Q&A with Team Rio Grande Cyclist Tayne Andrade
Tayne Andrade is from Albuquerque, NM. He graduated from CSU in 2021 and raced for the CSU cycling team. He now races for the Rio Grande Elite Cycling Team and coaches young mountain bikers for the Ciclismo Youth Foundation. Tayne is good-natured young man with. He can eat more food than you would believe and ride his bike like a son-of-a-gun.
Q: What is your relationship with cycling like?
A: Cycling is an integral part of my life, it keeps me happy and in shape, helps me maintain my mental health, and allows me to see through the world through a perspective you can’t achieve simply through photos or by driving by. And as a competitive cyclist, cycling has taken me across the country and allowed me to meet hundreds of amazing people and experience things out of my comfort zone.
When did you start riding bikes? What about racing?
I started riding a bike semi-consistently at the end of elementary school with my dad, going on mountain bike rides after school or over the weekend. In middle school, I joined my first club, which was when I started riding most days of the week after school, and again over the weekends. I didn’t start racing until my freshman year of high school, starting first with cyclocross and then road racing. I’ve now been racing for 8 years and do so across most of the cycling disciplines.
You have started coaching young mountain bikers for the Ciclismo Youth Group. How did that come about, and what has that experience been like?
The coaching has been in the background of my life for a few years now, after I met the head coach Andy Clark at a training camp in 2018, after which he mentioned that he’d be interested in having me coach. At the time I didn’t have the time to commit to it. After graduating from CSU however, a local friend who was one of the Ciclismo coaches told me they were looking for more coaches, and since I was taking a break before starting grad school, decided to jump on the opportunity. It has been immensely fulfilling and satisfying to do, seeing how excited the kids are to ride mountain bikes and push their limits is amazing. And for as much as I’ve been able to teach them and guide them, they have pushed me to become a better mountain biker as well. Working with them has become the highlight of my week.
Do you see yourself continuing to coach in the future?
Absolutely, it has been such a fun experience, and being in the position to guide new riders based on my own knowledge is something I have had a passion for.
Are you involved in organizing/putting on the NB short track races in any way?
I am not, the organization of the races is handled by Send Town Bicycle Club, which is separate from Ciclismo.
Do you remember your first time racing short track?
Yes! Technically it was one of the cyclocross nights when I first started attending CSU in 2017. I was still learning a lot about the local cycling scene but was excited for the event after attending the Crazy Joe CX practice races that used to happen before the NB events and meeting Ryan Hughs who was my first real non-college friend in town. I entered I think the expert category because I still wasn’t confident in my abilities, and while I could go hard I couldn’t turn to save my life, which is the bread and butter of racing at NB. It was just as fun then as every race I’ve done since then, and is one of the events I look forward to the most every year.
You won a short track race recently, and beat Stekfo! (Stefko is a local cyclist and national championship medalist) How did that feel?
Pretty amazing! I’ve been trying to be competitive with Stefko for the last 4 years I’ve lived in Fort Collins, so to be able to beat him finally was a great validation that I have in fact progressed as a rider over the years in my abilities on the bike.
Do you have a favorite race?
Honestly, our home races of Cross of the North and the CSU Road Race and Crit are my favorite races.
You were just on the east coast racing CX with heavy hitters. What was that like?
It was intense, and a lot of fun. I knew going into the races that they were going to be really hard, but I was still blown away by how fast and skilled everyone in the races was, even halfway down the fields where I spent most of my time. By the end of the trip, I started finding my way higher up into the race fields, which was nice to see some improvements after two weekends of racing.
Do you have a favorite post-ride meal?
As long as it has rice and veggies in it, I’ll be stoked on it.
What do you do when you aren’t riding bikes?
Honestly probably working on bikes, since I work at a bike shop as well. But apart from that, I try and spend my non-bike-related time reading and practicing juggling. Once I start school again most of my free time gets taken up with classes and studying.
What would you say to someone who is interested, or wants to get into cycling?
That it is one of the most freeing forms of exercise out there, that it allows you to more completely experience the world than driving or walking around. The communities that you can be a part of when cycling are some of the nicest and most interesting out there, which offers something for everyone to enjoy.
