What is the best thing about working at The Cycling House?

The people, definitely the people. I really like all of my coworkers and thoroughly enjoy talking to all the people who come on our trips. If you’re a cyclist in Missoula, you know lots of people who are current or previous TCH team members so I jumped at the opportunity when a spot in the Missoula office opened up! I’ve spent some time working in bike shops over the years and every so often you get these super interesting people who are just so fun to work and interact with. One moment you’re showing them a bike, then next thing you know you’re deep in a fascinating conversation. So many of the people who come on TCH trips are like that so it’s a treat getting to talk to them about all the awesome bike trips we offer.

Do you have a favorite ride?

I have a go-to weeknight ride that I love doing after work. Since I do this ride repeatedly, I’ve got to count it as one of my favorites. There’s a gravel climb to a saddle off the side of one of Missoula’s in-town ‘mountains’ (Jumbo), and then I ride over to another double-track gravel climb up the backside of our other in-town ‘mountain’ (Sentinel). After the second gravel climb, called the Deer Creek Sneak, it’s just a quick descent back into town, with plenty of time for dinner. The ride takes about two hours and has around 2000’ of climbing. It’s great because I ride from my front door but still get good gravel, beautiful views, and some quality time in the woods.

What is the most memorable day you’ve ever had on the bike?

In 2014 I was doing a solo bike tour around Europe, taking a circuitous route from Freiburg, Germany, where I’d been living for the last year, to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. I’d been on the road for weeks and had crossed into Bosnia the night before. Around the middle of the day, I arrived in a city named Mostar. It has a famous bridge connecting the town's christian and muslim sides. It was destroyed during the war in the 90s but was rebuilt and restored after the war as a powerful symbol of unity between the people who live there. It was a beautiful day; the sky was clear, the town was bustling, the white stone of the bridge gleamed in the sun, minarets issued a call to prayer, and I pushed my loaded bike to the other side of the bridge to continue onwards to Sarajevo. It was amazing.