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Hi all, here’s an update on track usage for this Fall and Winter.

The Lowdown

King County Parks got in touch to inform us of a significant amount of damage that has been done to the track property during a recent cyclocross event. Additionally, a lot of the repair work that the Park did after this event has already been negatively affected by further bicycle, vehicle, and rugby use. In light of this, King County Parks has decided to close the velodrome for the Fall/Winter to allow for proper seeding and germination of the property grounds.

Today’s ItB is for the one and only Andrew Carlberg! (Meet the guy, it’s an apt description!) You can email this board member at his new velodrome email, racing@velodrome.org. He gets such an important email because he will serve as the “Vice President”, aka the guy that pretends to be important. I’ll let him try and tell you why he’s actually important though!

Cory: So, let’s get to know more about you as a cyclist. What got you into racing?

Andrew: As y’all probably know, I got my start in biking in Texas.  

C: Uh, what?

A: 

C: Oh. Fair enough. Continue.

A: ‘Twas my father who got me into riding and in 2005 I completed the BP MS 150 bike ride from Houston to Austin (over 2 days).  I continued to do the charity race circuit until 2008 when I started doing some local week night summer crits in Houston.  I decided that racing was a freakin’ blast and did as much of it as I could.  During the 2009 summer crit series I had a bad crash that resulted in me spending two nights in a hospital.

C: Sounds like track racing was kind of far off at this point!

A: I’m getting there, I just have a long and incredibly engaging story to tell first! Around this time, my Texas A&M teammate was getting into track and convinced me to race the last couple nights of the season.  I was hooked.  The following season I bought my first track bike, sailed through the cat 4s and won the Alkek Cat 3 Rider of Year and upgraded to a Cat 2. 

C: Zzzzz… … Zzzzz….

A: HEY! This is the good part!!

C: Right! I totally can tell!!

A: Good. After my cat 2 upgrade, I turned my efforts towards the Texas Cup Series (12 races between Alkek and Superdrome) and won the Elite Men’s competition. I also competed in Nationals for the first time and placed much higher in the sprint events than the endurance, so in 2012 I focused on the sprints and ended up on the podium at College Nats.

C: Awesome! What the heck brought you from Texas to Western Washington then? And do you still need a green card for leaving that country?

A: Texas is not a country.

C: Wow! You learn something new everyday.

A: Are you even qualified to do these interviews? Anyways, I was working on my internship at Amazon.com when I first started racing over the summer at Marymoor.  After graduating college in May 2013, I proceeded to attack the NTC and win the Elite Mens Sprint competition. In 2014 I have continued my sprinting ways and went under 11 seconds for the first time in the 200 and finished on the podium for Team Sprint at Elite Nationals. 

C: Ok. You’re pretty fast. I’m definitely impressed. No really! How about we change the subject to something less cycling centric?

A: Fair enough. I moved to Seattle full time in August of 2013 with my then fiancée, now Wife, Liz.  I’m working full time at Amazon.com as a Software Engineer working on Digital Products.  Liz is finishing up becoming a real estate agent, so if you are looking to buy a house, let me know! 

C: What got you thinking about joining the MVA Board in the first place? 

A: I decided to run for the board after being forced to by Chris Weber because I wanted to help make a difference in something I’m really passionate about.  If you have any thoughts on what you want racing to be like in 2015, please feel free to reach out to me. And, if you like following people who don’t have a lot to say, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @TheeAeroburg. 

Today’s (again) introduction is for perhaps the boards most traveled member. At least international… Gordy Morris is the board’s secretary and will also be heading up our marketing efforts. As such, you can reach him at marketing@velodrome.org if you have any interest in helping promote the velodrome or if you have contacts for sponsorships. Read on for his story!

Cory: I grew up in the most interesting place on earth – Kansas (and the rest of the Midwest). I’ve been instilled with great morals and a sense of purpose. Top that!

Gordy: Well… I’m half Scottish, half Australian, and 1/8 Singaporean. I grew up in Indonesia, then Australia, then Scotland, and (besides a few other countries mixed in) I have been in Cascadia the past 4 years.

C: Ok, I guess that’s pretty rad. I’m sure you are pretty one-dimensional as an athlete though.

G: Actually, I’m originally a rower, having raced lightweight at national and international level for around 16 years before I got tired of sitting on my butt going backwards. I’ve always cycled as cross training for rowing, even having done some track work back in the UK, but didn’t think to take racing up until we moved to Redmond a couple years ago.

C: Great. Can we end this interview early before I get too embarrassed? Perhaps we can switch the subject to your kids…

G: Sure! I have a 3 year old and 6 month old (India and Max) at home. With the kids, racing this year has been tough but still fun.

C: What plans do you have for racing at the track this coming year?

G: I’m joining Broadmark for the winter and am looking to focus more on the track for next season.

C: And besides racing?!

G: I am a career brand research and strategy guy, but have also started a custom bicycle wheels business to try to keep my head out of spreadsheets and PowerPoint decks occasionally.

C: Great! So you seem perfectly suited for the MVA with your experiences.

G: I hope so! I’ve volunteered for the MVA board to help with sponsorship, revenue and marketing, as well as contributing to the track racing community.

C: Well I’m officially impressed and slightly out manned, so lets call it a day. Please feel free to reach Gordy at his new email marketing@velodrome.org if you have suggestions for sponsors, opportunities to generate extra revenue, or just want to help the board in regards to our marketing strategy.