King Of The Ride

Alex Dowsett is a recent retiree after a dozen years in cycling's professional ranks where he tallied 15 victories, including 2 in grand tours; Alex set the world hour record, owns two Commonwealth Games medals (gold and silver, since you asked), and probably has a dozen other accolades omitted here. He's a father, soon to be married to his fiance Chanel, and does tremendous work with the organization he created, Little Bleeders, helping young kids diagnosed with hemophilia. This conversation hits on all that and loads more. Check out Alex: www.instagram.com/alexdowsett www.littlebleeders.com And his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexDowsettOfficial  

Pete stepped away from the World Tour and planted his flag as a pro's pro, using professional road techniques to highlight speed and results. Gravel is a fluid sport and Pete's come to recognize the importance of some not so tangible aspects of gravel, such as chivalry, a moral code, unwritten rules, and more. As gravel takes a look into the mirror, so do Pete and I as we dive into this conversation. Enjoy! Don't miss out on a chance to start your day better. Visit www.athleticgreens.com/tedking to see how.

One hundred episodes! Thanks for listening to King of the Ride my friends. What can be said about Laurens Ten Dam that hasn't yet been said? Well, a lot, actually. Tune into this conversation late in 2022 where LtD again returned to North America for another gravel race, this time Gravel Locos Pueblo. His schedule has seemingly gotten more complicated since retiring from an extensive World Tour career. He jumps across the Atlantic more often than some international pilots. To check out the $0 deductible, on-the-bike injury coverage with the Ride membership by USACycling, visit: memberships.usacycling.org/products/member  Use code King20 for $20 savings! Also, please visit www.athleticgreens.com/tedking to get your hands on a gift from Athletic Greens. I've given up stacks of multivitamin bottles and think you would benefit from that too!

Ian Boswell returns for the second time as a guest on King of the Ride. Over that time since 2019, he got married, retired from the World Tour, had a daughter, won Unbound, and has seen the screaming hot arch of gravel grow with meteoric speed.  So where does it go from here? This conversation covers lots of topics, but most of them revolve around where we see things going as gravel continues to evolve. Just two dudes sitting around a table talking shop. Try Athletic Greens! Visit www.athleticgreens.com/tedking

Our guest today is an icon in the endurance running space, Anton Krupicka. Winner of the Leadville 100 as a fresh faced 23 year old in 2006, fifteen years later he was once again on the podium in 2021 at Leadville after a spate of injuries, but not a shortage of adventures over that time. Early in his career, Anton's blog became requisite reading material for all aspiring runners. His social media attracts millions of views. He writes prolifically and travels minimally… by that I mean, check out his stunning social media channel which features his bikepacking ventures. Anton's IG: www.instagram.com/antonkrupicka Anton's Strava: www.strava.com/pros/antonkrupicka And don't forget Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs of AG1 with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/tedking  

Jan Heine is the president of Rene Herse Cycles and editor in chief of Bicycle Quarterly. He's a builder, an engineer, a story teller, a photographer, and as it turns out is pretty handy on the bike too with a recent FKT on the Arkansas High Country Race's southern loop which spans 475 miles across northwest Arkansas! I've wanted to have Jan on the podcast for years and this seemed like just the right time. Congrats to Jan and welcome to the show. www.ReneHerseCycles.com www.BicycleQuarterly.com Jan's ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/7953986189 To try out Athletic Greens, visit: www.AthleticGreens.com/tedking  

Carl Decker has been a professional cyclist for longer than many professional cyclists have been alive. This 47 year old pro has been a mountain bike racer, cyclocross racer, Super-D extraordinaire, road racer, and now a stalwart gravel racer in the scene that is both burgeoning and reaching its adolescence. Thanks to Athletic Greens for supporting this episode and simplifying my nutrition routine. Don't forget to try out AG1 with a hard to beat offer using the website www.athleticgreens.com/tedking

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.