Iowa Gravel Series

Chris: Well, welcome everybody to another episode of the Iowa Gravel Series Podium podcast. I’m your host Chris McQueen and as always, or at least often. Uh I don’t think we’ve ever actually had a bad guest, but we definitely have a great guest here for you today. It’s Mitch Brekie. Uh Mitch came in uh first at the at the Waukon 100 this year. And um like usual, I have not done a ton of research, but I happen to Google a few things about Mitch that we’re going to get into and hopefully learn some things about uh really what it’s like to recover from some some hard things. But um also just get to know him as probably a hard worker because uh Mitch, you’re uh you’re also a a corn and soybean farmer.

Mitch: Yes. Yep. pretty much since I’ve been old enough to walk and work. My dad said to me, working on the farm. So, yeah, I kind of grew up doing that. And no better Yeah, no better way to to gain strength than working on a farm.

Chris: Um Mitch, where where are you? Where where what do you call home?

Mitch: Uh well, I live just north of Elbert Lee, Minnesota. Um so like where I cross, I’m about 10 miles north of there.

Chris: Very cool. Um, so let’s start from the beginning. How the like how did you get into cycling? What was your what’s your first cycling uh riding a bike memories?

Mitch: Oh man, when I was a little kid, I was riding my bike all over. I was riding on gravel roads on a little BMX bike when I was five, six years old back and forth to my grandma and grandpa’s a couple miles away. And then I actually did race a little bit of BMX in probably like fifth, sixth grade, seventh. Then I got more into wrestling and football and got pretty serious with wrestling . uh wrestled a bit in college and then I ballooned up and drank too much beer and ate too much pizza and decided to get in shape and started doing triathlons. Got pretty into that and then realized I was way better at riding bike than swimming and running. So yeah, just kind of steered towards cycling. So stuck with that. Yeah.

Chris: No, I I just interviewed another triathlete um out of Minnesota as well recently. I I think I think triathlons will always help people be a little bit better than than just what they might be in one of those uh disciplines, whether it’s swimming, running, or biking, because of all the the cardiovascular and the the using all the different muscles and and everything that works out. How what kind of distance did you do in triathlon? How far did you go?

Mitch: Oh, I started with a sprint and I did oh, I would say probably from probably four years worth. Uh, I did all the distances. I did Iron Man Wisconsin a couple times. Uh, probably seven, eight, nine, 70.3s. The the year I actually had my accident, I qualified for the 70.3 World Championships when they were going to be in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but I didn’t make it there.

Chris: Um, yeah, we’re gonna we’re gonna have to dip into that. Um, what year what were So, um, take take us back here a little bit. Um you doing triathlons and then you got in an accident like what tell us a little bit about that.

Mitch: 20 2013 to 17 I was super into triathlons and then 2017 I started doing some road races and was having pretty good success with that with uh I was riding with like the group like in Mano Minnesota like the Nicollet bike shop and stuff and bunch of friends were into road racing so I started doing that . and we were on a Tuesday night group ride and we were kind kind of rotating through and I hit some some sort of debris and I instead of wiping out everyone next to me, I overcorrected and went flying over my handlebars. We were probably going 25, 30 miles an hour, I went flying over my bars, over the yellow line the same time a car was coming the other way, going about 45, 50, and I got drove over by both tires and then something under the car caught kind of right under my butt cheek, upper thigh, and ripped a big chunk out of that. So yeah, severed my femoral artery, almost bled out. Happened to be riding with like a ex special forces medic guy who was able to stop the bleeding until the helicopter landed and the ambulances came and everything. But yeah, I uh broke pretty much all my riz, my lower eight vertebrae, uh collapsed lungs, collarbone, concussion. Uh my femur came out of my hip socket for a long time. Um what else I had? So they so while I was while they were rebuilding my pelvis, my they couldn’t reset my femur back into my hip socket. So my legs ballooned up, so they had to do these four big fasciottomy cuts. So that’s why I I so like I can’t to this day I still have foot drop. So my right ankle just kind of hangs down. But I was able to regain a bunch of muscle above the knee. But my lower right leg is just kind of along for the ride. But uh and then yeah, then they were able to reconnect some muscle in my upper hamstring like to my glute. So I got a I got a really goofy looking right leg. But so I pedal with about 65 35 power split difference. And uh let’s see. I had I had a colosstomy bag for a year because I was basically almost ripped out my…

Chris: Yeah, your tukus.

Mitch: Took us. Yep. Um yeah, I don’t I’m I’m sure I forgot a bunch of stuff, but yeah. So, I was in the ICU for a couple weeks and then in like a step down unit for two more weeks and then I had two months in a nursing home because I was nonweight because they didn’t even know like how much would come back. So they had to like lift me in and out of the bed and shower me at the nursing home and all that stuff. And yeah, I just kind of started physical therapy there. And uh yeah, moved back home with my parents for I don’t know another five months. And then I moved back into my old house and kind of started riding again very slowly after that.

Chris: Wow. going going all the way back to the actual accident. Did you were you conscious through the uh hit or or do you not what do you first like you remember going over the handlebars and then what’s the next memory that you have?

Mitch: I don’t even remember going over the handlebars really. I don’t remember like I remember like the ride we were just remember we were probably like 30 40 miles in. we were having a good hard fast ride and then I don’t remember like the exact instance and then I remember like I was in and out of surgery pretty much non-stop for like at least 10 days so I don’t remember that first but I remember waking up like in the ICU and I remember there I was on a lot you know a lot of drugs and stuff. I think like the I had some like hallucinations you know cuz I I was actually like on a bed with my hands strapped to the side of a bed going side to side to keep the fluid from building up in my lungs because I had chest tubes and uh that was kind of kind of scary to wake up too. But uh but no, I mean yeah just a lot I mean at that time too it was just a lot of you know numbness. I couldn’t really feel a whole lot. But

Chris: well, I mean, looking back like now, you know, cuz this was you said 2017, so we’re we’re not quite 10 years out, but 8 years out or so. Um, when you look back on that time, like what was actually what would you share with people like this was actually the hardest thing with with that experience and recovery?

Mitch: I mean, it it hurt a lot. I mean, the physical pain a lot. Um, the hardest Yeah. I just like, you know, when I was in the hospital nursing home, just not knowing if I’d ever really go back to living a normal life , able to, you know, I was single at the time, too, so I, you know, I’d be living back with myself, but my parents are, they live a mile away. I farm with my dad. Like, they’re very, I couldn’t have had better support system with them.

Chris: Yeah, that that was kind of my next question, like where where did you find support? What was what was the thing that kind of helped you keep moving forward, you know, and

Mitch: them? And then I was lucky too, you know, I farm with my dad. So I was like, we have help. And I was able and within the next year I was able to, you know, get in the tractor and drive a tractor. But like to this day, I still drive I still have to drive a car with my left foot. But yeah, I can drive a 10-speed automatic or a 10-speed manual semi with one foot. So but uh but uh yeah, I just and then honestly the wanting to get back to riding a bike. I didn’t, you know, not knowing what level or anything, but just I I started pedaling on the trainer basic basically as soon as I could. And with my physical therapy and and everything, they I kind of progressed past what they could do for me, you know, like at the nursing home and and the next level. So, I kind of just did my own thing as soon as I was weightbearing. I would go to the pool and swim and I I mean from when I I wrestled a lot in high school and a little bit in college and just kind of knowing how to how to do that, you know, flexibility motion type stuff. It just kind of stuck with me and

Chris: Well, yeah. What kind of like what do you attribute to like I mean it sounds like you you were in a rough spot. like what was it? What was it that you felt like kind of like motivated you or what was driving you to continue to get back on the bike, go and do things? What was there something that

Mitch: myself? I just want to I just want to do it and

Chris: that’s where you wanted to be

Mitch: Yeah. I don’t know. Nobody told me to or that I had to. I just I want to I don’t know. And same with all the physical recovery and you know all that stuff. It’s you got to do the work yourself. No one’s going to do it for you, you know. I mean, you have you have to do it if you want to get better, you know.

Chris: Have you continued to do any triathlons and things or is this or have you mostly stayed to cycling? What what kind of is your focus now?

Mitch: Uh just totally cycling. Yeah, I can’t run at all anymore. I I still swim a bit in the winter time just to do something else. But yeah, definitely running would be would not go well for me.

Chris: Yeah, the biomechanics especially if it sounds like if your your your foot is not really something that’s going to keep you stable.

Mitch: Yeah. Like if I want to walk a long ways, I can put a AFO brace on which kind of holds my foot um straight because otherwise my toes just drop and I trip on stuff. So I mean I walk I lift my knee when I walk, you know. So, but uh but yeah, because yeah, right away I’ve started with a walker and then two canes and then one cane and then just kind of the the I wear the brace if yeah, if I’m walking a bunch, but like if I’m sitting a bunch, it’s kind of tight and it’s still a lot numb and and honestly, I still have a lot of numbness and pain, especially if I’m like sitting a like if I’m moving around, I feel a lot better.

Chris: Oh, that’s kind of a great motivator, isn’t it? It’s So, my wife, um, she’s a parapollegic and so she’s been in a wheelchair for over 20 years now. And one of the things that she struggles with is a is a bit of nerve pain. And the thing that like she’s incredibly active, she’s raised five boys. She runs her own business and everything. And I mean, as as terrible and as painful or as constant that nerve pain is, it’s also in some ways we talk about and you know, she she’d tell you the same thing, a little bit of a blessing because by going out and doing something else, it takes away it feels better. Well, it’s not it’s not that the pain goes away, but it’s just not the focus. And by being able to, you know, control and put our focus in something else, it’s it’s it’s something like, you know, you you really can be blessed sometimes by pain a little bit. I mean, obviously, I’m not going to say that for for everybody, but in some in some rare cases, um, we can be blessed by the pains that we have, by finding ways around them to avoid those pains to to fill our life with the good things that we can have. You know, that’s a it’s it can be a, you know, a very weird blessing.

Mitch: Yeah. No, to be honest, I’m Yeah, I’m more com I’m My leg feels way better if I’m riding my bike a 100 miles than if I’m standing in line at for an hour at somewhere, you know.

Chris: Yeah. Well, let’s talk a little bit about cycling. Um, so this year, uh, was this the first time you’d ever been on the Iowa Gravel Series?

Mitch: Um, I did Walk-On 100, uh, twice. So, I did it this last year and then can’t remember if I did it the year before or two years ago. Um, I Yeah, 25 and I did it in 23 or 24. I can’t remember, but I was I think I was like fifth or sixth place that other year. That’s when that Nate Kbomb kicked everybody’s butt that year.

Chris: Yeah. Classic Nate call bomb. He comes in and just sweeps up everything and you you you either stay on his tail and I think that’s

Mitch: Oh, no. I wasn’t on his tail. He I was dropped.

Chris: Um uh but uh tell me a little bit about your racing season this year. Was was this a a big event for you? What was kind of your your avent? Uh I know at least one thing because like I said when I was I was googling you, a few things came up and uh one of them was Gravel National. So I definitely want to hit on that. But what were some of the other races that you did this year that you enjoyed?

Mitch: Okay, let’s see. Going back to I did Serum down in De Mo area. That was that was a fun race. Um,

Chris: yep. For those that don’t know, Serum is a kind of the earliest gravel race for the season. It it happens in February and sometimes actually the last few years it’s been really really pleasant. Um, you know, the blessing curse of uh of global warming. Um, but it’s it’s a it’s a local favorite because it’s just it’s just been around forever. I think it’s 15 15 16 17 years now.

Mitch: Yeah, that’s a Yeah, that one’s I’ve done that a few times. Yeah, it’s always fun. And met met a lot of cool Iowa people just from doing that. Um, let’s see. Then I did I went down to Midsouth and that didn’t happen.

Chris: What What didn’t happen at Midsouth? Oh, because Oh, the fires. Yeah, that’s right. This year.

Mitch: Yeah. went down with a bunch of friends, a few Yeah, there was like we had two groups of us that came down from, you know, southern Minnesota and yeah, we were went out for the ride the day free ride the morning before it was super windy and they said, “Oh, it’s red flag warnings.” And then we went to go pick up our packets and we actually had we didn’t quite make it to the front of the packet pickup line and they’re like evacuated the expo and tents were flying and we held hold down the Silka tent. Um, and then yeah, we went back to our hotel and just kind of had our stuff packed, ready to go. Some hotels were getting evacuated, but we were on the opposite side of town, so we weren’t really close to any fires. So, we actually left that morning and drove to Emporia and rode 100 miles there and stayed at a hotel in Kansas and we’re home Sunday by noon.

Chris: But yeah, you’re like, well, we’ll just make our own sort of event or things like that. Yeah, that I’d forgotten. I’d forgotten that the the fires happened at Midsouth. Um I mean, uh Midsouth I this is this is this is very geeky deep like race director stuff, but it’s exciting for me is that Midsouth um just moved over to use movement as their registration system, which is a a system that we use and uh have been enjoying uh quite a bit. And so there’s there’s a little bit of like bit of validation on my part to to see some of these big races move over to these other registration systems because um yeah, as much as bike rag has done a a good thing for a lot of cycling stuff, thing hasn’t changed in like almost a decade and it’s it’s got some rough rough bits on it from a race director’s side. So yeah. Um that’s that’s cool. So Midsouth yeah happened but didn’t happen.

Mitch: Yeah. Um and then so I actually went to Huntsville, Alabama at the end of March to do the US Parolympic open time trial and that’s where I actually got classified. So there’s parasycling there’s like all these different categories like so C is for upright cycle and that’s a one through five. Five being the least impaired, one being the most. So I got classified as a four, so a C4. But then they have like the hand cycles and then the blind visually impaired tandem and they also have trikes. But so yeah, I had done I did nationals the year before just as like they could kind of get people like you send them your medical records and they have give you a temporary saw as a five and then they like did the evaluation and decided I was a four. Um, so I did that. I won won the fours, but they had uh the World Cup was in Belgium in May that year or last year and I too busy with farm stuff and to even pursue that and like the time standards. I wasn’t sure if I qu it’s it’s all super complicated for like the World Cup and world champs and qualification processes. It’s constantly changing and USA cycling just took over. US parasycling. So, it’s all it’s all kind of in motion right now, but the world championships are actually going to be in Alabama this next year in 28. So, going to kind of see what a guy has to do for that, but I don’t

Chris: Do you Do you think you’ll have to continue on with some uh will you have to re-qualify, you think, uh by racing it? Yeah. So your your 25 win isn’t going to continue on into 2028 or anything. You’re going to have to you’re gonna have to keep racing.

Mitch: And yeah, and a lot of the guys that had previously been on like the World Champs and stuff, they weren’t at the the 25 one because some of them had the 24 was a big year with the Olympics, Parolympics and stuff. So this is kind of an off year, but it was fun to kind of actually get my certification part done. So, I’ve been nationally classified, but I haven’t been internationally classified yet. So, I a lot of hoops to jump through still.

Chris: But would you So, you would you would really if it if timing worked out and of course racing being what it is, you know, you have to you never know what’s going to happen on race day, but this is something you’re going to continue to pursue, you’d like you’d like to see yourself uh in a in a World Cup sort of environment racing.

Mitch: Yes. Yeah.

Chris: Yeah, that’s really cool. That’s I mean I mean looking back a little bit, does it surprise you if you if you thought about you know Mitch growing up on a farm with his BMX bike going down the gravel road and that someday, you know, he might be in a a world class race uh competing against some of the other folks that are, you know, equally as passionate about it. I mean, did you ever imagine that or was that maybe far from the possibilities?

Mitch: No, but I’ve always been like I get into something and I really dork out on it and kind of obsess. So I Yeah. Yes and no. I don’t know.

Chris: Yeah. Well, let’s dork out about a few other things. I I always love to dork out about training and I always love to dork out about the the nutrition. Um, so I’m curious like what what’s kind of your training uh pattern now? What what are you what are you currently like thinking about and and and learning as you as you continue on with your training and and prepare for these other races that are hopefully in your future?

Mitch: Um, well, like the last year, year and a half, I’ve been using like that Coach Cat AI coaching, and that had been working good, but I actually the last couple weeks I just, uh, one of my buddies who races professionally, uh, Joe Gtle is his name, uh, I’m, he’s going to be coaching me to hopefully get my time trial and short road racing kick a little bit better to see what happens with some of this parasycling stuff. So, I’m going to be in for a winter of some a lot of intervals.

Chris: Oh, got to love the got to love the intervals. I I guess with your with your, you know, known imbalance in terms of power output and everything, what are you focusing on to try and like uh you know, use what you have, strengthen what you need to. What What’s kind of your strategy going into that?

Mitch: Um, so far it’s been a lot of core work, which I need to do. I’m lacking that. I’ve been lifting weights. Um some but yeah he said it’s not not necessarily like the onelegged pedaling drills and all that just said kind just do your normal thing and we’re just going to make that stronger you know. but it’s still kind of learning what I haven’t I’ve never worked with a coach so it’ll be fun to see what happens but

Chris: yeah I mean in some ways coaching is great if if you can turn your brain off and just be like my job is just to do whatever my coach tells me to do and do it as best I can. Yeah, that’s I I’ve I’ve been I’ve been told when I’ve been coached that like the best times when I when my coach is the most happy with me is when I just ask act like an idiot. Just be like, “Yes, sir.” You just be dumb and be like, “Yep, whatever you do, whatever you whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

Mitch: Yeah. Um I was going to say, well, but one other thing. So, yeah, but so back back to racing last year. So yeah, I did that. That was in March. And then in June, I did I did a couple like local Minnesota gravel races and I did Iowa Gravel Series and then like the Minnesota State Road Race and then I did um I went up to Fort Collins and did Focal Fondo long course, won the PAR category in that. Then I did day across Minnesota and then I did gravel worlds 150, won the pair category there. And then I did gravel nationals and won the got my stars and stripes jersey for that. So yeah, I raced a lot last year. But

Chris: congratulations. Yeah, those are some big races. Um I mean you had some separation between gravel worlds and gravel nationals. Um

Mitch: yeah,

Chris: uh how were you feeling in coming to those? Because gravel worlds this year actually was I think it was was it a little bit wet?

Mitch: Yeah, there was a couple MMRs that were all mud, but uh so yeah, when I have to get off my bike and hike, I’m very very slow. Um so, but it was like I was able to ride most of it and that there was maybe half to threequarters of a mile. So, yeah, I got lost the front group there, but uh otherwise, yeah, it was and it was really windy that day, too. So, it was

Chris: Yeah, weird to have it wet and then windy.

Mitch: Yep.

Chris: Um I heard the gravel nationals was great that the weather was fantastic and and it was in this was in lacrosse, right?

Mitch: Yeah. Lac on the Minnesota side in Lacrescent. Yeah. Yeah. Those roads are so good, too. Kind of like walk-on Eric, you know, same type of roads.

Chris: Yeah. Because in that drifless hills region, I This is one of those uh things where I’m like, “Yeah, come do the IO gravel series. It’ll get you ready for all these other, you know, bigger names and things.” We’re we’re never we’re not really trying to to compete against uh those folks, but get you ready for them and hopefully um be, you know, a good a good step in your training uh progressions.

Mitch: Yeah.

Chris: Um well, very cool. It sounds like you had a big year. So, what what does 2026 kind of look like? Do you have an A- race that you’re aiming for?

Mitch: Um hope hopefully seeing what it takes to possibly qualify for Hero World Championships. Um gravel nationals for sure because they’re in Minnesota. Um otherwise, yeah, I’m just I think in February I might try to go to Arizona and do the Valley of the Sun stage race with the time trial road race. See if I can survive a crit. Um, I mean, I’ve done them, but I don’t love them. I can’t sprint. So, um,

Chris: yeah, I mean, crits crits are are a whole other uh a whole other deal, but they will make you faster because yeah, you know, that’s it’s if you you keep doing them, you you know, it’s uh pretty exhilarating. Um, how was have have you how was DAM day across Minnesota? Had you done that one before?

Mitch: Yeah, this was my fourth time. Um yeah, it was it was super fun. Um yeah, right. Racing in the dark is it’s a rush. Um we didn’t have any tail like two year then 24 we kind of had a tailwind all day. So like it was it was uh faster and easier, you know? I mean the same effort was quite a bit a harder effort this year was a slower time than the year before. But yeah. But yeah, I think I was seventh there. I got the front group kind of I was with the front group until about 150 miles and then I just came unglued.

Chris: Well, uh, easy to do because I mean, isn’t the total a little over 250?

Mitch: Uh, yeah. 242 or three.

Chris: 242. Yeah. Um what’s so to dork out on the other other things that we like to dork out on what what are you doing in terms of nutrition versus like an event like DAM then you’ve got you know your gravel nationals and the IO gravel series you know that closer to that 100k 100 mile distance and then you’ve got these sprinting what are what are you learning about nutrition as you switch between these shorter medium and long distances?

Mitch: Um, pretty much whatever I’m doing, I’m just trying to take in out like a 100 grams of carbs an hour between gels and like I drink morton or sometimes the Tailwind stuff just kind of whatever. But usually that just the plain flavored martin works pretty good for me.

Chris: What’s your what’s your technique to to keep it on the time? cuz it sounds like you’re not just putting it in the bottles. Like so lots of people just, you know, the carbs in the bottles, but you’re you’re still you’re you’re not still, but like you’re you’re you’re using you’re using a gel. You might have a few and you just you cycle through.

Mitch: Yeah. Like if it’s hot, like a lot of times I’ll for a long race, I’ll do a pack and I’ll put four packs of Martin in the pack. So I’ll have like 350 grams of carbs in that. Then I’ll have a bottle with electrolytes and then maybe one bottle of water for squirting on your face and swashing. And then and then still trying to take some gels with some caffeine once in a while too. And yeah, just pretty much eat as much as you can whenever you can.

Chris: If you have to think about it, just eat.

Mitch: Yeah, exactly. You’re like, “Yeah, should I eat?” Yes, I should eat. That’s the answer.

Chris: Uh what Yeah. What’s your What’s your caffeine tolerance with something like DAM where you’re, you know, you’re riding through the night pretty much. What do you do you uh do you have to caffeinate he caffeinate heavily or do you find that you you don’t need much to stay up through the night?

Mitch: I mean no I I start the race you know with like a I had like a Martin drink mix with the caffeine like I always drink I always drink a full bottle with like 80 grams of carbs like 15 minutes before my race starts pretty much no matter what distance I’m doing. And then I’d say every couple hours I’d have a gel with like 100 milligrams of caffeine. I mean, nothing crazy. I think what’s coffee like 75 and a cup of coffee or something. So, pretty much like having a cup of coffee every hour or two. I don’t know.

Chris: Yeah. I had my uh my first effort a couple years ago to to do kind of overnight. I I knew I wasn’t probably going to do all all of Iowa Wind and Rock. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that one.

Mitch: Yeah. Yeah, I’ve heard of Yeah, I’m familiar with it. I’ve never done it, but yeah.

Chris: Yeah, it’s I mean, if you do the full thing, it’s 340 miles and you don’t know where you’re going because it’s all going to be handed to you on Qards ahead of time. And yeah, Sarah Sarah Cooper and Steve Fuller do a fantastic job of making sure that is an event that is um both difficult and rewarding and well supported in a way that you feel like you’re completely alone and you could die. Um it’s it’s a it’s a wonderful, beautiful mix. I’m I’m a big fan. Um, but I uh I started out I think I I think I ended up with like almost 900 milligrams after I totaled it all up of caffeine. I’m like I I I don’t drink caffeine much at all. So it was it was a it was it was quite a rush. I was I was very chatty on that ride.

Mitch: Yeah.

Chris: Uh it’s fun things. Um, so what I guess as you’re as you’re going into this next season and everything, what are you thinking about the most? What are you learning? What are the things that that uh that are still kind of like surprising you as you’re as you’re continuing on this cycling career?

Mitch: Oh man, I don’t know. Just Oh, that’s a good question. Uh, yeah, just, you know, learning what your body can do . you know, you can do a lot of things that are harder than you think you can do if you know, if you’re fueled up for it and you’re mentally ready to do it. Um, and yeah, just just the bike the bikes themselves and the the gear just keeps getting better and faster and wheels, tires, frames, drivetrains, all of it. I don’t know. I love nerding out with that stuff, too. Um, but yeah.

Chris: Do you do you find that most of like do you find that most of your community is involved in or like the people you hang out with the most are involved in cycling or do you have, you know, a kind of like uh there’s like the cycling world and the uh farming world and you’re kind of like this little sliver in the ven diagram that kind of overlaps the two. What do what do the people what do the people in your farming world think of when they say, “Oh, Mitch has a big race. I guess he’s going to go do this and he’s really good at it.” Like, how do they react to that?

Mitch: Yeah. They just think I’m crazy. You know, there is, oh, or they see any anytime anyone sees anybody on a bike on a road around here, oh, I saw you riding the other day. Half the time, you know, there’s people in Albertly that go for rides and different people passing through. I saw you on the highway the other day. I was like, no, it wasn’t me. But uh yeah, no,

Chris: you cyclist, you all look the same to me.

Mitch: Yeah, but uh Yeah. No, they just No, it’s what I’m what I’m up to. It keeps me out of trouble.

Chris: That’s a good thing. The uh it Have you had any success converting some of your farming friends over to going out and and riding with you, or is it still a hard sell?

Mitch: Nah, there’s like one or two buddies that have done a little bit of it, but no, not really.

Chris: the uh uh the um what I guess I guess nobody really asks about on the flip side where you’re like, “Hey, have you gotten any of your cycling buddies to go and buy a farm and start farming and working on things?” I mean, we don’t ask about that, do we?

Mitch: No, not at

Chris: Is there do you feel like there’s anything that like has made you uniquely that’s been uniquely like kind of insightful for you to be coming from like the world of agriculture and combining the world of uh cycling? Is there anything that you feel like has become a superpower because you have these two worlds that that come together?

Mitch: I mean, yeah, I guess just used to being out in the middle of nowhere with no one bothering you, not afraid of quiet, you know, just But that’s probably not good either because I get in a really big city with people all around me and I kind of don’t really know what get uncomfortable with that, you know? So, it’s Yeah. Like I don’t know. Um, otherwise, yeah, like like when I’m with a group of, you know, people in a gravel race, you know, and you see tractors and all that stuff, you know, I’m usually know what they’re doing probably how they’re going to react and that kind of a thing, but does kind of help out, especially here in the the Midwest. You you know, yeah, the it has been fun to get to know. I did not grow up in the the Midwest and uh so for me it’s been a lot of fun to learn how to appropriately pass appropriately approach and uh you know waving at the right time and in the right way to make make it all clear that like yeah we’re we’re okay. You keep doing your thing. I’m going to keep doing mine. We’re going to be fine and and nothing’s going to be bad happening. But I I will say with some of those big big uh tractors when they came down the road uh the first few times and you know I was come coming up on them I I wondered oh my dear goodness like how do I keep from getting squashed by one of these things? The good news is they are not quiet like you can’t no can’t really miss them at all.

Chris: Um, well, uh, Mitch, I got there there’s one question that I always like to to ask folks, and it’s the magic wand question, and I know I didn’t give you a lot of, you know, prep on on this one or anything, but as you think about cycling and the world that you’ve in, you know, the fact that you’ve had to come from injury and come back and as you get into the world of parasycling and and working with all these different types of events, is there something you kind of like in your heart of heart wish could just magically happen in the cycling world, uh, that you think would make it, you know, better or at least easier for you?

MMitch: Um, well, it’ be nice to just be able to ride on any road anywhere and not have to worry about distracted drivers. I mean, that would be I mean, gravel is much better. I mean, riding with a Garmin varia, I mean, I always know if a car is coming behind me, and honestly, around where I live, I never even have close calls hardly. But, you know, for people that live in bigger cities, it’s a huge barrier for people getting out on the roads is distracted drivers on busy roads and just and just bad drivers in general. Yeah. Um I I don’t know. It’d be cool if everyone could have a have a mountain out their back door, too, to go ride in the mountains. But

Chris: that would be nice. Yeah, I agree. I’m I I love the mountains. I’m usually having to figure out some way to to get out there. Do you like given a choice? I mean, it sounds like you do a lot of time trial trials. Given a choice, would you rather have a flat fast course or a or a lot of uh climbs and climbing?

Mitch: Yeah. Climbing and Yeah. descending. Well, like driftless like like the driftless area . know, like I probably I’m not really built to do, you know, 2500 foot mountain climbs, but like the seven, you know, five, six, seven, 800 foot kind of punchier ones, that works pretty good for me.

Chris: Yeah. And it’s fun. I mean, everything you go up, you get to come down. These things are usually a circle, you know, you get everything back. Well, very cool. Well, uh, so the plan, do you have any plans to to come out and do another Iowa Gravel Series race with us?

Mitch: Yeah. Yeah, I always check the schedule and yeah, with between farming and we got I got a one and three year old little girls and we try to go camping once in a while and doing this par racing. So, I kind of just sign up within a week or two and I know what’ll work. But I’m always willing to drive two, three hours if I can find a good race. So, walk and walk on is so much fun, too. I I love that race.

Chris: Oh, well, thank you. And uh we’ll be back. It does have very good camping. So, if you if you can make it back in June, I I recommend the the Walkon City uh uh park has some some nice camping and they’ve got like a a splash pad and a pool and everything that kind of makes it fun. I don’t know if uh if your girls like to swim. Uh

Mitch: we’re working on it.

Chris: We’re working on it. Well, cool. Well, Mitch, this has been a fantastic opportunity to get get to know you. Uh any last words of wisdom for our audience as you know before we kind of sign off? Anything you’d want people to know?

Mitch: Go ride your bike.

Chris: Amen. Amen, brother. All right, cool. Well, have a fantastic night and we look forward to racing with you soon.

Mitch: All right, we’ll see you. Bye.