Cody Peterson

“I have to admit that I have a problem—a cycling problem.  I have been suffering from this affliction since childhood. It started out innocently enough: when I was very young, growing up in Sun Valley, Idaho, I loved riding in the child seat of my parents’ bike. As the years passed, it became a love for the sense of freedom that a bike brings, and a new-found mode of transportation.  My true obsession first started to show itself when we were living just a few too many miles out of town and I tried (some would say failed) to ride my bike to school—a distance decidedly too far for a child of my age! The signs continued into my teenage years, when I would use my bike to tow a lawn mower twelve miles up the road to the next town to make some extra money. As a teenager I joined the ski team, and it was then, during dry land training, that I truly discovered mountain bike riding. This led to my first bike shop job, which ended up being the gateway to my first race. I came in last, or at least really close to it…but I was hooked. It has all been downhill since then!

 

From there on out, there really was only one place to go and that was to college as a racer.  I went to Fort Lewis College, located in a place where bike racing was a really large part of the community: Durango. As part of the cycling team, I basically got a degree in bike racing. (And one in business administration, but who really cares about that one?)  During my time in Durango, I was really thrown into the deep end of US cycling culture.  I learned to road race, received personal skills training from The Captain himself (Ned Overend), had sparring matches with someone who would later crack the top 10 in the Tour, and got my pro license on the dirt and my 1 license on the pavement.  

 

Over the years, I have participated in all sorts of events and disciplines, including National Championships, World Championships, and World Cup mountain bike races in the US, Canada, Spain, Scotland and Belgium.  My “serious” racing ended with a thud in 2008—specifically, while coaching a Jr. Clinic at some dirt jumps, a slipped chain resulted in a crash that left me with a torn ACL and a serious head injury. Recovery from this head injury took years; however, since that crash, I have been able to rediscover my competitive love for the sport, but at a level that is fully for fun. I think I will always be in recovery from a serious obsession with Ultra Endurance mountain bike racing!

 

Since those great days, I have not forgotten about the bike and it still is a part of my life, and I have every bit of as much love for riding as I did as a child. I am in love with many facets of the sport, including coaching!  I began coaching the Durango High School team back in 2002 and have enjoyed coaching and watching riders grow since then.  I have coached a few Juniors and U23 riders to pro and have helped many older athletes achieve their personal cycling goals.  I am also way into new bike tech, bike fitting, bike maintenance, watching bike races, and talking about silly things like watts and such.  The goal is to find what makes you tick and use that as the platform to help you get to where you want to go.  Everyone is different and everyone is special; everyone has a different path and a destination they want to get to.  I would love the opportunity to talk to you about the path you are on.”