After Retiring from Professional Cycling, Brad Huff Finds a New Sense of Joy in Gravel Rides

I started racing at the Spokes BMX park in Springfield, Missouri, when I was 9 years old and stuck with it for three years. Then, in my junior year of high school I picked up a mountain bike and haven’t stopped pedaling since then. There were not any training apps back then, only the Joe Friel training bible. I used that book for years to guide my training. I originally picked up a mountain bike in 1996 to gain more endurance for running track in high school. The following year, I was the 1997 Junior Beginner Mountain Bike State Champion for Missouri. I gravitated towards cycling because it let me push myself unlike anything else I had done up to that point. I remember playing a football game on Friday night and telling my coach I had a mountain bike race on Sunday. He would shake his head and say, “well, just show up for practice on Monday.” In the fall of 1998, I purchased a road bike and by the next summer I made it onto the U.S. National Team. My first international race, the Tour de Hokkaido in Japan, didn’t go well at all. I was dropped on day one and never made it to the second stage. From that point forward, I was determined to better myself and get back to the National Team once again. Cycling became my identity very early in my journey. My high school yearbook shows me racing mountain bikes at our local trails. I remember getting sideways glances when I rode my bike to church and showed up in my riding gear—in rural Missouri. And I even sat through a few classes in school while wearing spandex. In both cases, the way I was dressed didn’t match those around me, but it didn’t matter to me because it felt right being my true self, no matter where I was. Early in my cycling journey, I overtrained and was fighting an eating disorder. Thanks to getting dropped on the first climb at the Tour de Hokkaido, I thought I needed to lose weight to be competitive. Predictably, I got injured. [View in Browser]( [Bicycling]( [SHOP]( [EXCLUSIVE]( [SUBSCRIBE]( [After Retiring from Professional Cycling, Brad Huff Finds a New Sense of Joy in Gravel Rides]( [After Retiring from Professional Cycling, Brad Huff Finds a New Sense of Joy in Gravel Rides]( I started racing at the Spokes BMX park in Springfield, Missouri, when I was 9 years old and stuck with it for three years. Then, in my junior year of high school I picked up a mountain bike and haven’t stopped pedaling since then. There were not any training apps back then, only the Joe Friel training bible. I used that book for years to guide my training. I originally picked up a mountain bike in 1996 to gain more endurance for running track in high school. The following year, I was the 1997 Junior Beginner Mountain Bike State Champion for Missouri. I gravitated towards cycling because it let me push myself unlike anything else I had done up to that point. I remember playing a football game on Friday night and telling my coach I had a mountain bike race on Sunday. He would shake his head and say, “well, just show up for practice on Monday.” In the fall of 1998, I purchased a road bike and by the next summer I made it onto the U.S. National Team. My first international race, the Tour de Hokkaido in Japan, didn’t go well at all. I was dropped on day one and never made it to the second stage. From that point forward, I was determined to better myself and get back to the National Team once again. Cycling became my identity very early in my journey. My high school yearbook shows me racing mountain bikes at our local trails. I remember getting sideways glances when I rode my bike to church and showed up in my riding gear—in rural Missouri. And I even sat through a few classes in school while wearing spandex. In both cases, the way I was dressed didn’t match those around me, but it didn’t matter to me because it felt right being my true self, no matter where I was. Early in my cycling journey, I overtrained and was fighting an eating disorder. Thanks to getting dropped on the first climb at the Tour de Hokkaido, I thought I needed to lose weight to be competitive. Predictably, I got injured. [Read More](   [This Cyclist-Approved Cold-Weather Gear Will Actually Keep You Warm This Winter]( [This Cyclist-Approved Cold-Weather Gear Will Actually Keep You Warm This Winter]( Want to keep pedaling through the chilly months ahead? Consider this essentials. [Read More](     [Mark Cavendish’s New Team (Whoever It Is) Has Already Won]( [Mark Cavendish’s New Team (Whoever It Is) Has Already Won]( The sprinter’s drive for the all-time Tour de France stage wins record could be the story of the 2023 season. First, he needs to find a team. 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