Gr8 Inspirations: Young cyclist trains toward career
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) – It’s winter break at the University of Arizona but break is a relative term to freshman Spencer Miller when back in his home state of Indiana.
Frigid weather has not keep the aspiring professional cyclist from training toward his dream.
Even during his sport’s offseason, the 19-year-old from Zionsville will spend hours a week on a bike attached to an indoor resistance trainer.
It is routine fueled by a passion that was born in middle school.
Miller went from the more traditional child’s use of a bike of getting around the neighborhood with friends to joining grown cyclists on Hamilton County roads.
“When I was younger I used to play basketball, football. Then, I started running and I don’t know, I just kind of got caught by endurance sports,” Miller said.
Miller’s drive to ride accelerated when he met the founder of a nonprofit cycling club called Rollfast.
Matt Tanner founded the group in Carmel to expand cycling in the community and provide resources including scholarships for aspiring young cyclists.
“We picked helping to get youth involved in cycling because we quickly realized there’s not a direct path for students or kids that are interested in using the bike as their sport,” Tanner said.
Members of Rollfast became mentors, according to Miller, as he grew more comfortable in the sport saying their guidance has been hugely helpful.
“(It) definitely takes a lot of motivation and structure, I guess, to keep on top of the training because you could easily just not go. It’s not like there’s typically a lot of people waiting on you that will hold you accountable,” Miller said.
Miller said he would spend the winter training for the cycling season that picks up again in the spring
“I’d like to make it as far as I can in cycling. We’ll see where that goes but yeah, just keep enjoying it too and it’s something that I’ll probably do whether it’s a profession or not,” said Miller.