Welcome to King of the Ride podcast, hosted by Ted King. A professional road cyclist turned gravel racer... err, rider? I still have that competitive bug now 20 years into my professional racing career, but poking around the overarching cycling community is what piques my interest. Slinging maple syrup (hello UnTapped!), leading rides, hosting camps, and just enjoying life on two wheels, I have the chance to chat with athletes, entrepreneurs, and all walks of life who love the bicycle. Hop on board and enjoy the ride!
Episodes
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Kimo Seymour is the President of Events and Media at Life Time. Perhaps it's because of his soft spoken and easy demeanor, Kimo seems to operate in the "speak softly and carry a big stick" school of leadership. As you have likely noticed in the cycling world and especially the gravel scene, Life Time is becoming a household name and Kimo is at the helm as this happens. Ted and Kimo sat down during the launch of Life Time's first event they've created in the gravel world, Big Sugar, to see what the plan is here and going forward to keep gravel cycling as cool as can be! Sit back and enjoy the show.
Tuesday Dec 10, 2019
Tuesday Dec 10, 2019
When João writes a memoir, I'll be the first in line to buy it. Sit down and enjoy this conversation with João and Ted as he unwinds a story from being an illegal immigrant to elite cyclist to the international publishing world back to the World Tour and to a handful of booming entrepreneurial endeavors in between. João's memory is a lobster trap -- he's got stories to tell! The good, the bad, and the ugly. Huge thanks go out to all my sponsors who make this ride possible: Cannondale, SRAM, Zipp, ROKA, Velocio, Rene Herse, Saris, and of course inGamba!
Tuesday Nov 26, 2019
Tuesday Nov 26, 2019
What's a professional soigneur do? Do they rub legs and make small sandwiches? Do they spend thousands of hours driving across continents? Do they stand on the side of the road in France in July and get into arguments with police officers? Yes, they do this and so so much more! Welcome to the first King of the Ride episode with three guests simultaneously. On the eve of the Grand Prix Quebec City this September, Ted sat down with three soigneurs from the Education First pro cycling team. These three, Jon, Al, and Soso, are three of the best "swannies" out there who Ted had the privilege to work with in his racing days. Sit down for a crack up of a conversation and learn a thing or two about the behind the scenes of a pro cycling team.
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
This was a long time coming! Payson and Ted are not long lost brothers, but they share a boatload of traits in common. Originally a Texas boy, Payson and Ted met up at the behind the scenes Big Sugar in their shakeout event before the inaugural ride in 2020. Now residing in mountain bike mecca, Durango, Colorado, Payson is a professional cross country mountain biker with a particular knack for marathon races, as he's a 2x national champion in that discipline. So "riding bikes off road for long periods of time" is definitely his area of expertise, making gravel racing a particularly good format for him. Yup, he's a ripper! Unsure if Ted would interview Payson or Payson interview Ted, this podcasts takes an interesting turn when they interview each other. Covering the topics of modern media, naturally they delve into the conversation of podcasts, van life, and the politics of contemporary gravel racing, this hardly scratches the surface of what the two of these guys can dig up. Don't forget to hit up www.SugarCane200.com for some early season fun in Florida!
Monday Nov 04, 2019
Monday Nov 04, 2019
Edward Hult is a cycling enthusiast. He’s also a big reason that EF Education First came on board to the UCI World Tour and beyond. As the CEO of EF North America, Edward and his brother made the decision to not just sponsor the team, but purchase the team outright. This conversation talks about the politics and geopolitics of sports, how and why cycling hit their radar, the highs and lows of owning a professional cycling team. Ted (an Edward himself) and Edward Hult caught up on the eve of The Rift gravel race in Iceland to talk about cycling, gravel cycling, and all things on two-wheels. As mentioned in the intro: -- Check out all the cool work by Farid at www.mtbafghanistan.org -- A Pinkbike article: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/mountain-biking-picks-up-steam-in-afghanistan.html -- And a video wrapping up what they did at the Hindukish Challenge: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=563716514141393 A huge thanks to The Feed for supporting this episode! Head over to www.thefeed.com/king to save 15% on a box curated by yours truly or use the code KING10 to save 10% on everything else storewide.
Monday Oct 28, 2019
Monday Oct 28, 2019
Kate Courtney backs up her first podcast on King of the Ride with yet another stunner! On the underslept and overserved day after Grinduro, Kate found some time to catch up with Ted to talk shop. And while the first show was riveting, this one goes much deeper into her motivation, her drive, her team, her goals, her entire psyche and what makes her tick. Kate is as eloquent as she is screaming fast on the bike. Let's remember Kate won her UCI World Champion title and went on the pod in 2018. She clinched the UCI World Cup title just before being on the podcast in 2019. Coincidence? We don't think so. Shout out to some awesome events on the horizon: *Registration opening for Rooted Vermont on November 1: www.RootedVermont.com *inGamba's January trip: https://ingamba.pro/trips/the-coast-ride-2020 *January's 200 mile gravel spectacular: www.SugarCane200.com
Monday Oct 07, 2019
Monday Oct 07, 2019
On the recent heels of winning her seventh World Cup cyclocross victory (we think) in Madison, WI, Katerina Nash zipped out to Grinduro for a fun weekend playing around on the gravel whip. Kat is also one of very few people to win both World Cup cyclocross and World Cup mountain bike races, she dabbles in enduro mountain bike races, she consistently wins the brutally difficult BC Bike Race stage race, and just like this weekend of chatting, she puts a handful of gravel races into her schedule too. Perpetually smiling, always upbeat, and ready to take on any challenge on two wheels, this conversation opens up a lot about Katerina that we think you haven't heard before. Born and raised in the Czech Republic, Katerina Nash took to nordic skiing as a young girl and turned that into a career spanning two sports and taking her to five Olympic games! If you haven't seen Kat's heroics in Madison, which we reference in this podcast, I highly recommend watching the highlights of this foolishly muddy race here: http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/41942 Image credit: @cxhairs -- www.instagram.com/cxhairs
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Mike Woods' is a bike racer, but Mike Woods is a storyteller! You probably know the traditional stuff -- he ran, he ran fast, he got tired of running, and became a Tour de France cyclists -- but there's so much more to learn about Mike. On the eve of his hometown World Tour races, Grand Prix Quebec City and Montreal, Ted and Mike sit down for a chat about bikes, world travel, and life beyond the peloton. After a podium finish at the 2018 World Championships Mike is building some great form going into the 2019 championship race in England. Please enjoy this conversation with Mike Woods.
Monday Sep 16, 2019
Monday Sep 16, 2019
Brent Bookwalter stands strong as America's longest running World Tour professional cyclist. Not just along for the ride, Brent has won UCI races, was second to Bradley Wiggins in the opening stage of the Giro, and even helped Cadel Evans win the 2011 Tour de France. Longtime friends, Brent and Ted have had careers run in tandem to each other. Teammates on the US national team, teammates on domestic pro teams, they migrated to Europe together, and even lived together in their early time racing abroad. On the eve of the Gran Prix Cycliste Quebec City, the two had the chance to catch up and chat all things under the sun, largely reflecting on a stalwart career at the highest echelon of the sport. The episode is presented by UnTapped. Pay them a visit at www.untapped.cc and use code king at checkout for some sweet savings.
Monday Sep 09, 2019
Monday Sep 09, 2019
On the eve of The Rift gravel race in Iceland, Colin Strickland and Ted sit down to a frosty beer and lively conversation. Covering the obvious topics like how Colin got into cycling, the convo veers to topics like his environmental studies major, on-air taste testing Icelandic fish jerky, and what it's like managing the first professional gravel cycling team. Colin is a scholar and this conversation is a great one. Colin comes from the fixed gear racing world and has segued those lightning fast criterium laps to a win at the 2019 Dirty Kanza 200. This podcast is presented by The Feed. For a personally curated box by Ted, featuring the nutrition he reaches for every day with a 15% savings visit www.thefeed.com/king or simply use the code king10 for 10% off everything else storewide. Upcoming events as Ted talks about early in the pod: September 21: www.PeachamFallFondo.com October 13: www.unPAvedPennsylvania.com October 19: www.KingChallenge.org If you'd like to support my King Challenge ride, you can do so here: https://www.pledgereg.com/229373