Long-time rider Mitch DeYoung agreed to talk to me about his first racing season and his goals for 2009. I met with the mid-Michigan racer on an unseasonably warm day in March. MiMBR: How long have you been racing?
MD: I have been seriously racing for about a year. Last year was really my first year. I raced a little bit before that, but just sporadically.
MiMBR: Can you tell me a little bit about how you got into racing, how and why you started?
MD: Well, I’ve really been riding my entire life. I rode BMX bikes as a kid and had a little track in my backyard, so I grew up with that. I got a mountain bike in my teens and I was just riding and riding. One day my sister called me and said “Hey, we’re going to watch a mountain bike race that one of my friends is going to be in and you should come and ride.” So I said “Okay, why not” and that was my first race at Pando. It was interesting. That was about six or seven years ago and I didn’t race much after that, I just rode a lot. Last year, Laurie [DeYoung, Mitch’s wife and fellow racer] and I decided that if we were going to ride all the time, we might as well have a reason for it, so we started racing.
MiMBR: So, how did that first race at Pando go?
MD: It went fairly well considering I was sick, just getting over a cold. I think I came in fourth or fifth, which I really can’t complain about. It was interesting. I definitely didn’t have the right equipment. I was wearing tennis shoes and had cages on my pedals. I didn’t have padded shorts. But it was definitely enough to get me to want to do it more.
MiMBR: It sounds like you’ve been riding for a while. Did you participate in any other sports or has biking always just been your sport?
MD: I have done all sorts of stuff. Through high school I played football, wrestled, and did power lifting and track. I played football in college and I destroyed my knee doing that, which was no good. That’s actually what got me back into biking more because I couldn’t run anymore. All the physical therapy I did was always on a bike and whenever I biked my knee felt better. So, I started biking more and more.
MiMBR: What do you like about racing?
MD: It’s hard to pick one thing, but just the fact that you go and ride somewhere new and you’re always pushing yourself and there are other people there to push you. This last year, Rick Doornbos and I went back and forth beating each other in every race. It was just fun to have someone there to push me so hard and to race at so many new places.
MiMBR: Do you have a favorite race course or favorite place to ride?
MD: Again, it’s hard to pick just one. Yankee is a really fun course. I like to go to Fort Custer on a regular basis and ride. If I had a choice of any place to go to ride just for the day, I’d probably go to Potawatomi Trail and spend a couple hours down there.
MiMBR: Do you have any races that you’ve done that you felt like were just a disaster? That you thought “I don’t want to ever do this again”?
MD: The Boyne Marathon was pretty rough. Half-way through my legs decided they really wanted to cramp up and I ran out of water without about five miles left to go. I was tough, but I still finished and ended up getting second. Although first place was six minutes ahead. But third place was four minutes behind.
MiMBR: I want to talk a little bit about your training. Do you have a specific plan that’s very structured that you follow or is it pretty loose?
MD: I have a general structure that I try to follow, but I don’t always do a good job with it. It based on The Mountain Biker’s Training Bible. I use that to come up with a general plan, but some days I think “This workout’s not going to work today” and do something else. I also have a few Train Right DVDs I use as a major part of my training.
MiMBR: That’s the Chris Carmichael series?
MD: Yeah. I use those a lot. And there’s no substitute for just putting miles on. On a day like today … only 20 this morning, but maybe I’ll put another 20 or 30 on tonight. Just ride, ride, ride.
MiMBR: You raced Beginner last year. Are you moving up to Sport?
MD: Yes.
MiMBR: You raced the MMBA Championship Point Series last year. How’d you do?
MD: I got second place by five points. It came down to the last race. I wasn’t able to race because I had hurt my leg playing flag football in a league in St. Johns. If Rick won that race and beat at least seven people, he would get it, but if I had raced, I would have had to beat eight people but not have to win, I would have been first in the series. But I didn’t race, Rick won and about 12 people showed up.
MiMBR: What kind of goals do you have for this year? Is there something specific you want to accomplish?
MD: I want to podium every race, preferably get first.
MiMBR: Might as well aim high.
MD: Aim high, that’s right.
MiMBR: Last year you didn’t race on a team. Are you going to join a team this season?
MD: Yes, I’m racing for On Two Wheels out of Jackson this year.
MiMBR: What made you decide to be on a team? How do you think it will benefit you?
MD: Having people to train with is a big part of it. Also, being accountable to someone other than just myself. Before I was just racing for myself. Now I have a team to show up for.
MiMBR: Did you ever have a DNF where you just got fed up and quit?
MD: Nope. I wanted to quit Boyne, but I didn’t let myself. No, I’m kind of person that my bike could break and I would walk the rest of the race. I’d hobble if I had to, but I’d finish it.
MiMBR: What is the hardest thing for you about racing?
MD: I guess the hardest thing about racing is giving up my summer. I spend so much time riding and racing and training. Before I was racing I spent a lot of time at my family’s cottage on the lake. Now I don’t get to do that as much. But it’s rewarding to be out racing. We still do that, just not as much.
MiMBR: Is there anything special that you do on the day of a race to get ready? Do you have a superstitious routine or anything?
MD: Not really. I just like to show up early, ride a few miles before the race and make sure I eat a good breakfast.
MiMBR: Is there anything that happened after you started racing or during a race or because of a race that really surprised you that you didn’t expect to happen?
MD: What really surprised me was how well everybody got along at races. We’re all racing and we’re competing against each other, but I made a number of new friends just standing around talking to people waiting for results. The camaraderie you have with other racers.
MiMBR: It’s a really welcoming group.
MD: Yeah.
MiMBR: It doesn’t matter whether you’re really good or you suck. You’re all there for the same reason.
MD: Yep. None of us is going to make a living at it. Or at least it’s not likely. [laughs] I would like to, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Everyone’s just there to ride and have a good time.
MiMBR: Was there any advice that another racer gave you when you were first starting out that you thought was really valuable that really helped you?
MD: Not really. Most of the people I ride with haven’t been riding for as long as I have, so mostly I’m giving them advice.
MiMBR: For those people reading this who are just starting out who want to race, what advice would you give them?
MD: Just get out there and ride. Go to trails. Just do stuff that challenges you and keep going faster. And if you think you might want to race, go try it.
