Defining the Ineffable with David Wiens
Free. Independent. Unencumbered. Stoked.
David Wiens serves as the executive director of the International Mountain Biking Association.
I first reached out to him in September, after finally mustering the courage. I had watched the movie Biketown because of a newsletter he writes for IMBA. The newsletter highlighted the short documentary as a work that “traces the paths we have forged together to build today’s mountain biking culture. The stories of the four communities in Biketown illuminate the advocacy efforts that have created today’s burgeoning bike towns—efforts many of you know well.”
I sent him a short note, saying I enjoyed the film and thanked him for turning me to it. And then I asked him — on a whim — if he’d be willing to talk to me about the joys of cycling.
He was actually the first person I asked for an interview for this project. He said yes, rather quickly. It reinforced in my mind that people who enjoy riding bikes are always eager to talk to whomever wants to talk bikes.
Cyclists are humble, down-to-Earth people. (Probably because we all know how humbling riding a bike can be.)
Anyway, I appreciated his willingness to participate in this conversation. He’s a busy dude, and doing great things for cycling across the world. I would have understood if he decided to pass on this, but I’m glad he didn’t.
Without further ado, here’s what he had to say.
David Wiens, 58, lives in Gunnison, Colorado with his wife, Susan DeMattei.
“We met racing bikes on the Diamondback Team in the late 1980's,” he said in an email. “She's an accomplished mtn biker in her own right and took the bronze medal in the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. We still ride a ton.”
Here’s what he said about the rest of his immediate family.
Kids, grown and out of the house: Cooper, 24 living in Durango, Colorado pursuing a career in medicine. He's an avid rider and an accomplished racer. Ben and Sam are twins, 22 years-old. Ben lives in Denver and is pursuing a career in music and Sam is finishing up school in Durango and wants to work in the film industry. Neither Ben nor Sam ride mountain bikes.
Can you briefly describe your daily duties as executive director of IMBA?
My title, executive director, is a bit misleading as I'm not deeply involved in managing our team, building the internal culture, administrative duties, budgeting, etc. We have a fantastic CEO for this, Kent McNeill. Kent is an entrepreneur with deep business experience having owned and operated a chain of bicycle retailers in the midwest and he's steeped in local advocacy, too. He runs the day-to-day and business side of IMBA and he's also one heck of a rider.
I'm deeply involved in the conversations and work relating to how we position IMBA today. It's a different landscape now and IMBA is continually evolving to help advance mountain biking and trails. Pretty much everything we do is based on some element of our focus, which is More Trails Close to Home.
Like so many people these days, I spend a lot of time communicating: emails, Slack, text and phone calls. I work closely with our best supporters. I work consistently on a coalition of trail users that we pulled together called Trails are Common Ground. In brief, it's about inclusivity, etiquette and better trails and better trail experiences for all users through trail modernization. I also spend a good bit of time on the topic of e-MTBs, as we're really starting to see these on the trails in significant numbers. This will only increase as, in 3-5 years, around half of all mountain bikes sold will likely be e-MTBs. Right now, we're working hard to educate consumers, land managers, other trail users and stakeholders about this new technology and what it means for trails.
But one of my favorite things to do is to talk with trail advocates and hearing about what they are experiencing, what their challenges are and working with them toward solutions. I don't get to do as much of this as I would like but I do get riders reaching out to me directly and I enjoy these conversations and tracking the outcomes.
How did you get into trail building and advocacy?
I started working on trails as soon as I started riding in the mid 1980's. Mountain biking really only requires two things: great bikes and great trails and the bicycle industry has always had the great bikes part covered.
For me, it's always been about great trails. I started Gunnison Trails in 2006 and led that for a number of years before transitioning to IMBA. Like other local organizations, we were focused on trail maintenance, trail user education and working for new trails. I also dabbled in the professional trail building industry working on planning, design and construction projects in Colorado, New Mexico and in Jalisco, Mexico.
When did you first learn how to ride a bike?
I started on a trike, graduated to a hand-me-down bike with training wheels and still vividly remember my dad taking the training wheels off. I think I was 16. Ha ha! I clearly remember getting my first new bike for my sixth birthday (see photo) and I put in serious base miles in my early teens on a Schwinn Varsity with steel paperboy panniers because it was as close to a pickup truck as I could get.
(Hi, it’s me, Dillon, interrupting you with a fun fact: My first introduction into road riding was a 1976 Schwinn Varsity. I covered the 2016 Republican National Convention protests in Cleveland on that thing. It is now stripped down to the frame, waiting for me to get the time, initiative and funds to transform it into a single-speed urban type bike.)
As a fellow cyclist, I assume you have bikes. Can you list off your steeds?
I have ridden Canyon bikes for more than 10 years and during that time I've been lucky enough to ride numerous bikes in their line. I've spent a lot of time riding the Canyon Lux Trail this summer, even raced it this spring on the Zen trails at the True Grit in St. George, Utah.
My main trail bike this summer has been the Canyon Spectral 27.5 and I've had the Canyon Neuron set up for bikepacking and took it out for some awesome backcountry adventures. Bikepacking is one of my favorite things to do. Then, I must say, I have had a blast riding gravel, which around here means mainly natural surface roads and double tracks. I explored all kinds of rides on my Canyon Grail, rides I'd never do on a mountain bike.
I do not have nicknames for my bikes. I'm not opposed to it, it's just not for me.
What is the length of your last ride in hours and miles?
Right now we're transitioning to winter so I haven't been riding as much as I do in the summer. I'll get in some long rides, 4-5 hours, but my bread and butter is 2.5-3 hours with 3-5k of climbing. I'm very much a fitness rider; generally not interested in shuttling.
Describe the feeling that cycling gives you.
Free. Independent. Unencumbered. Stoked. The older I get, the more I appreciate being able to ride. And the stoke, or I actually call it the glow, lasts long after you get home and hang your bike up. Powerful.
Thanks for reading! Come back next week when we speak with
, the writer behind . The former journalist is based out of Washington, D.C. who has experience interviewing cyclists like Lance Armstrong and Tyler Hamilton.Please share Cycotherapy with your friends. And if you’re new here, welcome. Glad to have you. Please subscribe for more awesome content geared at getting you back into the saddle.
Oh, and if you’re so inclined … buy a sticker! Or a magnet! Or just donate! You won’t regret it.