About

The Blog:

Food. Travel. Bikes.

The Author:

American professional cyclist, expat living in Austria.

Little known facts:

Between the ages of 10 and 22, I spent an average of almost 1,000 hours a year in swimming pools and feel grateful for every minute, even for early morning sessions. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.

In middle school, I won a hatchet-throwing contest.

I once worked as a cook on a tall ship, cooking for forty people in a rocking, listing galley. It was some of the hardest work I’ve ever done: 18 hour days with a 20 minute break (if that), but it was also some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. Food has a great way of lifting spirits and bringing people together, and I love facilitating that.

When I was 14, I made tips playing classical piano in a small town bar in Bryan, Texas.

I’m a fifth generation Californian, born in Berkeley.

I’ve swum with sharks in open water.

My most spectacular scar resulted from attempting to answer the telephone.

In fourth grade, I punched a fifth-grader on the school jungle gym, because he was kicking off all the smaller kids. It’s the only fist fight in which I’ve ever participated, and I threw the only punch (totally smoked him, though).

I learned how to drive a manual transmission on a tractor, and I’m proficient with a lasso.

I’ve surfed with dolphins and performed surgery on tuna.

I appreciate humor of all kinds, but especially the dry and dark varieties. I struggle in vain to suppress a compulsion for making puns.

I love that I grew up in Reno. I love Nevada and the beauty of the desert and mountains. I think more clearly in the mountains.

When I was in the fourth grade, I started a neighborhood recycling service, wheeling a red wagon from house to house collecting recyclables. I typed up pamphlets on water conservation, printed them on our dot matrix printer, and distributed them to neighbors. My dad bought me a can crusher, which increased efficiency and made me feel official.

While I don’t party often, when I do, I go big. I’ve thought of several examples not appropriate to list here, but which make me laugh out loud. Life is good.