#doylestownbrewingco

1. Ian, you come to us via Connecticut and Colorado State University. Can you tell us how you came to race on the Doylestown Bike Works p/b Fred Beans Cycling Team in our first year of elite competition?

I grew up racing BMX and riding mountain bikes, but started riding road bikes with my dad in high school. I worked at a local bike shop, Bethel Cycle Works, which had a large club and put on weeknight criterium and time trials races, as well as a very popular spring criterium series. I started racing with their club team and eventually joined the Connecticut Cycling Advancement Program junior team. After graduating high school I went to Colorado State University and raced for their collegiate team and then came back east while on break to race around New England, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. I met Chris Meacham on a Under 23 team we were both racing for in 2016 and he got in touch with me about the new Doylestown Bike Works p/b Fred Beans Cycling Team and I immediately jumped at the chance to race in the PA area again.

2. How did you come to be a bicycle racer and what do you consider your strongest disciplines and specialities in the sport?

I love to race technical criteriums and rolling or flat road races. I am most comfortable finishing in a field sprint or from a big break.

3. You are a sponsored athlete of Floyd's of Leadville Cannabidiol (CBD) products. It's a product that we proud to represent and distribute through the shop. As a competitive elite athlete what has been your experience using CBD products for recovery and what is your connection to Floyd's?

I met Floyd Landis with one of my roommates at the 2016 Steamboat Stage Race (Colorado) and had used CBD products for pain in the past. This year Floyd's of Leadville was looking for athlete ambassadors for their products and I contacted them about my experience using their transdermal cream. I had a rough crash at the 2017 Tour of Sommerville and I had pretty severe knee pain on the bike after it. Rather than taking ibuprofen or the likes for pain management, I used the transdermal cream and it allowed me to monitor the pain while still training and being active as I normally would.

4. The season really heats up for us now with the Reading Radfest, West Chester Benchmark Twilight Criterium, and Thompson Bucks County Classic on the horizon. What are your goals individually and for the team?

I'm extremely excited for the West Chester Benchmark Twilight Criterium, the race is always hard and is in a great town with tons of spectators. All the riders on our team love a hard criterium and I think it's a race where we can really showcase what the team is capable of. Our home race, the Thompson Bucks County Classic Criterium is of course one of the major focuses of the season for the whole team. The race is technical, hilly, and very long making great to watch and extremely fun to ride in. Historically it has attracted big teams from around the country so I'm sure it will be very fast.

5. The team has been racing the 2018 Giant TCR Advanced Pro 1 this season, what's been your experience with the bike?

The 2018 Giant TCR Advanced Pro 1 is an incredible bike. It's extremely light and has the perfect geometry for corning hard in criteriums. Ours are spec'd with Shimano Ultegra and the Giant SLR-1 tubeless wheelset. Tubeless tires are great on east coast road with rough surfaces and allow us to run lower tire pressures for more grip in corners while racing.

6. What's fun look like for Ian Whaley away from cycling?

(1) Hey Chris, hope the training is going well down in North Carolina. Tell us a little about your studies at Appalachian State University and what post-graduation might bring? Hey! I am studying psychology and will be working for team sponsor, ARCCA Experts in Penns Park, PA as a human factors psychologist after I graduate. I am very excited to come back home and get settled in PA once again. 

(2) I know your only 22, but you've already had a pretty long career in cycling. Tell us a little about how you got involved and some of the highlights so far? I’ve had a very enjoyable cycling career so far. I’ve raced the whole NRC calendar as a pro for multiple years. I had the opportunity to train/race/live with Chris Horner which was very helpful for developing a well rounded opinion in the sport of cycling. Horner’s attitude on the sport really made me confident for my long term career. 

(4) I also know that a couple of years ago you had a pretty bad break (literally) while training in NC. Tell us a little about that experience and how you overcame it? April of  2016 I got hit by a car and broke both my back and neck. I was in the hospital for a week or so and was released with strict instructions not to workout until I passed certain tests/scans. But I was on the trainer two days after I got home and luckily held onto my fitness until i was clearer to ride/race on the road. A month or so following my being medically cleared I lapped the field at the NCC Criterium in Rochester NY. I was shocked and very motivated to slay the rest of the season with some new results post-injury. 

(5) Remember when you got the chance to do the hard miles with me in Germany last year? What was that experience like? Germany was awesome! Thomas Hoffman and Brian Boger were gracious enough to let me ruin their trip to Germany. We rode up a volcano a bunch of times and luckily found some liquid libations to quench our thirsts (Bembel With Care Apple Cola) 

(6) Heard you parlayed our sponsorship with Fred Beans into a new whip? Watcha rockin? I bought 2018 Subaru WRX from Fred Beans Subaru in November. I love it!