Ryan Terpening - Minneapolis, MN
For as long as I can remember I’ve been riding a bicycle. I remember waking up on Christmas morning to a bright red Huffy waiting for me next to the tree. I rode that bike until my parents let me save up and buy my own mountain bike. We had a makeshift trail that we would ride through the woods that surrounded my house and we’d spend all of our summer days down there exploring the wilderness. Then life happened and the bike got hung up. About ten years ago I felt like exploring the trails that ran by my house that I just moved into. I quickly drove to the local bike shop and bought a mountain bike. I explored all trails around the metro area and rediscovered that little boy who woke up to the red huffy.
I got into endurance biking as a dare to myself. At first I dared myself to ride my 32-mile commute to work, which was absurd to me then. Once I became comfortable with that, I dared myself to ride a century. The idea of riding 100 miles on my bike was just ridiculous enough that I couldn’t shake it out of my head. However, I did it and was hooked. Cycling quenched the competitive thirst that I craved. Competing against myself and other racers encouraged me to keep registering for more endurance races. I can’t get enough: Gravel racing, fat bike racing, mountain bike racing. I love pushing myself farther and farther just to see what I can do. I think it’s amazing the lengths we can push our minds and bodies.
I am a science teacher in Minneapolis, in the heart of the city, and my message to my students is that we are all capable of doing more than we can imagine. I have a question on my front board for them so they can reflect on it everyday, “What are you doing today to change the world?” When I first learned about Advocate Cycles I knew this was a movement I wanted to get behind and support however I could. The idea of giving back to the community is at the heart of who I am. Mixing my two passions, cycling and advocacy, makes my heart race, just like that morning I walked down and saw that shiny red Huffy.
Photo courtesy Don Nguyen