Ep. 1161: Leaving Road to Go Gravel with Pro Cyclist Pete Stetina Revisited

You're listening to the Adventure Sports Podcast. We talk with adventurers from around

the globe to bring you the inspiration and motivation you need to get started in the

outdoors or to keep you moving if you're already there.

Hello everyone and happy new year and welcome to the Adventure Sports Podcast. This is Kaylee.

In today's revisited episode, we join Pete Steppner and Mason as they talk about going

from road bike racing to gravel bike racing. Pete was a big time road cyclist participating

in some of the largest road cycling races in the world before he tragically got a life

altering injury which left Pete's cycling career in shambles. Because of his injury, Pete

felt like he needed more stability in his life. And that brought him back to his childhood

love of the outdoors. And through that, he found himself leaving the world of road cycling

and discovering the up and coming world of gravel cycling. I hope you enjoy it. Here's

Mason.

Today, we're talking to Pete Steppner. He's a former pro road cyclist, you know, raced

in events like the Tour de France, the world tour all those events that are much more popular

in Europe, but he was on an American team, did really well. You know, you might recognize

his name. He was he was a very famous cyclist, but he made this really unprecedented move

last year, which was to leave road racing and go into gravel racing, which is pretty crazy

in the world of cycling because gravel is kind of unproven. It's a lot more as you'll

hear from his story, a lot more fun, a lot less, you know, can't seem like it's a lot

less serious on the outside, but as people tell you, that's not true when you're racing.

But there is, you know, just more fun. People have more fun than if it was what Pete's saying.

So really cool idea. Definitely stepping out on the limb. But unfortunately, his first

year, gravel racing was 2020, and we all know it happened to events. So he is still yet

to really get out there and do stuff, but he's he's making an info for himself in the gravel

world. And it's been pretty cool to watch. And we at Athletic Brewing have been really,

really excited to be a part of what he's doing and just be involved. And if you don't know

athletic brewing, we make non alcoholic craft beer. You know, we love craft beer, but you

can't always drink alcohol. So for the 90% of situations in my life where a beer doesn't

make sense, it's nice to have that taste of craft beer, but not the effect of alcohol

for whatever reason. And if you'd like to give it a shot, just use the code adventure at

athletic brewing.com. I think that'll get you 15% off. I believe that code's still active.

I'll check in the morning. But all this to say, it is, it's good to be back. We're back

on Thursdays. We're back on Monday's two episodes a week. It seems like from Monday's

episode that there were just crazy amounts of downloads. It was like a really big day.

And so I think there's a hunger this year to do something. I know personally, there's

a hunger in me to do more adventures, to do more micro adventures, which we're big

proponents of. And so I think a lot of you are going to be listening to shows like this

to get essentially inspiration and ideas. And so we're going to try to be feeding

that hunger, that very positive positive hunger in your life. So without further ado,

here is Pete Stetna. Stetna, is it Stetna or Statina? I heard it pronounced both ways actually.

It is Stetna. It's my ancestors come from Czechoslovakia and then all the Italians racing in Europe

would think it's Stetina. Stetina. So everyone says it that way, but it's Stetna with a silent eye.

Man, you know what I think it was? I think it was actually Italian saying it's Stetina.

Went in my research, but anyway, Pete, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me.

Yeah. So you really talked a little bit before, but you're coming from the Tahoe area.

Is that home for you or where do you consider home?

That's an ongoing conversation. Technically, the primary resident is Santa Rosa,

wine country, California, Sonoma County, just north of San Francisco, great all-season riding,

vineyards, foodie, wineau, craft beer paradise. But I also have a little cabin in Tahoe where I

spend most of the summer fall months preparing for the biggest races. And that's

that's my happy spot. So a lot of people think I am full-time in Tahoe, but I'm not really a full-time

resident in either. It's, yeah. Looking forward to the constant change a little bit?

I think so. And I just growing up racing every weekend all over the world. It's, you know,

I definitely have some wanderlust built into my lifestyle and soul. So I get a little antsy

if I'm somewhere too long. I got to change it up with fresh scenery and different rides.

So you mentioned childhood. Where did you grow up? And it sounds like you got into cycling

pretty young. What kind of family did you grow up in? Super active or did you find it on your own?

Yeah, I grew up in Boulder, Colorado. So outdoor sports, Mecca, and a kid growing up in this

idyllic outdoor community, health focused, hippie, upie society. And my dad was actually a famous

American bike racer back in the 70s and early 80s. So it was kind of in my in my

blood, I guess, but, you know, I, so I became that classic talent pipeline development,

you know, just picked up. I already had kind of a name attached to me even before I started

riding, but I found it on my own. You know, my parents never pushed me into the sport. I actually found

it through, you know, a soccer buddy. We were soccer teammates and he was into mountain bike racing.

And I joined the local YMCA team in our first big race was this 24 hours of moab relay race,

where you, you know, you chate off laps with five kids or pros or whoever, you know, throughout the

night, 24 hour racing used to be a lot bigger. So that was kind of my first foray. And then once I

found the sport and was like, oh my gosh, I like this. And I'm pretty good at this. Then,

then my family, you know, had that that background to really support me.

How soon was your talent like a parent? Was it right away or did you grow into that as well?

I think it was always pretty evident. I was going to be an athlete, you know, I talked to my mom

and stuff and she was like, you know, as a kid, like I had so much energy. She was like, she would

just like bring me outside and say like, I'm going to time you to run around the house, you know,

as fast as you can. And I would do as a lap. And she'd like, no, that wasn't good enough. And I

just keep doing it until I was tired. So I think that I was a runner first before I found cycling.

I tried every sport pretty bad with a hand-eye coordination ball handling skills. But, um,

it's no basketball. I tried. I loved it. Um, I remember growing up watching like the Jordan

Pippin, Rodman Rainer, the Bulls and stuff. And yeah, but once I found cycling, I was invested very

fast. Loved it. So yeah, not a lot of basketball protégés coming out of Boulder, but cycling now

on the other hand. Exactly. Definitely. Definitely. So, so from there, were you, you know, what was the

kind of climbing through the ranks like for you? Was it, you know, boulders by no means a small pond?

I'm sure not even back then. So you were, if you were doing well there, you're probably pretty clear,

you could, you could take that talent somewhere, somewhere bigger. Yeah, you know, and Boulder was

unique. I have a very different version of Boulder in my head than many because a lot of people

move there to be an elite athlete, right? And they just ingrained with that community immediately.

Whereas, you know, I grew up with my high school friends and, and, you know, just kind of was

the, the, the sport side of Boulder was kind of just on the side. But, you know, it, it was pretty

plug and play pretty fast. You know, there was so many pros living in Boulder that, you know, I was

immediately picked up by Jonathan Bauder's junior team, right? And so for anyone who follows pro

tors road cycling, the current EF pro cycling team in the Tour de France and all that started

as this little junior amateur team in front range at Colorado in, I want to say it was like 2003.

You know, in every year, it kind of grew. And so I was like one of the original Colorado members.

And basically every year, they kind of made a step up, got bigger sponsors, signed bigger names.

I was just good enough to kind of make the cut. So I was very much a grassroots development

project of the slipstream organization, which is the, the founding company of, of the EF team.

Um, you know, I was just kind of, I stayed with them and then, you know, I started getting invited

by Team USA to do events in Europe on the side. Um, and just slowly, you know, reach to higher

level, you graduate out of juniors, you go into the under 23 ranks and then after you age out

of under 23s, I was good enough to sign, you know, the pro tor contract for, again, those who don't

follow cycling, the pro tor is kind of like the major leagues of cycling, right? So the pro tors,

the biggest races in the world, like the Tour de France and that stuff. And there's 18 teams in

that, that tier. And so I kind of graduated into there in 2010 when I was, uh, out of my under 23

season. So I guess 24. What, what was the experience of, of, of riding on those pro teams? Like,

that had to feel just crazy, like being at the top of kind of the talent pool that early on. And

I felt like it was big that I was watching the Tour de la, or like the Tour de France around 2010,

when I first started getting interested. And it just seemed like he was growing so quickly

in popularity. Oh, yeah. And you know, it was, I was definitely part of that generation with

the juniors that came out of watching Lance Armstrong, you know, um, because cycling just

boom so hard during the Lance era, you know, along with Tyler Hamilton, lead by life. I'm

a whole host of, you know, there's this, this, this, you know, take out, take away the whole dark side

of the cycling and doping issue, right? But there was like this, this decade era of just like

Americans at the top of the sport, right? And, and you know, so as a junior growing up in that,

like you have all these idols to look up to. So cycling really exploded that time. And then,

you know, with, with Lance retiring, it kind of became the American idiot was like, oh my god,

who's our next, you know, who's our next land? You know, um, you know, I never had that, quite

that amount of pressure. You know, there's another rider by the name of TJ, who had a lot more

pressure than I did to actually be the next American Lance. But, you know, it's kind of this whole,

we kind of had like this graduating class of guys who were born in the the late 80s, you know,

from 86 to 89 who were all quite competitive on the world stage from a very young age. And

USA cycling had like this influx from the Lance era to invest in in our development too. So

who's just kind of all the whole right time, right place type of thing. Um, and then, you know,

as it as personally, you know, you, you made it, you know, when you signed that pro contract and

you're on one of those big teams, I mean, that's, that's validation, right? You know, that's your

stamp of approval, um, which was huge, you know, and that's, that's the dream that you sacrificed

everything for and sacrificed an education and all that. So I did, I did that, that game for,

for a decade wouldn't, wouldn't trade it for anything. Uh, it's hard. It's cutthroat. It's

lonely, you know, living out of a suitcase in Europe by yourself all the time, missing family

graduations and, and all that and vacations and, you know, at the same time, it's worth it. And,

you know, I did a bunch of world championships, a bunch of grand tours, uh, tour de frances, all

that. Um, and uh, it was awesome. But uh, then I moved on and met you guys.

Well, tell us, man, like what, what was, you mentioned, you know, it was something you

wouldn't trade, but also very lonely, very challenging. I mean, how competitive did you have to be?

Right. You know, pro cycling is a 24, seven job for 11 months of the year. You know, you have

your one off season after the last race where basically you check out for a month, you do home

projects, you drink as much beer as you can fit in the system and then step on the sale 31 days

later and you say, oh crap, like here, you know, nose to the grindstone. But then the rest of the year,

I mean, it is, it's when your body's your job, you can't really do the whole, you know,

nine to five thing. Like you really just have to, I mean, everything you eat the night before

counts towards the next day's training, you know, and stretching after the ride, you know,

so you always just have to be fully invested in your body, um, you know, which is, it's hard,

you know, it's hard to not, you know, take, you want to take your foot off the gas, but then

someone else is pushing just as hard and the sport of cycling being so international, right? Like

it's all you need is a bike and to prove yourself in a race and you can start to be noticed,

especially in Europe, you know, so it's, um, being a global sport like that. I mean,

there's not many other sports where, you know, some kid from the farm in Lithuania can compete from,

you know, some kid in the Boulder Mecca of Colorado, you know, and, and it's, everyone can kind of prove

themselves and, and if you get noticed, you get a chance. So it's, um, there's a lot of people

with a lot of hunger out there. So you, you know, it's very true in cycling that you're kind of only

as good as your last race and it's a, it's a pretty cut throat lifestyle, you know, and, and if you

do sacrifice, you know, I, I mean, I didn't go to my sister's college graduation, uh, in, in, in,

I'm not belling him, you know, because, you know, I had to, even though I wasn't at a race, you know,

I had to be in Europe to not be dealing with jet lag to be ready for the race a week later. And,

you know, that's, it's hard to miss a lot of those things, but at the same time, like, you know,

your family and all that and they realize like, you know, you're pursuing this dream and, you know,

when you finally make the Tour de France roster or something, you know, it's, it's exciting for

everybody, but it's, it's a very, for me, it's, it was, it's a very selfish lifestyle. It encompasses

so many aspects of your life, even to the time of season that, you know, we have to plan

our wedding, for example, you know, like, it has to be in the off season when you can let loose and

have a good time. So it's like all the cyclists are married between like mid-September and mid-November

or something, you know, like the same anniversaries. Oh, we all do. Yeah, and it just like, so it's,

it's, you have to sacrifice everything. And that's, that's hard. And it was, like I said, it was

so worth it, but eventually, like, I kind of saw this, this gravel movement where I could

have a life and still be an elite athlete and still get paid to be a bike racer. So,

that was kind of what led to, to the transition a little bit too.

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and it's interesting, you mentioned it is a selfish lifestyle. I meet so many athletes that

they're not selfish people, but in order to compete at that level, you have to spend so much time

thinking about yourself and talking about yourself and at a certain point I can imagine it's like,

I'm just tired of thinking about myself. It's true and you start to feel guilty about certain things

eventually. Some guys don't, you know, some guys are just happy to do that and you know, it's a,

I think very traditional, especially in the Euro sense, you know, a lot of guys like, you know,

they move out of mom's house, you know, and they're racing and then they immediately meet their

girlfriend, future wife and the girlfriend basically moves in and starts cooking them dinner

and doing everything to prepare for their training and their training camps and their race schedule.

Which is fine, but it takes that dedication because at the same time you're already sacrificing

so much, it's like you can't succeed in any part really at that top end if you are only 99%

invested, you know, and that's why I didn't pursue, you know, higher education too. I, you know,

in my early, under 23 years, I was in college as a freshman and racing full time in Europe and

it just, you kind of realize like, you can only do both at 80%, 90%, and if you're really already,

like suffering that much, like you just have to go all in and see where you can go. And at least if

it doesn't work out, you know, you gave it everything, but you know, when something so hard and

such a dream like any pro sport, I think you have to, you have to ride it out. So even if it doesn't

work out, there's no regrets. And if it does work, then you know, that's, that's a dream. So

you have that ability, you got to go for it like it's just yeah, and you have this incredible

experience and did so many incredible things. And then you transition to gravel. And I know an

injury was kind of a conduit for that for you. And I don't want to do all too much on that because

I know you've told that story a thousand times. But yeah, you, you made an incredible recovery

after what looked like some pretty dark times. What was it like to get back on the bike and tell

us about that decision to transition into the gravel world? Yeah, you know, it was again,

just like I kind of talked about, you know, being that junior in the Lancer, it was just,

again, it was just this coincidental, right time, right place. And just seeing that opportunity

and taking it. And it was, yeah, it wasn't like, you know, I was disillusioned and not fulfilling,

you know, any athletic potential. I mean, I did the World Tour for a decade on all the biggest

teams. And, you know, as far as I was really concerned, like I had kind of ticked a lot of the

boxes. I mean, of course, there's a few regrets, you know, but, but I had,

that my dreams in gravel outweighed my, my unchecked list in the World Tour, which is why I made

that decision. But what kind of what happened especially last year was this whole new discipline

of cycling that was US based and fostered of just this experience of off road, hard endurance,

getting out there and then nothing is highlighted by this massive party and kind of that marathon

style format where you have pros and age groupers altogether has really exploded. And it is the

most popular segment of cycling in the US now at the moment. And I kind of dabbled in a few of

the races last season while still holding my my pro tour contract. And it was just this, this moment of

of enlightenment where I was like, oh my gosh, like this is so big. I think I could actually make

like a full time go with this and still like continue to be competitive, but kind of do it on my

own terms and have a lot more fun doing it. So I kind of jumped off the the circus of the World

Tour and started my own, you know, privateer project in being a quote unquote gravel pro, even if

that is a thing, but I'm trying to make it a thing. What are some things that are that are

immediately you notice different about racing in these these events versus kind of the culture

of road racing? You know, it's it's still very much it's a party and a community experience first

and foremost before it's a race and it's also it's gentleman's racing. So, you know, it's it's

kind of the result is not the end all and be all it's the story in that shared experience,

which is powerful and most people are signing up for these things just because it's daunting to

finish it. That said, whenever you give somebody a number plate, like they're going to try harder,

like it's still a freaking bike race. And so, so there's guys at the front really racing it,

but then there's all there's thousands of people doing it for their PR or their personal best

and at the end, like you're like, oh my gosh, we all just we all did our own journey,

but we all did it together, you know, so it doesn't really matter, you know, if I did this event

in six hours and you did it in seven or eight hours, like you we went through the same things and

to celebrate that together afterwards is really powerful. And then in terms of being a pro doing it,

you know, you can kind of use your influence because people are nervous enough about even finishing

these things, you know, so if there's a certain product like a tire that I can highlight saying,

you know, like this is giving me the best chance for success, you know, I think people,

you know, I have a platform to really speak to that that people will listen to. So, you know,

that's the pro template, but at the same time, you can't sacrifice being that placeings before

all else instead of, you know, people in gravel want to see a person who races bikes. I don't think

they want to see a bike racer who's just a person on the side and kind of like, you know,

you got to be, you got to be a personality and fun and, you know, and focus on, on the big picture

of it more. So, you know, we're talking about that on that coast coast right about it. Being more

to grow the sport, you need people that are racing that are, that are gregarious, that are,

that are friendly, that are going to be inviting towards the sport versus, you know, there's a lot

of sports out there that can feel extremely intimidating to approach somebody to talk to them

or to even visit the race. You don't feel like you're doing something right even as a spectator,

but with gravel, it does seem more community oriented. And I think that's going to be a benefit

in the long run for you. I hope so. I think so, you know, and I'm just, I'm having a lot more fun

doing it. You know, there's going to be certain days when I'm, you know, riding in on a flat

tire with, you know, hours behind the winner and it's going to be just as important to hang out

and enjoy the scene and share the stories. And the good thing about a beer that's at the finish

of all these events is it's good for celebrating and it's good for commiserating. So, you know,

I'm going to crack one anyway and, you know, and look forward to the next project and the next,

the next event and the next gathering of the tribe. What kind of feedback did you get?

What did you hear from folks making the transition? Was there anyone that was just

dumbfounded by it or what was it? Was there a lot of support? How was it for you?

It definitely struck a chord in the cycling world. I was surprised, you know,

I, you know, it was very deliberate on kind of holding my cards close to my chest until I had

some backers, you know, to support my adventure, but pretty quickly the industry saw it and then

once the news dropped, I mean, a lot of people were pretty surprised just because, you know,

I'm not of like, this isn't like a retirement tour, whereas, you know, other people who have kind

of started dabbling and growl were kind of like, you know, winding it down, just kind of being

a promotional face and, you know, had going on a fun tour and I, I mean, I'm kind of in the

prime of my career physically. So, it was very much like a jumping ship kind of feeling and I

think it struck a lot of chord just because, you know, my, my story, which is true, is like, I'm,

this is something I love more and I'm striking out on my own for something that speaks true to my

heart even, you know, though it's stepping away from the limelight and the TV stuff and all that.

And, you know, I think a lot of people, I mean, it's just like any industry, you know, it's,

you know, instead of being an employee, you're starting your own business and, you know, trying to

follow your dream. I mean, that was just cycling's version of that. So, it was overwhelmingly

supportive. I definitely think there's, I mean, cycling in Europe on the road is so traditional.

I mean, I've had team managers that say, you can't have a beer, you can't have long hair,

you can't have an ear piercing, like it doesn't look right, it's not professional, right? So, cycling

is so traditional that I think there are, some of my colleagues are very interested and some are like,

oh, Pete's just winding it out, like he's just playing bikes now. He's not a true pro. But, I mean,

I can look at my fitness levels and my power files and tell you that's not the case.

You talking about that sounds so much like the journey here at Athletic.

What's more traditional than beer, you know? It's like, it's been thousands of years. So,

when you diverge off the path to do something really out of the box, but essentially parallel,

it's, it's just, you get all kinds of reactions and it's like, who's going to, who would do that?

And then you're shining a light on this path that you can't see where it goes and it's like,

it's in your court, you've got to make these connections, you've got to manage a lot more.

You said like running your own business. I know for you, it's, it's this whole new path and it

has to feel scary, exciting, all the above. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's, the hustle is real. It's a lot of work.

It's a much more whole athlete, a whole person focus. You know, it's, it's, you know,

obligations to different sponsors, whether it's athletic or canyon bikes or, or Shimano components

and, you know, or it's, it's, it's doing my own logistics, my own budgeting around that,

whereas as a, as a pro athlete, you know, you're literally just handed a bike and you just focus

on your fitness and your body and everything else with taking care of, you know, so you can just

focus on that, which is, it's nice, but it's a very singular and simple pursuit. But yeah,

you know, it's, the story is eerily similar, which is kind of fun, you know, and you realize

that starting your own brand, right, is, you know, what do you stand for and what is your angle,

you know, and you really have to think about that for who you align yourself with and who you

want to, you know, have, you know, at your back and, and share your story, you know, and,

and, and, you know, like the athletics for it was really coincidentally interesting, you know,

because it was kind of the same time, you know, you guys have really exploded in the last year,

and it's just, you know, it is that same story of stepping out of the box, like, screw tradition,

like, this makes sense, like, there's, there's something here, and we got to take it with both

hands, you know, so that was a great story. You know, and the funny thing enough is, you know,

like, when I made this move, you know, like being a relatively well-known American cyclist in

the pro world, like, you know, the industry sponsors were not difficult, you know, I actually got

a lot of calls, but I, you know, you guys, like, I pursued you, like, I wanted you guys before,

you knew who I was, so, I read about you guys in a magazine article, and I was up here in Tahoe

training for the, uh, the Welta Espanya, which is the, the Tour de France version of Spain, right,

three weeks long, and all that, and, you know, your weight and your health, and all that

matters so much, but, you know, I'm, I'm definitely, I'm a, I'm a beer geek, you know, for,

and it's not always the best blend with, with your fitness, so I actually, I ordered a case

of your stuff last year, and I was like, oh my god, I can finish my training, right? I go down

to the lake, and I crack a beer on the lake, like, everybody else enjoying their summer vacation,

but, you know, I can, I'm still, like, keeping my weight and check, which is so important,

and all that, and, um, you know, so that, that was my introduction to it, and then I,

you know, I'm, I'm really glad that we got to align this year. It's, it's been a lot of fun, and,

no, I, I get a lot of athletic beer in my fridge.

It's so cool, man, the, yeah, the, the, you know, even Bill's story, the founder, you know,

career and finance, very traditional, very stable, oh yeah, just kind of like, here's what you do,

and here's how you make money, and it's like stepping away from all that, it's,

you know, it's terrifying, but it's a blank canvas for you, in a lot of ways,

which can be hurting some days, but I'm sure other days it's your pump to more than you could ever,

ever imagine. Yeah, you need, the courage is, is step one, and I think the sweat equity,

and is step two, you know, that's, it takes a lot of work to make, make it make a splash, you know,

but no, it's, yeah, it's been a great journey, um, and it's, it's actually paid off a lot, especially,

you know, with a, the pandemic year, you know, it was, I mean, I missed, I missed events in the

gathering of, of my tribe more than, more than anyone, but at the same time, it was a really

nice year to be able to talk with, with you guys and my other sponsors and pivot to

alternative concepts and events in, in, in lieu of, whereas traditional racing was just a hard

governmental strict lockdown, like, you're a pro-Bike racer, there's no pro-Bike racer, you know,

and, and, and whereas we could like, oh, I'm gonna, you know, meet up with you guys and tell

you ride in the mountains, they're working on like, ride and take pictures on some really scenic

stuff, and then I'm gonna go cry for, you know, a, a fast thing on some course in the Colorado mountains,

or whatever, so it was, um, it was hard to, to reinvent myself twice, once with gravel, and then

immediately after with no racing, what am I gonna do, but at the same time, like, it allowed for

a lot of creativity, which was, I think it was a silver lining.

This is not the first time you've had to look at something that could be devastating,

as a silver lining, you know, your knee was probably the first big lesson in that.

It's not what it seems necessarily. We hear these kind of stories over and over again,

of coming back from recovery, but it's almost like you just don't know it until you go through it

yourself. Yeah, you know, well, so those who don't know, um, I just shattered my knee and my leg,

you know, really bad crash in Europe in 2015, I mean, it was exploded kneecap, uh,

crack tibia, five ribs, LCL, uh, critical condition in the Spanish hospital for a few weeks,

uh, a whole nother hour long podcast on the actual story of getting back to America.

But it was a lot of people wrote off, wrote my career off, um, you know, some, you know, a doctor said,

if the bone doesn't heal right, we're gonna amputate it. And I, it was kind of like this whole,

I had to relearn to walk, um, but I was on a contract year, so I kind of had my back against the wall

to prove that I deserve to be a pro athlete. So, um, that was, it was definitely a tough time and a

lot of some, some introspection and, um, and some, some thinking of what, what's next besides sport.

But, uh, you know, I saved my career, um, you know, resigned with, with a trek at that point, um,

and, and spent four more years in the world tour. So that was the story. And, uh, there's documentaries

on it, if anyone actually wants to, I was going to say like, hey, there's been some incredible,

you know, covering of that story. And I'm going to push you to listen and it's hugely inspiring.

If that doesn't prove you've got what it takes to make whatever you want to do happen,

I don't know what will, man, you, you got what it takes. So that's incredible. That's incredible.

I, you know, I personally value that recovery, um, as my biggest victory in my career, you know,

a lot of, I've had, I answer a lot of questions of, you know, what was your biggest result? And,

you know, for, it wasn't a win like that was the biggest struggle and fight personally, you know,

of physically, I would say, and sometimes mentally, but, you know, that was, that was what I'm

most proud of for me in my, my career and showing that I could come back. Um, you know, and then

looking forward, I would really actually love to just redo my 2020 calendar because most of the

big gravel events didn't get to happen, you know, and I'm pretty optimistic in just that,

you know, if, if the vaccine stuff is, is legit and it, you know, corrects all and, you know,

hopefully we can just be back to those four thousand person events that we all love, um,

and rock concerts and all that. Um, so I would love to just get a due, my initial jump to gravel

that I didn't even get a due. Um, so that's, that's plan A, but, you know, you always need a plan B

right now. So should things lock down again, I have a bunch of other alt projects coming out,

um, you know, a silver lining this year was finding the, uh, the public interest and my personal

love of FKTs, meaning fastest known times on certain course records, very solo and almost spiritual

efforts in the middle of, of nowhere on, on famous routes. So there'll be more of that regardless.

I, I think events are going to happen. Marathons, uh, like events in the summer, in the warm months

when, when you can gather outside, there was an event that got the green light late October and

they, it was a 600 person event. I was very nervous about attending, but, um, I wanted to support

the organizer because they really put their necks out there and they had a pretty robust and

thoughtful COVID mitigation strategy and, um, there have been zero reported cases from that event

in October. So I think at the worst case scenario, if things are like they were this summer,

when we didn't understand a lot about this whole thing, this pandemic, then I think things can

happen in the, in the warmest months of the year. So that gives me some hope. Have you ever gone

through all the hassles of getting on the plane, security, luggage, long waits at the airport,

all that kind of stuff? And then when you finally arrive at your destination, not only are you

worn out, but you also might feel a little bit disconnected. I know that I do when I hop scotch

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I totally agree. We're going to find a way to make events uncancellable. Man, he's just shared

so many cool things. You know, you talked about your FKTs. I saw you did this thing about

funnest known times and I remember when I saw this and we were getting ready for the coast of

coast trip, I was like, I'm going to get along with this guy. You know, talking about having fun

more than anything and focusing on that in a year like this, that's a hell of a good attitude

right there. So I was like, Pete and I are going to be friends. I think that was cool.

You know, maybe you guys can help me with a route out Easter something, but you know, the fastest

known time is not always the funnest. I mean, when your funnest bike rides are going hard sometimes

and going for a PR on a certain hill, but there's also there's swimming holes and there's

amazing bakeries with this crazy flavored muffin and all these other things that make the adventure

so worth it right. So you know, I'm kind of working with the view sponsors to set up routes

in near major populated areas with the hashtag of the funnest known time and we kind of establish

a route and teach you those those tips and tricks to just have a great day out there in that area.

That's like, this is a killer ride. Here's the GPS. Here's the the nuances and the things to look for

whether it's a camel in the mountains of Colorado or a swimming hold in deep in Marin County or

something. So that's been a lot of fun. That's awesome. Well, let's jump in the rapid fire. I know

we've kind of gone over time and but I would have to ask you don't have to answer these one word

just kind of a sentence or two. Right on. Cool. All right. Rapid fire number one. Do you have a life

motto or a motto that you're kind of currently living out? Yeah. A happy racer is a fast racer.

You know, it's I think you can look back at our whole conversation and see why I've chosen that.

You jumped on that, man. You knew you knew that. Yeah. Okay. That's in the front of your mind.

And a lot of pivoting this year. Yeah. Okay. You got that in your van somewhere on the ceiling.

Maybe that's what I do. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Right on my knuckles. What are you most curious about right

now outside of outside of racing? I craft beer actually. You know, I that was another reason

that we joined forces was I am very much a beer geek and a beer snob at this point,

which is not for a lot of a lot of pro athletes out there. But I love traveling to different

towns and visiting the local tap house and getting a flight or something and exploring the world of

craft beer. That's probably my second favorite passion. Wow. I didn't realize it was that high

on your list. That's that's cool to hear. So yeah, we're like a cheat code for you then,

because you're two passions kind of work against each other sometimes. I know. Exactly.

Yeah. You're doing the map now, aren't you? Yeah. I'm thinking. All right. You know,

he's it's literally working against each other. But that's cool. Keeps you sharp.

So so you answered this. Proudest achievement is is, you know, recovering from that me surgery.

What would you say the proudest achievement is maybe outside of your career altogether?

It's a hard one. You know, just outside of my career, I've been so focused on the world

tour, honestly. Like you have to live a singular life for so long. You know, just family, you know,

meeting my wife early and marrying her early and getting stronger through this pandemic and

you know, we've got, you know, I'm relatively young and I got a I got, you know, a cabin in Tahoe,

which is a dream. So it's a good lifestyle right now. Love one. I love when you hear when folks

are in a good spot. I mean, I think all my other achievements are through cycling related,

right? Like I work with, you know, a charity that supports injured athletes, but I can do that

because of, you know, my position within the cycling community. So it's, you know, it's it's

hard to differentiate the two because like I said before, your job is your lifestyle and cycling.

You know, I think I think that's a good answer. You know, it's different for everybody.

So tell me this then, what's your biggest goal not yet achieved?

Yeah, just very small little questions here.

I know we're getting real philosophical right now.

You know, I would love to

this year specifically, my biggest professional goal is to, you know, actually stand on the top

step in some of the biggest gravel races. But even more importantly, just help continue to make

gravel a very legitimate discipline within cycling. And that includes beyond personal race

results that's continuing to make a living being my own boss and my own brand and foster diversity

in cycling, whether through people of a different racial background or women's parity in sport.

You know, so I have, I got a couple of irons in the fire in that regard.

Awesome. All right, last question. And kind of wrap it all up. How do you live without compromise?

I think I compromise a lot. On a lot of things, whether it's an interval or it's a beer that I

shouldn't have. You know, there's another motto. It's not a motto. It's a good way to live, though.

You've got to be at 90% of the time. And so I think there is always room for a compromise.

But as long as you're 90% at your top, you're always there, you're always professional,

whatever it is in life, whether it's your relationship, it's your race goals, it's your training,

it's your job. If you're at 90%, there's always, you know, there's 10% of the time. You can step it

up to like that ultimate peak, right, for that biggest goal. And then, you know, 10, you know,

a couple of percent of the time, you can drop it down and have a great night out with friends and

regret it the next day too. Like there's got to be room for that flux, right? But if you can kind of

keep your baseline at 90%, I think you do pretty well. So actually, I live with a lot of compromises.

Yeah, you know, there is a healthy side of compromise. And I guess the one we talk about is,

you know, the negative side like we've got, we've all got to make decisions that we come to an

agreement somewhere. Well, P, man, thanks for joining us. This was great. I mean, I feel like it could

be a five-hour interview with with just your whole story and everything you've gone through

and what you're doing now. It's so interesting. Thanks, guys. I'm, yeah, happy to be on. And I'm

waiting for that call when you asked me to make a collaboration beer. Hey, I'm ready. I'm self-flugging

that one. All right, hey, hey, we start sending some emails. I have no say in that, but I know who

does. But cool. Well, Pete, man, thank you so much. I hope you have a great day and we'll talk soon.

Sounds good. See you. All right. See you.

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