cyclingworld, I want to say maybe 2018
roughly.
Um It was actually my birthdayweekend that year.
(03:06):
I decided, you know, what I wasgonna do for my birthday.
I flew to San Francisco, visit afriend of mine, hadn't seen them
for a long time.
Um, he had a bike.
Um he was gonna go on kind of acycling trip.
I said, hey, I'll I'll joinalong.
Let me borrow a bike that youhave.
Um I've never used a bike with aclip before.
It was a very new experience.
I said, sure, I'm gonna try itout.
(03:28):
Um there was a huge uphill onthe course we were on.
I didn't know if you know I hadthe stamina to do it.
I felt from that moment usingthat energy, that stamina,
addicted to the whole thing.
I bought a bike after thatweekend.
Um, I didn't start trainingthough until 2019, 2020,
roughly.
I found Coach Adam Pulford.
(03:49):
We got connected, and really therest of that is history.
Um, I worked I um really amfocused in uh sprinting,
specialize in sprinting.
Um, I do have some time trialexperience.
My favorite expertise um is alot of you know, physicality,
physical contact, um, getting inthere.
(04:11):
One of my favorite things to dois really get down and dirty.
Um, you know, I'm a big guy,which helps that aspect of that
specialty, but that's a littlebit about me.
Uh I work as a data scientistfor Booze Allen Hamilton for a
couple of years now, with thatas a full-time job, plus
(04:33):
training.
I do have a daughter, she's 10months old.
Um, so adding that into the mixis tough, but I always find time
to train.
So I'm definitely atime-crunched athlete.
It fits my lifestyle.
Uh, it doesn't require me tohave 20 hours a week, you know,
the luxury of having that amountof time to train.
Um, but I make it work.
(04:54):
I have a wonderful supportivewife who is there every step of
the way in this journey.
Um, I'm really fortunate to havethat.
SPEAKER_00 (05:02):
Yeah, it exactly.
And you have such a supportnetwork around you with um your
whole family, and I think that'ssome of the magic of what makes
it work, as well as just uh yourrelentless pursuit of this.
I mean, if if uh if anybodyknows Dima and has raced against
him here in the DMV area, youknow he's super hard worker,
(05:23):
goes really deep.
And if you bring him to theline, watch out because he uh
he's got a ferocious uh sprint.
So um Dima.
Um it's true.
It is very true.
I cannot hold your wheel whenwhen uh when you go full tilt.
In fact, you just uh collapsed abike while you were sprinting,
which we don't need to get into,but that was super gnarly.
(05:44):
And it was he totally ruined theback end of his bike while he
was uh sprinting.
It was crazy to me.
SPEAKER_01 (05:50):
Uh anyway, Dima.
SPEAKER_00 (05:53):
First question to you uh on this kind of official
interview is there's probably alot of people wondering how big
is the deaf cycling community,and how the heck do you ride
your bike when you can't hearanything?
SPEAKER_01 (06:08):
Yeah.
Good question.
So the number of deaf cyclistsum is not a big number.
It's pretty a pretty smallcommunity.
There's a large number of um,you know, deaf individuals who
cycle, who go for different um,you know, rides here and there.
(06:29):
Um there are several out there,um, you know, even in the DMV
area, also throughout thecountry.
Um, but in specific racingformat, I'd say less than 10.
Um less than 10 of us whoactually specialize in racing.
I'm fortunate to live here inthe DMV area, DC, Maryland,
(06:50):
Virginia.
There's you know, greatcyclists, great ways to race
together.
There's three deaf athletes herein the area, so we're able to
share a lot of resources, um,share our experience as deaf
cyclists, and that really helpsme.
It helps the other cyclists tryto, you know, get our get our
footing into the world.
Um, another deaf cyclist hasbeen doing it for quite a long
(07:14):
time.
Um, so we're now in the samecategory, same level, and that's
been a really, really coolexperience.
SPEAKER_00 (07:22):
That yeah, super cool experience.
And the second part of thatquestion is I mean, I've come
across a lot of people when youknow they meet you for the first
time, they're like, how does heride without being able to hear?
So, how would you uh answer thatto somebody who says, Yeah, how
do you not run into somebody?
How do you not hear the cars?
I mean, tell us a little bitmore about uh riding your bike
(07:43):
and not being able to hear.
SPEAKER_01 (07:45):
So, first things first, um we rely on our
eyesight.
Deaf people are always using oureyes, that visual access.
Um, you know, our heads arealways on a swivel, looking
around all the time.
Um, you know, we can't rely onsomething else, someone else to
tell us.
We're doing that ourselves.
A lot of intuition um isinvolved with that as well.
(08:09):
You know, being deaf, havingthat experience.
Another thing, also, I do use uma bike computer.
Um, it communicates from thatdevice different things, Garmin.
Um, it's similar to somethinglike that.
It's a computer device on thebike that notifies me,
communicates me.
(08:30):
Instead of instead of having tolook around constantly, it
notifies me of differentmovements that are happening.
So I can keep my eyes on theroad.
For racing, for group rides, um,I like to stay in the front.
I can see clearly.
Um, so that's kind of one aspectof it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:49):
Yep, yep, that's it.
And I've had conversations withyou and and Blake.
We'll we'll talk about Blake,uh, a good training partner of
yours and another athlete that Ithat I coach, um, of how you
guys do have kind of a another asixth sense, if you if you will,
or a fifth sense that kind ofbridges that gap.
You guys are really in tune withlike feeling the Peloton,
(09:10):
sensing when something's goingto happen, much more than I
would say the the typicalmaster's racer out there, you
know, and it is very evident.
SPEAKER_01 (09:21):
Yeah, right.
Just like you mentioned, um,that's one thing I often
encourage those who want torace.
I say, you know, get in thosegroup rides.
Um, you have that connection,that contact experience, um, you
know, that good physicality tobe able to reach out, you know,
(09:42):
tap people on the shoulder, havethat feeling of racing in that
group ride, and how you applythat to racing is really
important.
SPEAKER_00 (09:49):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
And we'll get into a few morespecifics of that here in just a
minute.
But um, you're preparing for thedeaf Olympics.
unknown (09:57):
Cool.
SPEAKER_00 (09:58):
And that's coming up here in just a few weeks of this
recording.
So tell us more about the DeafOlympics and the the races that
you'll be competing in there.
SPEAKER_01 (10:10):
Yeah, sure.
So the Deaf Olympics is uh it'sbeen standing, long time
standing for 30 years.
Um it's very unique, I will say.
Um the events that I'll beparticipating in, I'll explain
that first, is the 1,000-metersprint fastening event because
(10:33):
hearing athletes or Paralympics,um, regular Olympics, it's
usually on the track, the mellowdrome, or those high high-lined
walls.
In the deaf Olympics, that's notthe case.
It's just on the street.
It's 500 meters there, a U-turn500 meters back for that total
of a thousand-meter sprint.
The reason for that um is, youknow, there's deaf cyclists all
(10:57):
over the world.
However, there's not a ton thatare professional cyclers going
to the Deaf Olympics.
Budget is a huge thing for them.
Um, having access to a melodrometrack.
Um, so deaf athletes don't havethat luxury compared to other
athletes.
Again, money, budget, um,thinking about the time to work
(11:19):
out, to train, all of thosethings are key factors involved
with that.
So there's there's deaf athletesthat were that will complete in,
compete in two, three eventsrather than that one specialized
event.
For the sprint, there's a200-meter fly, and then there's
a time that will begin thebeginning of that uh tracking
(11:43):
from number one to athlete 20.
They will start to go againsteach other in that tracking for
the 500 meters down to theU-turn and make your way back to
500 meters based on whoeverwins, they'll move forward.
Um, very similar to the rulesand regulations on the track
that you might expect.
The second event is the pointsrace.
(12:05):
Again, rules are very similarfor the time trial.
Um, same thing there.
And there's a road race, whichis that fourth and final event.
SPEAKER_00 (12:15):
Yep, exactly.
And there is a mountain bikerace too.
I think Blake's uh competing inthat one.
Yeah.
Um, so and that happens the weekafter, right?
SPEAKER_01 (12:25):
Yes, yep, exactly.
And some deaf cyclists will dothose four events for road
cycling, and then they'll jumpto the two events for the
mountain bike racing as well.
So first for those athletes whoare doing six events.
SPEAKER_00 (12:39):
Yeah, which, yeah, just a huge, huge 10 days over
in Tokyo this year is where thegames will be held, correct?
SPEAKER_01 (12:48):
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
The race will actually behappening in Izu, Izu, Japan.
Um it's about an hour and ahalf, two hours south of Tokyo.
SPEAKER_00 (13:02):
That's right.
Yep, that's right.
Um and I mean, huge, huge effortto get there, all the travel,
all the preparation leading upto it.
And I'm gonna touch on that too,just because it it leads into
the preparation, the highdemands, the high stakes of this
competition.
But I'll kind of zoom out just alittle bit here because uh the
(13:22):
Deaf Olympics, a lot of peopleprobably have not heard about
them.
And so what I learned throughoutthis process is that the Deaf
Olympics, they are very separatefrom the Paralympics.
And if if in case people arewondering, and it's for many
reasons, including uh the DeafOlympics, uh they they use a
bunch of visual cues, signlanguage, light, and things like
(13:45):
this as indicators to start andstop races, and uh whereas the
Paralympics have a wider rangeof physical disabilities and
they have categories based onthat um for competition.
And uh if you want more detailson the whole Paralympic uh
Games, you can check out episodenumber 79, where I uh interview
(14:07):
CTS and Paralympic coach JimLehman for a deep dive on
Paralympics.
Uh but the Deaf Olympics, Idon't know.
I I was reading this earlier,Dima, and you can correct me if
I'm wrong, but the Deaf Olympicsactually predate Paralympics by
almost 30 years.
Is that true?
SPEAKER_01 (14:24):
Yeah, you're exactly right.
SPEAKER_00 (14:26):
Which I I think is so awesome, right?
And there's I mean, there's uhall the sports that you can
think of um that are going on,not just obviously cycling, but
track and field and wrestling, II saw was was on the docket.
Um but they they use like like Isaid, a bunch of visual cues and
sign language, and it's a veryum uh very separate from
(14:48):
Paralympics for for obviousreasons.
I mean, it's just a different uhculture, which I think is
awesome that we live in asociety that we can have
something like the Deaf Olympicsand have people compete at the
highest level across the worldto get after it and uh chase
some gold medals down.
SPEAKER_01 (15:04):
Yeah, that exactly.
Really cool.
Def Olympics, um, how youqualify for Deaf Olympics, you
must have at least 55 decibelshearing.
Um, it doesn't require you tosign, it's just related to um
your hearing test and thespecific qualifications needed
(15:24):
there.
SPEAKER_00 (15:25):
Interesting.
I did not know that either.
Okay, so Dima, here's here's agood question uh when I was
asking some other um athletesthat I coach and and um some
other people who wanted to knowmore about the deaf um uh
community is you compete prettymuch exclusively year-round in
uh with with normal hearingpeople.
(15:45):
Okay, so what are some of thechallenges that you face in the
races in group rides when you'reriding with normal hearing
people uh as a deaf cyclistyourself?
SPEAKER_01 (15:55):
Yeah, um in the DMV area, um it's a pretty good
space because a lot ofindividuals are familiar with
the deaf community.
If you go to other states acrossthe country, I think you'll
notice more of a challenge.
Um, some races, some riders thataren't from DMV that come in
here to ride, um, you can kindof sense that, see that.
(16:15):
Um, you know, in this area, if Ilet people know I'm deaf, you
know, the hearing rider will,you know, realize, okay, cool.
You know, how do we communicatethrough that?
Um, we'll be able tocommunicate, you know, if we
want to attack or if we want todo something in a specific
scenario or situation.
Sometimes I don't have thatcommunication advantage that
(16:37):
other hearing writers mighthave.
I really rely on body language,sensing what's going, um, seeing
that repetitive pattern that'shappening and kind of tuning in
on that, um, trying to see wherepeople are talking.
There are some challenges inthose scenarios, you know,
trying to point to communicatewhile writing as a deaf athlete.
(17:02):
You know, uh, you know, havinghearing writers and hearing
teammates be mindful of a deafathlete, you know, that can be a
challenge.
To communicate, you know,reaching out to someone,
touching someone on theshoulder.
Many hearing athletes don't haveexperience to do that.
Um, so they might, you know, bea little shocked or jarred when
that happens.
(17:22):
So I've been through thosechallenges.
There's, you know, many thingsto work through.
Um the bell at the race, youknow, for preams specifically.
Uh, that's one thing I'd like tochange, work on changing.
I think it'd be a huge benefitfor all riders, not just deaf
riders, when a pream isannounced.
(17:42):
Um, you know, for a 1,000.
Yeah.
Um, exactly.
You know, if there's someonethat can't hear it or they're
paying attention, you know, forone thousand months$1,000 on the
line for a pream, I'm gonna gofull out.
You know, I'm gonna sprint, I'mgonna go for it.
But sometimes I don't know whenthat's happening.
(18:03):
Um, you know, instead of, youknow, if they were announced a
cookie basket or a cookiesomething for that, for that,
I'm not gonna go for that.
But it'd be nice.
It'd be nice, like you said, tohave some sort of flashing light
or something for that visualcue.
Or, you know, what again I relyon is the deaf community.
Um, we communicate, we kind ofsign to each other on the start
(18:24):
line or get those things out.
If there's a gap, um, we'll youknow say, hey, 15 seconds, break
away, and we'll be able tocommunicate that with other deaf
riders.
Um, so it's nice to see, youknow, people will see, I see
them on their bikes looking atus like, whoa, that's you know,
pretty crazy.
So it's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_00 (18:43):
Yeah, yeah, it it is, it's it's incredible to me.
Um but a couple of things thatyou said is like it's you know,
the riders here are pretty coolwith uh deaf cyclists relative
to other parts of the country.
I think it's well, I think it'sbecause we in this area we just
have so much culture in general,but in particular we have
(19:03):
Galludet University.
Would you would you agree in inin saying that because uh
Galludet University is uhuniversity for the deaf
community?
And um that is I don't know,just northeast of here.
Um and because that has been along-standing um university in
this area, I think we just havea lot more openness to the the
(19:25):
deaf culture.
Is that right?
SPEAKER_01 (19:27):
Right.
Absolutely.
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (19:29):
Yeah.
So I think that it's it's reallyunique and it's it's also
important for people torecognize that.
Uh but also, you know, havingconversations like this podcast
is when you, you know, aroundthe nation or around the world,
when you come upon somebody inthe deaf community, or if you're
talking to somebody and theydon't respond to you, maybe you
can assume that they're probablydeaf, uh of which, you know, a
(19:52):
little tap on the shoulder, alittle wave goes a long way.
Uh and one thing, Dima, thatstood out uh something that you
said that stood out to me uh wasbecause uh I was kind of raised
through the CTS system where weused a lot of hand language uh
for indicating everything on theon the road, like something
coming up, um you know, slowing,stopping, you know, right turn,
(20:16):
left turn.
Even to this day, like I'malways using hand signals to do
that because uh uh the way wework is we have groups of 20, 30
people at a camp or in a racescenario, and uh not everybody
can hear, especially if you'reyou know 30 wheels back.
So that's why we were using youknow uh hand signals in sign
(20:37):
language.
But I do that here, and that wasone thing that you said.
I mean, this is like five yearsago.
He's like you you told me it'slike I really appreciate that.
So I think for anyone listeninghere, start to use more hand
signals for everybody, let alonethe deaf community.
But I think it goes a long waybecause we've all been on this
(20:57):
group ride.
Well, Dima, you probably can'trelate to this, but been on the
group ride before where peoplejust yell out pothole or yell
out on the right, and it's likevery distracting and it doesn't
really tell you much.
It's just a loud noise.
SPEAKER_01 (21:11):
Right.
Right.
Yeah, exactly that.
You know, I think maybe a funnystory I'll say.
Um, I happened to lead out.
Um, and Adam was behind me um inone situation.
Um, and I used my voice actuallyas loud as I could to let you
know something was coming up.
(21:33):
And many, many of the ridersbehind us were like, what the
hell?
We're not expecting it at all.
And you know, I went zero to onehundred real quick just to let
people know what was going on.
So I I've been there.
SPEAKER_00 (21:45):
Yeah, that was true.
Everybody was like, wait, whatwhat is going on?
And I don't know, like I'd neverheard your voice before, too.
It just like motivated me.
I was like, Oh, I better winthis sprint.
Um better go deeper.
Uh yeah, that was that was supercool.
That was absolutely cool.
Um, but yeah, I mean, there'salways ways.
SPEAKER_01 (22:05):
That's a good good memory for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (22:07):
Yeah, totally, totally.
So, you know, there's alwaysways to you know communicate
with others when you're outthere on the road.
Um, you know, may maybe realbriefly, uh, can you talk about
um when we have our pre-racemeetings?
So uh DC Velo, that's a teamthat you and I both race on.
We have uh pre-race meetings totalk about tactics, how this is
(22:28):
gonna go, who should cover what.
Um tell us how we do it with youand Blake.
SPEAKER_01 (22:33):
So typically um we host a Zoom.
Um, and that Zoom will usuallyhave uh a feature for captions.
You know, you have that in theZoom platform.
Um it's also added Convo uh inZoom.
So um if someone has an accountwith Convo, which is a way deaf
folks can call, um, we can havean interpreter right there in
(22:56):
the Zoom, in the Zoom screen togo over, you know, kind of
rules, discussions, what we'redoing.
We do that.
Um and then, you know, same daywe have that discussion, um, me,
Blake will use our phones.
And we have an app that hascaptions there that'll
automatically detect one thingthere that I will say, it
(23:18):
doesn't catch everything.
You know, if there's two orthree people um talking at the
same time, or if someone's alittle farther away, it's not
gonna catch everything.
But if we are close, if you knowit's you, myself, Blake, we're
all there talking, it'll be ableto catch that up.
Sometimes, Coach Adam, um,you'll fill me in, what's going
on, what people are saying, whatI need to do.
Um, so that's kind of what we'lldo in that pre-race um meeting.
(23:42):
During the race, it's all up inthe air.
We set up, you know, thecommunication we need, we use
our eyes, we see gestures, bodylanguage, and kind of go from
there.
SPEAKER_00 (23:52):
Yeah.
I mean, once the gun goes off, Imean, it's you got to think on
your feet.
But that actually reminds me ofuh Kopy road race a couple years
ago where uh I was up in a breakwith uh Chris, right?
The the other uh D3 or deafcyclist.
Um it was Chris and um uh Eddie,Eddie Buckley.
(24:16):
And the only reason I bring thisup is uh we were in the break
and they were giving us timegaps.
And so he would you know themoto would come up and just yell
and then go back, and all of asudden I realized I'm crossing
here and that through my throughmy own like hack, like like
point to my wrist, like threezero back.
Uh he was like, oh, okay.
(24:37):
And he super appreciated it,which I think then because he's
on a different team, motivatedhim to work a little bit more.
So then you know, we eventuallywe stayed away, uh, which was
super cool.
Uh but but again, I think it itcomes down to like uh just being
a good person, having someempathy, and being like, hey,
this this guy needs some help incommunication.
(24:57):
Meanwhile, somebody like Chris,that dude can hold 400 watts for
30 minutes.
So he you definitely want tohelp him out in a break because
he's gonna help you out.
SPEAKER_01 (25:07):
Yeah, exactly.
And you know, um, the worldtour, you know, all of the
cyclists uh don't speak the samelanguage, right?
They use gestures um tocommunicate, and in a gap, um,
usually there's a board that'sheld up um to show those times
(25:27):
um on a motorcycle or someonestands to show what's going on.
It's clear um that visual um,you know, visual cue happening,
which is cool.
So I might be bringing that upum to uh you know different
boards that can make thathappen, um, not just for deaf
athletes, but for all athletes.
SPEAKER_00 (25:49):
Yep, yep.
Excellent point for sure.
And just to round that off, I Ithink that for any listener who,
you know, will come across uh,you know, a deaf competitor,
just slow down, realize if ifthey ain't hearing you, that's
probably for a reason.
And you know, think on yourfeet, use a different way to
communicate with them, andyou'll probably develop a friend
(26:09):
and uh go even faster for doingso.
SPEAKER_01 (26:12):
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (26:14):
Yeah.
So I'm gonna I'm gonna pivothere a little bit to talk more
about you personally, and thenwe'll talk about some tips that
uh everybody can apply to theirtraining because you know, we're
all crunched on time.
Uh you have a wife, a youngchild now, dogs, full-time job.
You actually have a part-timejob as a photographer.
I don't even know if we'll getinto that.
(26:35):
Uh but like many listeners,you're busy, you're ambitious,
you have big goals, but youdon't have a ton of time uh to
you know pour into that,especially for in a big event
like the Deaf Olympics.
So I mean, in some sense, you'rethe perfect time crunched
athlete with those big loftygoals to ask this question.
What are some of those tips thatyou can offer to people
(26:58):
listening to help you stay ontask so that you can focus and
stick to your training programwhen you're coming up to a big
race like this?
SPEAKER_01 (27:08):
Right.
Yeah, absolutely.
So to be honest, um I don't knowhow exactly to answer it, but
you know, I do know some thingsI put in practice.
Um growing up, um, I playedsports my whole life, never
stopped running, doing, um,playing those sports.
So I find cycling um a hugefascination, a huge almost uh,
(27:31):
you know, passion of mine.
I love doing it, I love being umin the races.
And with the Deaf Olympics, youknow, I saw that was an event.
I said, you know, I want to dothat.
My goal was to get there.
And that kind of led me tofigure out um from there, how
can I make it with my training?
How can I dial this in?
(27:52):
Now that I have a daughter, youknow, I always make sure that I
have time for training.
Consistency is really key there.
Um, and consistency is not easy,as you know.
Um, how to keep up with thatconsistency.
I try to keep telling myself,um, you know, keep uh exploring
the bike, have fun.
(28:13):
Um, if you're not having fun atthe end of the day, you know,
you're not gonna continue.
You're not gonna be able to keepup your training, you're not
gonna hit that goal.
Um, and you're gonna suffersomewhere else.
So I always tell myself, enjoythose moments, enjoy what you
can.
And that led me to, you know,it's led me to enjoying my
training consistently.
The second thing I think is justcommunication.
(28:34):
Communicate with your family,keep that up, and it's just as
important.
Um, I support my, you know,wife, my family.
Um, what's gonna make her happy?
What's gonna, you know, continuepushing both of us.
It goes both ways.
SPEAKER_00 (28:48):
Yeah.
Agreed.
A happy wife, happy life, happycyclist.
And to that end, I I would say,you know, one thing, you know,
one thing that is evident is isand one thing I learned about
you too is um when you've gottenbusy, like uh everybody has
excuses.
(29:09):
Life gets in the way andtraining sessions you know, they
get they go by the wayside, theydon't get done.
And uh one of the things Ilearned with you is when a
couple of those sessions weren'tgetting done, I was like, okay,
I don't want to bother himbecause I know I know he's
slammed right now.
But through some of ourconversations and and you know,
(29:30):
butting of heads and comingback, if I don't see a session
done, I send you a text.
I just like poke you.
I'm just like, hey man, likewhere's that workout?
Like, like, hey, do you have anyquestions about that?
So just coming back to thecommunication.
It's like, hey, how you doing?
Versus, okay, I know he's busy,don't want to necessarily get in
the way.
And I think that has increasedyour consistency, uh, which I
(29:51):
think has uh then you knowplayed into fitness, which then
goes into uh probably the thenumber one thing that I realized
that you're doing better this.
Here is even if we miss asection, you identify the most
important section and youprioritize that.
Like you get that done, yousmash it out of the park
normally.
(30:11):
And then sometimes like the easyendurance ride, that doesn't get
done because work, uh, daughter,uh, wife, uh, build the bike, w
whatever needs to beprioritized.
So you've done a uh just afantastic job of getting the
bigger, more important workoutsdone and not sweating the small
details, which I think is hugelyimportant.
SPEAKER_01 (30:34):
Yeah, exactly that.
And, you know, in the past, um,you know, I might have a you
know a weird year where I um,you know, I didn't work out or
you know, I kind of got into afunk, and I don't enjoy those
times, right?
Um, so I want to kind of obsessover the details.
(30:57):
Um, however, if you do that toomuch, you're gonna burn out.
Um, so as that was happening ayear or two later, I decided,
hey, I'm just gonna have funwith this.
You know, why did I start ridingin the first place?
There's a reason for that.
And just like you mentioned, um,often looking at the training
plan, what's the most importantride?
I know in my mind I have to dothat.
(31:18):
I'm gonna communicate with mywife, I'm gonna communicate with
my family, whoever other familymembers can come and support,
um, you know, babysit, watch ourdogs, whatever needs to do, then
then I'm gonna head out for myride.
Um, you have to find a wayinstead of just saying, I can't,
you know, um, and it's just notgonna work out.
Yep, yep.
(31:39):
I do admit, um, you know, I dolook at other riders who have
that 20-hour a week trainingschedule.
I uh kind of am jealous of that.
But when I realize, you know,what they're doing, it's not all
about the hours.
It's not at the end of the day,it's quality versus quantity.
Um, you know, unless I do, youknow, stages, it might be a
(32:01):
different story.
Um, but I don't do don't dostages.
SPEAKER_00 (32:05):
Yeah, like stage is referring to stage racing.
That's where the aerobic depthwould really play into it.
But yeah, completely agree for alot of the crits in one-day
races we do.
Um uh the Deaf Olympics is alittle bit of an asterisk uh
because there are someback-to-back days.
However, um I think we've beenpreparing for it as best we can.
(32:25):
So you know, uh one other thingthat I think is really important
uh when it comes to uh uh whenyou're time crunched, you need
motivation having a trainingpartner.
I think is vitally important.
And that's where you know Blakeand there's been you know a few
others, but just like we'reblessed here in the DMV area
(32:46):
where you can jump in a group,I've said this on the podcast
several times, you can jump intoa group ride pretty much any
single day of the week and getafter it, right?
There's people riding, there'speople riding hard.
So you know, that accountabilityand the level of people to push
you like it is wildly importantfor motivation, uh, for
(33:06):
accountability, and you know,for fitness gaining and for
tactics, because that's how I Imean I use like basically you
and Blake.
You know, we just createscenarios of how you're going to
uh sharpen each other up, how tohelp each other out.
And then when you go and competewith each other, uh it's it's uh
old hat.
SPEAKER_01 (33:23):
And maybe I'll say this DMV is um a luxury to be
able to train in this areabecause of all of that that you
mentioned.
We have a lot of group rides,um, high pace, you know,
weekends, um lot ofopportunities.
Myself and Blake were verygrateful to have, I'm grateful
to have Blake, also Chris, umgrateful to have them as
(33:44):
training partners.
We're able to get together,discuss strategy, how can we
win, throw out those game plans,those ideas, um, and really
bounce off each other during therace.
We're able to, you know, say,okay, who's gonna watch, who's
gonna monitor, who are we gonnatarget, um, who are we gonna
mark.
Um and this year I do feel alittle bit different because I
(34:06):
started to talk um, you know,how to win at the end.
In the past, as you know, Iwould stay, you know, stay in
the crowd.
What am I gonna do?
Now I'm kind of gaining thatstrategy, how to lead out, how
to do that a little better.
And that's been the most fun inthe journey.
Um, with Blake, having thatopportunity.
I'm really excited to see how wedo at the Deaf Olympics this
(34:28):
year.
Um, and we have amazing strongriders on the team.
Really excited for everyone tosee what we're uh see what we're
gonna do and hope we bring backa medal.
SPEAKER_00 (34:37):
Yeah, that is uh I'm looking forward to it.
I I think you guys can for sure.
And I'm I'm excited to to watchand see what happens.
So I guess to wrap this up, andfinally, if anyone listening
wants to follow you leading intothe Def Olympics, that again is
coming up in about three weeksfrom now, um, or the the tail
(34:58):
end of uh November, um, wherecan they where can they find
you?
How can they follow you?
SPEAKER_01 (35:03):
Yeah, thanks.
I appreciate the question.
Uh for sure.
Um I'm happy to provide all ofthose links for social media.
Um there's USA Deaf Cyclists,um, deaf cycling, um, and they
post uh rather frequently.
I'll also add um, you know,another link.
(35:24):
Um, I'll be posting as much as Ican on my social media.
I'm not a huge social media guy.
I have a lot on my plate, um,and I, you know, do different
things in different areas, but Iwill be posting there.
You can look at the website, DefOlympics.
Um, we'll have Adam includethat.
2025 um Japan.
Um, we'll include all the links,follow there.
(35:47):
Um, stay up on Instagram,Facebook, all the social media,
they'll be posting.
I'll be posting as much as I canum for a live stream.
Fingers crossed, hopefully theywill have that provided.
That is the plan that I've heardas of as of thus far.
So watch there if you can.
Um, I know uh it's unique aboutDeaf Olympics.
(36:07):
Um, so hopefully we get thataccess too.
SPEAKER_00 (36:10):
Yeah, for sure.
Now, and if anyone's wondering,I mean, getting to the Deaf
Olympics is not cheap.
So athletes are pretty muchfunding the entire trip on their
own, uh, even though they havesome support on the ground.
So uh if anyone wishes to donateand support to uh your team,
Dima, or you as an individual,how best can they do that?
SPEAKER_01 (36:31):
Yeah, I'm happy you asked.
Thanks.
Yeah, I want to expand a littleon that, kind of explain Deaf
Olympics as a whole.
Um, Deaf individuals don't fallinto either of the other
categories, Paralympics, SpecialOlympics, um, same as those
athletes don't fall into theDeaf Olympics.
(36:51):
They're each their own separateentity.
Um and for Deaf Olympics, um,it's such an enriching
experience.
Same with Paralympics andSpecial Olympics, as athletes
that get to go there, being apart of a whole community of
other athletes all over theworld with the same culture,
deafness, um, such a coolopportunity.
(37:14):
Um, and as deaf athletes, we arenot funded by um any
organization like IOC.
Um, we don't get that support,we are on our own.
Um, we do have a little bit ofsupport from different spots,
but we are out of pocket, we payfor it on our own.
Um, we just have that, you know,proud pride to support our
country.
(37:34):
We do fundraise, um, and we useGiveButter.
It's a platform.
Um, you can donate if you'reinterested to the team, Def Team
USA, or each individual athlete.
Um, you can donate and it'll getspread out between the team if
you provide that to the team.
And we'll provide that link aswell, like Adam mentioned.
SPEAKER_00 (37:54):
Yeah, yeah.
And I wanted to specify thatbecause I I think too, when
you're you know over therecompeting in the USA jersey, it
may seem like you're you knowfully funded by USA cycling or a
governing body or something likethis, but it's it's not.
I mean, it's it's all coming outof pocket, which uh s sad as it
is, I mean, um it that's hardfor for uh an athlete to do
(38:18):
that.
And I know you know manyParalympic athletes um that have
you know gone through thatprocess.
So it's challenging.
So you know, uh again, just moremore respect and uh to all of
you know the the whole DeafOlympic team, um, the cycling
team and all other sports there,but I just wanted to bring some
awareness to how that works.
(38:40):
And I guess yeah, in in closing,um Dima, I mean your your story
your story is so awesome.
I mean, and you are anincredible person.
So I I am honored to have you onthe podcast today.
Thank you for making time out ofyour busy schedule to join us
and sharing your journey withour listeners.
I really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01 (39:00):
Yeah, not a problem at all.
I've enjoyed this time.
Really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00 (39:06):
Awesome, man.
SPEAKER_01 (39:07):
Well Thanks for inviting me, Adam.
SPEAKER_00 (39:10):
Yeah, absolutely, and hopefully uh see you out
there on the group right heresoon.
SPEAKER_01 (39:13):
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (39:15):
All right, thanks, Tima.
Thanks for joining us on theTime Crunch Cyclist Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
If you want even more actionabletraining advice, head over to
trainwright.com backslashnewsletter and subscribe to our
free weekly publication.
Each week you'll get in depthtraining content that goes
(39:37):
beyond what we cover here on thepodcast that'll help you take
your training to the next level.
That's all for now.
Until next time, train hard,train smart.
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The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.