Look Who’s Loving the Bike – November 2010
My friend, Cristi, from CyclingDomestique.com told me she was going to be interviewing Ben Day of the FlyVAustralia/ Pegasus Racing team, and wondered if there was anything I’d like for her to ask him. I told her to find out what is was that caused him to start Loving the Bike. Here is the exchange through her words.
C/O Cristi Ruhlman - Cycling Domestique.com
Ever wonder how pro cyclists get their start in cycling? What inspired them, did they start riding as infants and build their skills on a big wheel tricycle?
Well, maybe some of them did, but for Ben Day of the FlyVAustralia/ Pegasus Racing team, it wasn’t so easy. For this pro-cyclist, the road from Australia to winning races definitely didn’t start in the crib.
CyclingDomestique.com caught up with Ben last week as part of an interview on Teamwork and “Mateship” on FlyV but Ben also gave us some insight into how he got started in racing–what started him on the road to Loving The Bike.
Ben Day on Loving The Bike:
CyclingDomestique.com: I think we’d all love to find out what drew you to cycling in the first place?
Tour Down Under Team UniSA-Autralia Supporters Club 2003
“My parents didn’t race, but I believe that my grandfather did. Not that I ever knew my grandfather, but maybe it was in the blood there little bit, a couple of generations ago. My family, my parents were very protective when I was growing up, so they didn’t let me have a bike of my own until I was like 14 or 15.”
“I used to go see my cousin who lived in the Outback (Outback, Australia), and I used to get on one of those girls BMX pink bikes with the hard seats and just ride around for a couple of days at a time. It was something I loved doing. So I always had the passion there, but I’m not really sure where I developed it from. But it was just something-being on the road and going fast. It always kind of excited me.”
CD: So would you say that in the outback and riding that BMX bike, that was kind of your first experience Loving the Bike?
“Oh yeah for sure. I’d come back with a sore ass for being on the plastic seat all weekend–that thing really hurt. But it was good times, really good times.”
Ben Day is now the complete professional cyclist, he rides fast , wins races and talks about teamwork at the FlyVAustralia team. He is a leader and gives ultimate credit to his “mates” for the success of the Pegasus Racing team, as it heads to Europe and the next level in cycling.
But as this former-Australian Champion and European cycling veteran began to talk about his early days, riding his cousin’s bike in the Outback, the tone of his voice changed and Ben sounded totally relaxed. It was easy to tell that he was really excited when talked about how he first started LovingTheBike. It’s what’s behind Ben Day’s passion for the bike — it’s that teenager riding a borrowed BMX bike with a pink seat all about in the Outback.
Awesome! I remember riding all over town on bmx bikes when I was a kid.