King of the Ride

Episode 95: Kiel Reijnen -- Professional Cyclist

This conversation is one for the ages. It took place on Kiel's sailboat, fresh on the tail end of a bike ride around Seattle, and right before both Kiel and I set off for Rebecca's Private Idaho. 

Kiel is a great friend, a father, a husband, a sailor, a retired World Tour cyclist and a current gravel racer... err, rider? Naw, he's a racer at heart even though he has the completely right ethos for this fledgeling sport.

This hour long conversation feels like what could easily be part one in a five part series. I hope you enjoy listen as much as I enjoyed recording it. Please sit down and enjoy!

If you're interested in learning more about Athletic Greens, just visit https://athleticgreens.com/tedking for more.

Episode 94: Brennan Wertz — World Champion Rower Turned Gravel Racer

World Champion rower turned gravel cyclist, that's right, Brennan Wertz is our guest today. A linguist, a world traveler, a Stanford graduate, an incredibly friendly individual, Brennan is a speedy and excellent addition to the gravel peloton. At just 23 years old, the sky's the limit with the power numbers he's able to produce. Please enjoy the show!

Here's the summary of my Last Best Ride exploits: https://youtu.be/_mRv_b7JMW4

Episode 93: Dr. Aaron Baggish – Sports Cardiologist

Sports cardiology is a well known field, but it really didn't exist prior to 2008 when our guest, Dr. Aaron Baggish put it on the map by creating Massachusetts General Hospital's Cardiovascular Performance Program.

Dr. Baggish serves as team cardiologist and physician for numerous athletic organizations including as medical director for the Boston Marathon and cardiologist/team physician for US Soccer, US Rowing, Harvard University, Suffolk University, the New England Patriots, the Boston Bruins, and the New England Revolution. 

After more than a dozen years establishing this program in Boston, he’s recently taken a full time position as Professor of Medicine and Chief of Sports Cardiology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dr. Baggish is an accomplished runner and cyclist. Plus he visits Vermont frequently so we know he's a good'n.

Episode 92: Keegan Swenson — (Exceptionally Fast) Professional Cyclist

The titles of these episodes usually have a little blurb to describe the guest. This ended up as "Professional Cyclist" but I thought of "winner of bike races all the freakin' time" or "winning bike races like it's his job" or "champion of all kinds" because frankly he's winning everything in sight. But better yet, Keegan is a super kind person and doesn't just ride bikes with a number of his handlebars but sets cool records like the White Rim FKT or Everest world record or chasing the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo. 

Sit down and enjoy this podcast on the heels of another recent victory as Keegan just won the Crusher in the Tusher. Let's hear all about it.

Episode 91: Roger Brown — The Unbound Gravel Edition

He just couldn't get enough, so back he went in 2022. Roger Brown is my friend, business partner at UnTapped, and among the least trained riders for this grand daddy of all gravel bike races, Unbound 200. Let's hear from Roger how his second time taking on the mammoth gravel race across the Kansas countryside went.

 

To save on Saris, use code Saris-Social-1522 for 15% off anything at Saris.com

Episode 90: Brendan Quirk — CEO of USA Cycling

Brendan Quirk took the reins as CEO of USA Cycling late in 2021 with the hopes of reinvigorating the organization with the energy and enthusiasm that he remembers from his first races as a card carrying USAC member in 1986. Looking at the state of the cycling union: American racing needs help and hopefully Brendan is the person for the job.

Brendan is the co-founder of the biggest cycling e-tailer, Competitive Cyclist, which segued to a position as EVP at Backcountry.com. He ran Rapha North America for a handful of years as well as being the cycling program director for the Runway Group, a project spearheaded by the cycling nuts in the Walton family.

Brendan now splits his time between home in Little Rock, Arkansas and USA Cycling HQ in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He's the father of three children, a husband, and a terrific conversationalist. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Don't forget to use code King25 at www.teamZealios.com to protect yourself this summer with the finest skincare designed for athletes out there.

 

Episode 89: Charles Aaron — Professional Cycling Team Owner of Human Powered Health

Charles Aaron is the owner of America's longest running professional cycling team, Human Powered Health. Having spent a lifetime in cycling -- from the heyday of pro mountain biking in the 1990s through to the present -- Charles certainly has some stories to tell. The women's team will compete in this summer's Tour de France Femmes and the men's team has been making their way up the hierarchy of pro cycling teams with hopes of being in the grandest tour soon as well.

You can follow along with his team, www.HumanPoweredHealth.com

And please check out Zealios at www.TeamZealios.com. Don't forget to use code King25 at checkout for some terrific savings.

Episode 88: Meg Fisher — UCI World Champion, Decorated Paralympic Athlete, First Para Athlete to Complete Unbound

I don't have a Best Episode of the Year category, but this conversation would be in the running.

Meg Fisher is a decorated athlete across a variety of disciplines. A walk-on division 1 tennis player in college, she was involved in a tragic accident at the age of 19 that took the love of her life and resulted in an amputated portion of her leg. Not one to watch the grass grow and sit by the sidelines, she's only sped up since then, winning world championships and all shades of Paralympic medals. She's also earned a PhD in Physical Therapy as she helps spread the message that movement is medicine. Meg is a Cannondale athlete and is leading the way for parathletes competing in gravel races of all types.

This conversation is one for the ages and one I know you're going to enjoy.

To watch the Dark Side of the Subjective, you can do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeSVMG4GkeQ

Check out the ride Meg and I spoke of, the King Challenge. www.KingChallenge.org

 

Episode 87: Bill Shufelt — Co-Founder & CEO of Athletic Brewing Company

I like beer. You like beer. Beer is great!

Hangovers, poor decision making, reduced performance, and alcohol induced accidents aren't that great.

Bill Shufelt had a very successful career in finance, but he found that he inspired at work. It was work for the sake of work and he wasn't making healthy decisions. He saw a void in the craft beer market, specifically for non-alcoholic beer and leapt at it.

After (nearly) countless attempts, along with his business partner, John Walker, they created the genre of North American craft NA beer.

The proof is in the pudding; in 2020, Athletic's Free Way IPA won the award as Supreme Champion Beer at the International Beer Challenge, the first non-alcoholic beer to win the award, beating over 500 other entries.

Don't miss out on performing at your best. Go to www.therabody.com/king and check out their RecoveryAir JetBoots to be able to be at your best, wherever your day/training/travels take you.

Episode 86: Bobby Wintle — Founder of MidSouth Gravel

With MidSouth now in the rearview mirror it's time to look back at the season opener. This conversation bookends the MidSouth festival amid a lovely Sunday brunch with my dear friend Bobby. Bobby Wintle is the event director of MidSouth as well as District Bicycles, the iconic bike shop in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

His voice is shredded, the racers are left dusty with the telltale red Oklahoma dirt, but boy oh boy did we have fun with this conversation.

 

Don't miss out on performing at your best. Go to www.therabody.com/king and check out their RecoveryAir JetBoots to be able to be at your best, wherever your day/training/travels take you.