top of page

MEET OUR GUIDE: JUSTIN

Who's the rider behind the founder of Dawn to Dusk MTB Adventures?


"Well, I sure as hell am not cut from a scripted cloth. I wasn't a road racer in college. I didn't grow up with structured training. And no, I do not think that I'm a product of optimal genetics. I found success on the bike after a few decades honing the necessary attribute for a successful endurance athlete: grit. And boy did I ever search for the hardest lessons..."




Race Palmares:


2021

  • National Ultra Endurance Singlespeed Champion

    • 1st - Lumberjack 100 - Manistee, MI

    • 1st - High Cascades 100 - Bend, OR

    • 1st - Pierre's Hole 100 - Alta, WY

    • 1st - Shenandoah 100 - Stokesville, VA

    • 1st - Marji Gesick 100 - Marquette, MI

    • 1st - Grizzly 100 - Big Bear, CA

  • Leadville 100 (geared) - 7:53:47

  • 3rd - USAC MTB Nationals Singlespeed - Winter Park, CO

  • 1st - GoPro Games Singlespeed - Vail, CO

  • 2nd - 12 Hours Royal Gorge (Duo Men) - Cañon City, CO

  • 1st - 18 Hours of Fruita (4-Man) - Fruita, CO

  • 1st - Desert Rats 50K Singlespeed - Fruita, CO

  • 2nd - 6 Hours Frog Hollow Singlespeed - Virgin, UT

2020

  • National Ultra Endurance Singlespeed Champion

    • 1st - True Grit Epic - St. George, UT

    • 2nd - Mohican 100 - Loudonville, OH

    • 1st - Shenandoah 100 - Stokesville, VA

    • 1st - Grizzly 100 - Big Bear, CA

  • Colorado Singlespeed State Champion

  • 1st - Maah Daah Hey 100 Singlespeed - Medora, ND

  • 2nd - 25 Hours in Frog Hollow Singlespeed - Virgin, UT

  • 2nd - Dawn to Dusk AZ (Duo Men) - Fountain Hills, AZ

  • 5th - 25 Hours of Old Pueblo - Tucson, AZ

2019

  • Colorado Singlespeed State Champion

  • 1st - BV Outlaw 12 Hrs - Buena Vista, CO

  • 1st - Golden GiddyUp (23-39) - Golden, CO

  • 1st - Elephant Rock 12-Hr Solo - Castle Rock, CO

  • 1st - Ridgeline Rampage Singlespeed - Castle Rock, CO

  • 2nd - Leadville 100 Singlespeed - Leadville, CO

  • 3rd - Battle the Bear Singlespeed - Morrison, CO

  • 5th - Firecracker 50 - Breckenridge, CO

  • 6th - GoPro Games - Vail, CO

  • 7th - USAC MTB Nationals Singlespeed - Winter Park, CO

  • 9th - La Ruta de los Conquistadores - Costa Rica

  • Breck Epic - Breckenridge, CO

Committed to a transition from "jack-of-all-trades" to one who finally "masters" something, my MTB racing career started in 2013 where I took off from the starting line in baggy shorts and a hydration pack. Fast-forward nearly a decade and though I've moved from the back of the pack to the tip of the spear, I still know those butterflies. I still get tense. I still have doubt. Fortunately through experience, failures and successes, I've learned how to get past the gray, hone the focus, and race the race.


But why MTB? And why now?


On team sports I was always the 3rd or 4th best. Good, not great. Reliable but not as the guy when we need the guy. At a recreational level this would be perfect. The guy who can play every sport at every park. Never picked last. However, the toll on my psyche added up. Being in the shadow of a better athlete limited my ability to see my best. This self-imposed, glass ceiling kept me boxed in. Breaking out would take a shift. I said goodbye to team sports and found in mountain biking the battle between self and trail. Self and self. Without the ability to measure against a human foe I was able to put the focus where it always should've been, on myself. Small successes added up. I got over that one rock. I made it past that exposed shelf. I cleared that tricky bit. As those compounded my confidence grew and then I was able to take the true test. Could I be successful in a crowd again. Sure as heck I could. Funny what's possible when we step back, do the hard work, and build a true foundation. It doesn't get rocked.

And you can do that for others?


Yes. This transition occurred slowly in my spare time as I continued to build a fitness business in Denver, CO. I started e3 Fitness in 2008 and built the small- and large-group boutique training gym until it's transition from my hands at the end of 2021. 13 years of teaching body awareness, technical skills, behavioral changes, and the spectrum of challenges athletes encounter equipped me with the experience needed to guide others' journeys on two wheels.


Sounds like I'll like working with you!


Not so fast. I am demanding. Not "he's an arrogant jerk" demanding, but demanding. One of the tenants I held firm with my staff has always been to "have tunnel-visioned focus on your athlete's success". That means selling out against pain, frustration, disappointment, and distraction for the purpose of the task at hand. I don't hit the snooze button. I will never eat crappy food. I do NOT want dessert. I've lived in mediocrity before and after chasing my passions to the furthest reaches of success I tell you firmly, I'm never turning back. So...if that's your coach? I might be your guy.


62 views

Recent Posts

See All

コメント


bottom of page