If you’ve ever participated in sport, you’ve probably dreamt of winning a state championship, a national championship and maybe even pictured yourself upon the top step winning a world championship. Few of us actually manifest those dreams, and those garnering the trifecta of championships are few and far between. All that said, this weeks coffee ride guest is no stranger to those finish line post ups, climbing up on the top podium step, or that addicting rush of endorphins from a well fought victory.
Let me brag on Heather Laufer for just a second. These results, may or may not be 100% accurate because, well, she’s not even 100% certain of how many events she’s won across the quad/inline speed skating and cycling disciplines.
- Several National Championships (Skating)
- Five World Championships (Skating)
- World Games Medalist (Skating)
- Pan American Games Champion (Skating)
- Olympic Sports Festival Champion (Skating)
- Criterium National Champion (Cycling)
- Four Time Oklahoma State Champion (Cycling)
- 14 First Place Finishes since 2015 (Cycling)
So, now that we’ve seen what kind of winning streak Heather’s on, let’s get to the juicy stuff. Where does she get her drive, what gets her out of bed in the morning and what was her bike of choice for the coffee ride.
With all of your success in skating, what prompted you to get into the sport of cycling?
”So, cycling, was really just because I was returning to skating. I entered a tiny league meet for skating, and I’m on the line with like, one other person and I’m so nervous. I almost threw up and was like, this is not good. Cycling gave me the opportunity to ride like two times a week, and I needed to find a way to race more and calm my nerves. My friend Alex Fedak sorta introduced me to cycling. He was like we race every Tuesday at the Wheeler Crit, and you can race pretty much every weekend with cycling. There’s that pic that Biff took of me, and like I don’t even have sleeves, my light is still on my bike, and my bike rack is on because it was basically a commuter.”
I’ve pretty much known you since the first time you threw your leg over a bicycle and when it comes to training and competition, you’re one of the most tenacious people I know. What is it that drives you and what piece of advice would you give to another upcoming athlete?
”First of all, I freaking love it. I’ve always looked at it as freedom. Growing up, I skated, I didn’t really have a choice. We skated. That’s what my family did. But my bike, my first bike was an Apollo Racer, and that was so much freedom to me. I could go anywhere on that thing. That isn’t what drives me to train, but that same feeling of freedom is what hitches me to the bicycle. I love the bicycle because it’s me now, whereas skating for me is not as comfortable a space because I’m racing a girl from 20 years ago and she was kind of a bad ass. Really, I would say just ride. You don’t have to have all the metrics, just ride.”
In 2014 you raced your first Wheeler Crit, four years later in 2018, you won a Masters National Criterium Championship. How does that win compare to every other win you’ve taken, and you’ve had 14 since 2015 so plenty to compare them to.
”So, in 2014, that was like when my pursuit started to make the U.S. team for skating again. I was able to capture that in 2015, um, but not grandly. I was trying to make the team again in 2016 and had something personal happen that kind of like just knocked all the wind out of my sails. I had to reassess, like what was really important and going to the U.S. team trials didn’t really fit the bill because of the stress it was going to put on my family. So, my rally was this new found sport of cycling and I was able to put more effort into cycling and have this two wheeled therapy. I had goals when I came into the sport and winning a National Championship, no matter how grandiose that sounds, that was one of my goals. The fact that it came that quickly was super surprising. At that time, my high-tech equipment was my bell. It was so funny because everybody had the, just like super fancy equipment and all their metrics and their computers and like every time we hit a bump my bell would ring. I was like super stoked and it was a clean win.”
So, one thing you and I have in common is we’ve both been in some pretty gnarly cycling accidents. After your Mid South wreck, did you ever doubt your comeback to the sport?
”Uh, yeah, I did, but it was because of an anomaly they found with my heart condition. I didn’t really know anything about that and I didn’t want to be a Google doctor. I didn’t want to like research and find as much information as I could and like scare myself. But I actually had the conversation with my kids that, um, I didn’t know that I would ever be going back to racing. It wasn’t the crash. The broken bones didn’t bother me. It was the heart condition that made me doubt. I will say that I’ve never hit the earth as hard as I did that day. Like I’d never before then, broken any bones and to break my clavicle and seven ribs was a pretty big deal. And coming back, especially with gravel, I did have little panic moments. The first race that I finished after the crash was the G3 Race Series, and I was super proud of that.”
The coffee we enjoyed: Clarity Coffee - Natural Ethiopia
Origin: Ethiopia
Notes: Strawberry, blackberry jam
Brewing Method: Pour Over
My thoughts: I’m a sucker for Natural Ethiopians and have really enjoyed this coffee. The blackberry jam note is easily found and I like the sweetness that it brings. I’m always stoked to try an Ethiopian with a strawberry or blueberry note and psyched when I stumble on one that’s a really berry bomb. I wouldn’t say this one is dropping any berry bombs (although I haven’t tried it on espresso yet), but it’s delicious, sweet, and super clean. I can’t wait to see what roasts Clarity Coffee has lined up in the future.
Future Coffee Ride Guests:
5/5 - Andy Chasteen