The Cyclist Interviews Team 2-Epic

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Team 2-Epic (AKA Dave and Lynda) in Utah during a few days of riding in the rain. I had been a follower of their blog for quite a while, so I knew of their passion for endurance rides and races, their accomplishments, and their lifestyle centered around family and cycling. They are quiet and modest upon meeting them, but seriously fast on the back of a bike when the minutes turn into hours and days. I want you, our readers, to meet them as well and hear a bit of their thoughts and feelings on why they do what they do and how they make it work as a family.

Their accomplishments are too numerous to list here, but take a minute to read about them before you dive in to our interview, you will be glad you did.

Team 2-Epic Bio

Here we go.

• Many folks would look at your situation and say, “Wow, they have the perfect life”. Riding, racing, family, coaching, training…not too bad. Perfect or not, was this planned or did it just work out that way?

Lynda: It all happened during the process of doing what we love.

Dave: it wasn't planned at all, it just fell into place. Lynda and I were friends for years before it became more. But these days it is really good - I pinch myself now and then.

• How did you guys meet? I envision some great scenarios: Dave gets ‘chicked’ at an endurance race by Lynda and has to meet that woman! - OR -You both find each other on some hidden mesa, miles from anywhere…on singlespeeds…with only an energy bar and heart rate monitors between you and it is love at first sight! OK, maybe not, but am I close?

Photo credit: Mike CuriakLynda: We first "met" online in a coaching and training forum discussing training techniques - well sorta. Then, at Brian Head Epic 100 in 2005 at 5am before the start in the hotel parking lot, I'm messing with my bike and find no air in my fork and...errr!... no shock pump. Dave happened at that moment to be in my visual range with a toolbox at his feet. He finished way in front of me :-) .I won and thanked him at the awards for the air and we connected the dots back to the coaching forum.

Dave: I think it was 2004 when we met at Brian Head, because a year later at the same race Lynda asked if I'd like to be her partner in Trans Rockies the following year. I said yes, we went into big planning mode, and killed it. It was an incredible experience, one where we both learned how much we could help each other rise to our potential.

• Tell us about your kids and take us through a typical week in the life of Team 2-Epic.

Nothing is typical. The routine gets changed up all the time depending on school schedules and what races are coming up. Routines don't work well. We have to be more creative than routines. Emma just left the pink phase behind but still has her baby teeth. She is game for anything and fears nothing but bugs at night. Smart and self-sufficient, just like Lynda. I call her "Lynda's mini me."

Wesley is mach 10. Unbounded energy and already has 3 MTB race wins to his credit. Underneath that blurry exterior is a heart of gold.

• Each of you on your own are very driven athletes. How has your pairing together influenced that? Is it difficult separating your own goals with Team 2-Epic's goals? How do you work that out?

Lynda: We do what we love and encourage each other to do that. Most of the time our goals are the same and we are excited to do the same things. Sometimes the obsession leads in solo ways and you just can't get in the way of a good obsession. Supporting and observing them is much more fun.

Dave: We have periodic planning sessions - sometimes looking a few months ahead, sometimes an entire year. We'll pick several events to do together, solo or as a team. With similar event goals our training aligns much better and we are fueled from each others enthusiasm...those tend to be the best events. Every now and then one of us gets an event under our skin that we just have to do solo (Grand Loop for me is an example) and that obsession will run it's course.

• You guys picked a great place to stage your life from. Southern Utah is amazing and I was blown away by what St George offered when I came out for Camp Lynda. It seems like an excellent place for an endurance athlete to live. Is St George a hidden gem?

Lynda: We have a Temple and a population of 50,000. I'm not sure that is hidden.

Dave: Absolutely. I moved here from Durango, Colorado - arguably one of the kindest MTB destinations. That should say something... The riding opportunities locally and regionally are unbounded. Literally world class riding of all types within 2 hours, any time of year. Despite the 50,000 folks living here I rarely see others when out riding, and when I do it's often during the winter when Salt Lake cyclists are drawn to our mild winter weather.

• Lately I have noticed an increased focus on epic rides combined with singlespeeds and that seems to be true for Team 2-Epic as well. What has you guys fired up about them?

Dave: they are harder, easier, simpler, and more fun. And, I think because of the nature of where you spend your efforts on a SS, they are potentially faster for long events where efficiency is key. A hundy probably isn't long enough to realize the benefit, but longer routes like Grand Loop? Certainly the potential is there. We've been training with power meters for a long time and use them for many things. On the SS, I've noticed that kJ expended over a set route is always less than the kJ for a geared bike over the same route. Go figure...and the SS is often as fast or faster. Those energy savings add up over a long route.

Lynda: Epic rides take you to big vistas and my eye balls like those. Single speeds are simple and I don't have to worry about the mechanical issues caused by gears. I really don't ever miss gears but I did really miss suspension. The Milk Moneys have solved that dilemma for me.

• What are you both riding now as far as your bike set-up(s)? Why did you choose that particular bike?

Dave's Milk Money ready to start the Grand Loop:

Lynda's Milk Money shortly before the Kaibab Monstercross 200 miler:

We both have Lenz Sport Milk Moneys. The bike is a rare bird, a 3" full suspension, SS specific 29er frame with a concentric pivot about the BB. I first rode one 2 years ago.  Mike Curiak was in town and had one to demo. It was my first ride on a SS and it left a huge impression. Mike helped us both get a Milk Money this spring. It's been magical - a bike infatuation like I haven't had in years! Currently I've got mine set up with a 1x9 drivetrain. Always testing new ideas you know, have to keep it fresh when you've been biking for 20 years.

• Lynda, you are not exactly a tall person. In fact you are a mighty-mite. Most internet armchair posers would not put you on a 29er, but there you are, just crushing your taller competitors. What is up with that?

One of my nicknames is Mighty Mouse. 29ers make me happy and when I am happy I ride fast.

• When I attend any endurance event, I am surrounded by 29ers. Dave, you are also riding big wheeled bikes. Why does the 29er come into its own when the days get long and the miles pile up?

Great question. I have not always been a 29er fan. A few years back I had a Trek Top Fuel and a Salsa Dos Niner and really wanted to get to the bottom of which bike was faster. Using power meters I set up 3 different trials, one of which was the 24 hour course at Old Pueblo. All 3 trials showed that the Fuel was faster for similar power output. Whether it was due to frame differences or wheelsize I could never say, although my blog posts on it and the Cyclingnews article that followed generated a ton of backlash from the 29er crowd. In any case, for lap racing on most courses I think smaller wheeled bikes are faster for me. Where I find 29ers to really shine are technical, chunky riding and single speeding. I don't get that excited for lap racing these days - the big epics call loud and clear, that coupled with the SS passion has the big wheels winning me over. Plus they are just plain old fun!

• Lynda, you are also a coach/trainer and have your own business, www.lwcoaching.com. Tell us about that.

I do personal coaching, consulting and have pre-built training plans available. Coaching and designing training plans is my dream job. I love figuring out what makes an athlete tick then watch them grow stronger and faster, achieve their goals and have intense moments of pleasure and success in their lives.

• Dave, none of us are getting any younger, in fact many would say that some one your age is past the glory years and yet you keep pushing the envelope and opening up new challenges, new routes, etc. What is your advice to guys like me who are staying ‘out there’ when the number of birthday candles might say otherwise?

Damn, I'm old enough for this question now!?! I knew it was coming but I think this is the first time :) I firmly believe that the decline in performance experienced by most has to do with lifestyle choices & changes rather than age. Things like house improvement projects, a strong career focus, or a love of PBR don't really go hand in hand with good fitness. My advice is to stick to your passions, but be smart about it. Things do change in an aging body but if you listen to it's signals they can be managed. Especially stay on top of recovery needs. Glutamine supplementation in particular is key. As for the age thing, the hardest time I've had was turning 30. That was 14 years ago...at the time I was overtrained and was convinced 30 just pushed me over the edge. At 40 things got a lot better! Mostly because I realized what I loved most was going long.

• Each of you, now looking back across an amazing span of events in the saddle of one bike or another, what stands out in your minds as the highest point of achievement?

Dave: Tough question. With the various pursuits - XC, marathon nationals, 12/24s, and self-support events - there are really events for each of those that I'd pick...but if I had to pick one, it would be this year's Grand Loop "Race". At 44 years old, on a SS, I took 6.5 hours off the previous record. For many years nobody had gone under the 3 day mark on that route. This years ride was a few minutes over 2.5 days. It was the culmination of a lot of facets of cycling all boiled into one big effort. It all came together you could say. Winning Trans Rockies with Lynda is a darn close 2nd.

Lynda: Racing at the XC 1990 World Championships on my National Team wearing the national team kit was a highlight. Winning Trans Rockies Open Mixed Cat with Dave in 2006 was a highlight. Being the first female finisher of Kokopelli Trail race was cool. But I call the highest points in riding 'White Moments'. Those are unexpected rare moments when I have been out riding forever, the scenery intensifies, I am in the exact spot on the planet, at the exact moment in time I want to be, life is perfect, my throat swells, my eyes fill with tears and the White Moment hits, *bam*. Trans Rockies is the only race I have had one of these flashes of intense living. Out far in the backcountry reaching new heights and seeing massive vistas is usually where they find me.

• What was the hardest event each you have ever attempted, successful or not?

Dave: without question, the Grand Loop. 360 miles, 45,000' climbing, loads and loads of hike a bike, crazy exposure to desert and alpine environments, no resupply, very little sleep. It's a lot to get your head around.

Lynda: Cycling is elective so nothing is hard. Hard is cancer and children with cancer and things like that. Cycling never gets that hard, not even close.

• The underground or unofficial event is becoming a real trend. What are your thoughts on that? What is the appeal? Can you see a point where that begins to come under increasing scrutiny by land managers, etc? There are few secrets in this world of Twitter, internet forums, etc.

Dave: Humans have not evolved to work in cubicles, leading sedentary lifestyles staring into a computer screen. We have evolved to occasionally fight for our lives. Since the average American lifestyle has become so tamed, so different from what evolution has prepared us for, we must contrive something that brings back into our lives that which we have evolved to do. Surviving in the backcountry for several days certainly counts. Once experienced, it brings on a beautiful, hard simplicity. You eat as much as you can, push as hard as you can, sleep when you have to, press on...forward motion the constant need. The shackles of the everyday melt away. It's a pure endeavor. It's intense living.

There already has been considerable friction with land managers in certain areas. They have actually lost some footing in the courts. With events like Tour Divide heavily marketing undergound events, there's bound to be some issues pop up. My guess is it will take someone getting themselves in over their head, requiring a difficult evac or worse, then in this litigous climate we'll see some shake ups. I hope I'm wrong. We'll see.

• The ultra light backpacking approach has influenced the bikepacking way of getting into the backcountry sans panniers and racks. Is that cool or what?

Dave: Oh man is it ever cool! It happened in the blink of an eye. Startline pictures tell the story. At the AZT 300 this year everyone had these big saddle bags instead of rear racks. I so had to have one and Eric Parsons of Epic Designs sent one my way in a short order. There are only 2 companies I am aware of making custom bikepacking gear, both with high quality products, and I see nothing but growing business for these guys. Their products make bikepacking so much more enjoyable.

• What are Team 2-Epic’s goals for the future?

Exploring route options on the PaunsauguntLots of stuff cooking. We are headed out shortly for a week+ of bikepacking in Southern Utah. We'll do some scouting for alternate Trans Utah routes to Boulder, UT. We are working on the details for the Paunsaugunt Enduro, a self-supported event on the Paunsaugunt plateau near Bryce Canyon NP to take place July 19. There are forty four, seventy, and ninety six mile route options. It's not your typical route, the 44 took us over 6 hours in a recent scouting mission. I'll be racing CTR in August.

We may do Trans Utah as a team this year, and Lynda has put a bullseye on singlespeed worlds in Durango. If we've got anything left in October the 24 hours of Moab is an attractive event because it's got a SS national title on the line. Another lapper? We'll see about that ;)

• Any last words to those people who are looking to wrap their lives around a love of cycling? Balance, priorities, etc?

Dave: This one is for you Lynda, I have no balance!

Lynda: I get a little crazy when things get out of balance so it is a high priority for me. It just depends where your balance-o-meter is set.

 Balance Check :Team 2-Epic Style