This week Dirk sat down with renowned Coach Jim Miller and the very talented mountain biking athlete, Christopher Blevins. They explored topics such as the athlete-coach relationship, Christopher’s recovery process and the reality of racing during COVID-19.
Christopher also dove into the reasoning behind his decision to commit to mountain bike racing over road and why he’s happy with the current trajectory of his career. Jim reviews his own personal evolution as a coach, starting at USA Cycling, exploring racing strategy at many Olympic Games, his progression to TrainingPeaks and finally, returning to where it all started again at USAC.
Stand-Out Quotes
- “I’m like, what did I get into? So I think anybody who switches to Jim, they may go through a transition period where they assimilate the mental fortitude and the discipline in it.”
- “I can tell you within five minutes of talking to somebody whether I can coach them or not. It is really whether or not those personalities jive.”
- “A piece of advice I give everybody is, if your personal goals line up with the team’s goals, you’ll always be happy…if your personal goals don’t line up with the team’s goals, you’ll always be unhappy regardless of the money.”
- “I’m equally as passionate about my poetry and music, rap really, as I am my cycling. So it’s something I do more for myself and it’s very introspective and personal, but I write a lot of songs when I’m on the bike, like long endurance rides.”
- “Understand why you’re doing this, keep your love for it and protect that and don’t neglect that, or get caught up in external validation. You have to have internal goals that are built on top of your external goals.”
Resources
Christopher Blevins’ Instagram
