Brandon Dwight
Sponsor/Team: Boulder Cycle Sport
Hometown: Boulder, CO
Where are you from?
Born in Akron, Ohio, grew up in Scituate, Massachusetts, been in Boulder, Colorado since 1990.
What kind of bike do you ride
Well, I currently don’t even own a mountain or road bike, but that will have to change soon if I get into this race. I do have a Scott Addict CX RC cyclocross bike, which I raced last fall and a Surly Cross Check I used for commuting.
What do you love about it?
The Scott Addict CX RC is a ridiculously light and stiff race bike. The Surly is, well, the antithesis of the Scott Addict CX RC.
Solo or team competitor? Why?
Solo. I don’t want to hold anyone back.
Done any ultra-endurance stuff before?
La Ruta de Conquistadores, 2007
Favorite food?
My wife’s pancakes.
Movie? Book?
Shine. Book? "Night" by Elie Weisel
Best experience on a bike? Worst?
BEST: Four words: Singlespeed World Championships, Minneapolis
WORST: My first Iron Horse Mountain Bike Race in 1994. Sport class. Pouring rain. Thick, nasty mud. I was on the course for more than three hours. I think I actually pedaled my bike for less than 20 minutes and had to carry it the rest of the time. I wanted to drop out so bad, but for some reason I didn’t. To this day I have never suffered more on the bike. Finished fourth and won some Oury grips. I was stoked.
Tell us about your LBS (Local Bike Shop):
Here comes the shameless plug. Boulder Cycle Sport is a shop of which I am the co-owner. Four years ago we set out to create a community-based shop for riders of all levels. Everyone is meant to feel welcomed and appreciated. To be honest there are lot of great “Local Bike Shops” in Boulder. Each one of these locally owned shops are run by upstanding people who have a true passion for the sport. It’s a great community to be a part of.
Tell us about your favorite ride EVER:
A few years back while on an East Coast trail advocacy trip the International Mountain Bike Association a co-worker and had to spend a night in Manhattan. We had driven all day and arrived at the hotel in Times Square tired and hungry, but instead of sacking out in the hotel room, we ripped our singlespeeds out of the rental car and did urban assault until the wee hours of the morning. We weaved in an out of traffic for hours, from Times Square to Ground Zero and back. I knew the World Trade Center was large, but seeing the vacant lot where the Twin Towers once stood was an extremely moving sight.
Who will play you in the Breck Epic movie and why?
Bill Murray. Because it would mean the movie would be produced by Wes Anderson, and Bill Murray only gets acting gigs if Wes Anderson is making a movie and I love films by Wes Anderson.
Tell us about your history as a cyclist or in the industry:
I started racing mountain bikes in 1993. Slowly climbed the ranks to get a pro license in 1999, but was not even randomly close to be fast enough in order to make a living as a professional cyclist. Gave up the ghost in 2001 and went on to work for the International Mountain Bike Association for a few years before I opened a bike shop in 2005. Throughout these years I religiously raced cyclocross every fall and still do. It’s a sport that has truly become a passion for me. The culture is very similar to the mountain bike scene where most people do it for the love. I teach free cyclocross clinics every fall and really enjoy teaching people how to get involved in the sport. After realizing I was never going to make the podium in a big time cyclocross race, I started focusing on local races and the Master’s race at U.S. Cyclocross Nationals and have been able to win the National Championship for my category in 2007 and 2008. I also started Dopers Suck (www.doperssuck.com) in 2004 after Filip Meirhaeghe admitted to taking EPO before “winning” the World Championships.
Feel free to blatantly self-promote here.
A long time ago I read a quote from some ultra-endurance runner and he stated, “Sometimes, only sometimes, everything becomes perfect and effortless and that makes everything worthwhile.” I never forgot that statement. Whether it’s training for an event, building a business or creating a lasting relationship, it’s a great motto to live by.
Links to your work:
http://velonews.com/article/9309
http://velonews.com/article/13712
http://bouldercyclesport.com/page.cfm?pageID=405
