Ron Peterson
Ron has worked for over thirteen years as a professional cycling coach. In his tenure as a coach has has seen his share of action ranging from a 3:00 a.m. call from a new pro in Italy exclaiming she was 30th GC in her first Giro d’Italia. (...and that she was running out of peanut butter) to corralling 30+ USC and UCLA cyclists during a training camp in Solvang. Then there are the experiences like visiting a former client (a prominent attorney) and seeing, proudly displayed above his mantle, the medal earned by winning his first Cat 4 criterium.
Preceding his coaching years, cycling was still driving force in his life. It started at the University of Colorado when his college roommate introduced him to mountain biking. He was instantly hooked and worked to scrounge together enough money to purchase his own mountain bike. As with most addictions, this was only the beginning. His first attempt at racing was immediately followed by selling his car so that he could make another bike purchase. "I needed road bike training because getting trounced in your first MTB race is a miserable experience." And so the journey began.
As fate would have it, his initial MTB race experience was not indicative of his cycling career. In road racing he discovered his calling. "While I loved the physical challenge, the tactics (“chess at 30 mph”) fascinated me." Ron eventually joined the professional ranks, which led his to Belgium, notorious for its fields full of tough guys from all over the world. "This taught me how to truly race a bike." In addition to a career in professional fitting and coaching, Ron is a Cat 1 Masters Racer and holds eight state championships in Colorado and California criteriums, road races, time trials and team time trials.