Stephen Strayer

 

Stephen Strayer

Hello!  My name is Stephen and I am one of the FORM Certified Coaches at CINCH.  I moved to Colorado in 2015 and met Tom right as he was forming CINCH Cycling Coaching.  Tom has been my coach and friend the whole time, and he still coaches me today!  Starting a few years ago he began to train me to be a cycling coach using the FORM system he invented.   


My personal journey to cycling different than most.  I do not come from a professional cycling past with trophies or glamourous really in any way, but my inspiration is deeply personal that started with cycling as the catalyst to lead a healthy lifestyle.  I feel like all health minded people can relate to the delicate balance between family, career, the desire to compete, and true pursuit of personal progress that requires time and sacrifice to achieve.  For over 20 years prior to cycling I created a new business and owned and operated my own residential paint contracting business.  The time, energy and effort invested paid off, but took a toll on my health until I decided to make a change.  Riding for weight loss quickly transitioned to riding for fitness,  and competing in many of the top ultra-distance cycling races in the country.  Even though ultra-distance racing is my forte my fast twitch muscle fibers are not dormant, I have got a mean sprint too!! (Ask about #TheGame)   I love strategy for all types of racing and have helped riders win in several disciplines.  I take a lot of joy and satisfaction in helping my riders achieve milestones-  The 1st metric century, the 1st century, preparing to race, progressing to understand amateur bike racing, the list is endless but my joy is to hear a cyclist’s goals and help him or her achieve them.

 

I feel hard work, dedication and perseverance are needed to be a successful amateur cyclist- whether a serious racer or a baller cyclist, true balance is needed between “life” and training.  In addition to coaching I still maintain another low key commitment as the leading commercial patient contractor in Boulder county- real priority management is needed with my own training.  As a high level amateur there is no question of getting the work done. The "when" is up for debate, but this is where I really rise to the challenge: it might be 5am or 3pm, changing in my car, between appointments,  but one way or another my Tom coach can count on me to get my intervals done.  Organized chaos doesn’t really faze me, in fact its where I thrive.  A busy schedule that is feels overwhelming for most, is routine for me and I find is routine for most of those that I coach. For my riders I really  go out of my way to dedicate the needed time, phone calls, check-ins with every athlete I work with.    I try to see people for who they are without prejudice.   From seasoned to novice, I can really be an inspiration to you and help a rider wherever you may want to go on your cycling journey. 

 

I really strive to build  personal relationships and has an innate sense of when to be still and when to push his friends and athletes.  I try really hard to retain the riders I coach for a long time so we can see immense progress, and that can be attributed to time invested in getting to know and understand the clients I get to have an opportunity coach!  If I can be of any help to you please click on the link below and a member of the Cinch Cycling Coaching Team will reach out to you quickly!