King Of The Ride

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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 desi

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.

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  

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.

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.

I'm excited introduce Olympian, current double national champion in both the road race and time trial, World Tour race winner, dancing queen and internet sensation Alison Jackson! I caught up with Alison Jackson while she was home in Canada before making her late winter pilgrimage to Europe and the traditional bike racing scene. We chatted shop that spans her careers, the highs and lows, the trajectory her career has taken, and the interesting trends the entire sport is taking. Be sure to follow @aliactionjackson to up your social media game.

Tejay van Garderen is one of the best cyclists America has ever produced. With stage wins in the Giro, the Tour de Suisse, Volta Catalunya, and plenty more, overall wins at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and the Tour of California, plus best young rider and 5th place (twice) at the Tour de France, Tejay's palmares are lengthy. He's also a fascinating conversationalist, is knowledgeable about wine, introduced me to burrata, knows his NFL, is a father to two girls, and husband to Jessica. Tejay has lots of knowledge and experience to share and we do so over this conversation.  Like, comment, share. Thanks for listening! -Ted

This is one for the ages. Every guest on this podcast has the thread of the bicycle woven through their lives and Mike Cohen is no different. He's just had a much different life unfold than perhaps he was expecting as a 17 year old. Mike is as upbeat as they come and as both a leukemia survivor and recipient of a heart transplant, he's got some very wild stories to tell. Mike is a cyclist, he now works in the industry from his home in San Diego, and among other adventures, he's ridden across the country. Twice. If you want to watch this podcast, you can do so on YouTube or with this link: https://youtu.be/qOaW1ju1-18 Don't forget to join the 12 Days of DIYgravel between now and January 2, 2022: www.iamtedking.com/diygravel You can follow Mike's adventures on his instagram: @MrMikeCohen or his website has all kinds of impressive material, www.mrmikecohen.com.

The world of professional cycling is full of characters and they don't get much more interesting than Mitch Docker. Between his many iterations of mullets and mustaches, he was a standout, but it's his hard work and talent that made him a stalwart member of the pro peloton. This Australian made his way to Europe in 2006 to start his pro cycling career which has extended right up until the present, although Mitch is retiring from pro cycling here at the end of the 2021 season. Mitch and Ted will talk shop about the state of cycling, the changes over the years, the good, the bad, and the ugly at the top echelon of cycling, being a parent in the pro ranks, plus plenty more. Be sure to follow Mitch on social media, @MitchBowen, and definitely check out his podcast, Life in the Peloton.

Haley Batten stormed onto the professional scene in 2021. She earned a spot on the podium in her first ever World Cup race, won a short track World Cup soon thereafter, and had a red hot streak all through the rest of the calendar year. She is America's top finisher at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and she's just getting warmed up! It's fun to catch up with Haley who you'll soon realize has one of the most energetic, curious personalities out there. She took a quick break from academia, where's she's studying at Quest University in British Columbia for this conversation. Enjoy!

Let's welcome back Dr. Kevin Sprouse! It's no coincidence that the bigger issue topic Dr. Sprouse and Ted discuss here is recovery, as Ted is two weeks into healing from a surgically repaired elbow. What all goes into repairing a broken bone? Why is sleep disrupted, why is sleep a hot sweaty mess (literally), why do resting heart rates skyrocket, what the heck is HRV, and how are they all tied together during injury? This duo will discuss these topics as well as the bigger picture of recovery with the perspective of athletic performance, independent of injury. Whether you as a person or athlete has suffered an injury or not, this is a fascinating dive into absorbable information that will help improve your day to day performance. With a trained background in Emergency and Sports Medicine, Dr. Sprouse is the team physician of EF Education First-Nippo as well as leading Podium Sports Medicine in Knoxville, TN. Ted is very excited to announce his partnership with Ride with GPS. This is the only mapping soft

Ryan Cochran-Siegle is one of America's best alpine skiers and on his day, he's one of the World's very best. Ryan is a Vermonter and learned to ski just down the road in at the community centric and petite Cochran Ski Area. He's a junior world champion in both the downhill and combined. He's steadily moved up the ranks, enjoying high highs and dealing with the lows that come with any professional sport. Ryan has speed in his genes; 2022 marks the 50th anniversary since his mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, won an Olympic gold medal in skiing. Be sure to follow Ryan at @rc.s Don't forget to try out WHOOP for free just by visiting join.whoop.com/ted

Buckle up folks, because this is a good'n! Ashley and Jered Gruber are a husband and wife team of cycling photographers with a fascinating story to tell. Especially if you ask them! We sat down in Italy for this hour long conversation covering their genesis through the sport, the business model of photography, and the philosophy of how their work fits into the bigger picture among other things. This being 2021, you can find them on instagram: @JeredGuber - https://www.instagram.com/jeredgruber @AshleyGruber - https://www.instagram.com/ashleygruber

Sarah Sturm is a verb. She's a rider, a racer, a mentor, a coach, a happy bundle of energy. She's the inaugural 2021 Leadboat champion, then the very next week won the Last Best Ride in Whitefish, MT which is where this podcast was recorded just a few short hours after she won. Covering all aspects of a busy race season, how she got into the sport, the development and direction of gravel, plus plenty of other hilarious tidbits this conversation doesn't quite cover it all, but it comes mighty darn close. Follow Sarah on instagram at: @Sarah_Sturmy Photo: @roszko

Congratulations to Emma Langley, the winner of the 2021 Rooted Vermont p/b UnTapped! Not a bad result for her third ever gravel race. She's picking the big ones as her team, Tibco-SVB, has seen her line up at Unbound, BWR, and now Rooted Vermont this year. We're thrilled to have hosted Emma and her teammates, plus ALL riders at the 2021 race. Emma shares her perspective on the state of cycling. This neo-pro has a refreshing view of things as pro road racing comes out of a bit of a funk and now can dabble in some off-road events. You can find and follow Emma on Instagram at @elangs1