Mi Duole Cycling Podcast

Greg Low is the VDC Subject Matter Expert at Autodeck, a design and construction company. Having gotten his Bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University, it is only fitting that he currently teaches in the Construction Management program there as an adjunct professor. 

Greg was born and raised in Riverton, UT. With dedicated parents, Greg and the late Jan Low, they made sure his needs were well met, which included a tiny red bicycle made available for him and his 3 other siblings. He first sat on that tiny red bicycle at age 3, and hasn’t stopped peddling since! Unlike so many kids then and now, Greg never made time to watch tv after school; he was too busy zooming around the neighborhood either by himself or with friends. 

Recreational biking led into the discovery of mountain biking then to the swift smooth world of road biking. He accomplished his first major bike ride, the MS 100, in Logan, UT on a rental bike. That experience guaranteed he would never do that again! He purchased his first bike soon after. With his own set of wheels, he’s ridden most, if not all of the local bike races. Some of which include: The Ultimate Challenge, Iron Lung, Salt to Saint, Rockwell Relay, and Tour de St. George. Over the span of eighteen years, he’s completed eleven full Lotoja races; taking second once, and first place three times. 

Greg spends some of his free time helping coach the local youth mountain bike team, which he loves, especially since two of his kids ride. When he’s not at home in the hustle and bustle of managing various schedules and activities for five amazing kids, you can also find him either watching Survivor with his fabulous wife or taking his two doodle dogs to the park. You’ll know he had a good ride when he says, “it was magical!”

Scott is one of a kind , hard working, adventure seeking super human. 

There’s nothing he won’t attempt and no Mountain he won’t climb. If there is an adventure to be had, Scott will figure out a way for it to happen. I joke that on his tombstone it will read “it’s going to be fine”. 

When we were first dating, we were hiking in lake Powell. We ended up on a ledge looking down at the houseboat below. Scott said it would be quicker to just work our way down from there than hike all the way back. Placing my trust in Scott I went along with it. The route ended with a bit of a drop we had to negotiate. Little did I know that was the beginning of our adventures in life. While I tend to lean towards the safe side of our adventures together, Scott is always telling me “it will be fine”. It always is. 

Scott likes to dream up and participate in long endurance mountain bike and gravel adventures. He has participated in P2P, Crusher, Lotoja, True Grit, and Dirty Dino. He likes to come up with his own choose your own adventure courses. I’m grateful to all the other crazy Mi Duole riders who are willing to indulge Scott in his antics on the bike. 

There’s some crazy wiring going on his head, but I truly love the passion, dedication and grit Scott puts into everything he commits to in his life. The way he approaches his training is the same dedication he gives to his work and family. You would think there were 36 hours in a day the way Scott operates. I don’t know how but he gets it done. When our 10 year old wants to go on a bike ride he is there even though he’s been up since 5am and has already ridden a 30+ mile ride that day. Our son is also on the Skyline and Maybird Team. Scott is a proud dad to see 2 of our kids loving mountain biking. Our older adult daughters are also into running. I guess you could say we have grown into an adventure family. 

Scott is a true athlete who dedicates his energy and time into his passion for adventure. We all love Scott at the Miles household and are So proud of him.

Kogel Bearings was established in 2013 in a 5x10 foot storage unit in Ard Kessels' adopted hometown of El Paso, TX. 

The goals were clear from the beginning:

Make the high end bearings that fit a premium bike.

We all understand that ball bearings are at the bottom of every spec sheet when product managers assemble bikes for the catalog and new model year, so it's almost a given that they are the cheapest available.

These Low-quality steel products tend to not gel well with the Belgian climate, where riding on wet roads is a given.

Following the motto "Just because it fits, doesn't make it right" has sent Kogel on a mission to develop a native solution for (almost) every combination of crank and frame.

Today, we are still fighting that battle. It seems that frame manufacturers have not grown tired of reinventing a hole in a frame.

In episode 108 of the Mi Duole cycling podcast, we're thrilled to welcome professional bike racer John Borstelmann. Hailing from Lincoln, Nebraska, John is a three-time Gravel Worlds Champion, having claimed the title in 2019, 2021, and 2023. His impressive resume includes podium finishes at some of the most grueling gravel races in the United States, such as the Dirty Kanza 200-mile (Unbound) and the Mid-South Gravel 100-mile. Off the bike, John is a multifaceted individual being an avid saxophonist and amateur bike mechanic. Join us as we delve into John's journey, his training strategies, recent Unbound performance and his passion for cycling on this exciting episode​…

Meet the most interesting man in the Peloton, Ryan Wells.   Ryan is one of the most outgoing, friendly, and genuine guys you’ll meet.  Ryan grew up in the Olympus Cove neighborhood skating, playing the guitar, and working on his tan at his parent’s swimming pool.  He went to high school at Skyline and later got both a degree and postgraduate degree from the University of Utah.

Ryan is living the life that many of us think about living when we are daydreaming on the bike.  Ryan teaches during the school year and travels around the world cycling during the summer.  As an example, in the past year, Ryan has biked in Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, France, Spain, Mallorca, and the Canary Islands.  Additionally, he has biked and attended several stages of the Giro, Tour de France, and Vuelta all within the last year.  Ryan has been living in Spain during the 23/24 school year teaching English.  

Ryan has followed his passions to the extreme. Ryan is passionate about learning, teaching, cycling, oh and the grateful dead.  Ryan has leveraged his passion for learning and teaching to become one of the state of Utah’s best teachers.  Ryan teaches Spanish at Taylorsville High School.  He was awarded Teacher of the Year in Granite School District and nominated as Teacher of the Year by the State of Utah Board of Education.  He’s followed his passion for cycling to become one of the most consistent and strongest cyclists on the team.  Don’t let his 27-minute Emigration time fool you.  Ryan is a freight train that will get his power to about 280 watts and just park it there for hours. He finished on the podium for Lotoja last year and he’s charging for the top spot this year.  

If you are lucky enough to ride next to Ryan, be sure to chat with him about his favorite dead show or his favorite podcast.  He’ll chat your ear off.  He’s a great dude and I’m stoked he is part of the team. 

In episode 106 of the Mi Duole Cycling Podcast, we are thrilled to introduce team member Jesse Loper. Jesse is an experienced adventurer with an impressive resume, having completed the grueling Leadville Mountain Bike Race three times. His passion for cycling extends across gravel, road, and mountain biking. Beyond his biking prowess, Jesse is also an accomplished outdoor photographer and a dedicated triathlete. Since joining the Mi Duole team in 2019, he has become an invaluable part of our cycling community. Tune in to hear Jesse's inspiring stories and insights from his diverse and adventurous life on two wheels.

Zac will be the first to deflect any attention or focus on him; however, we’re going to ignore his advice and let the team learn more about a man who I consider one of my best friends and an amazing human being.

Zac will introduce himself more in the podcast, but there are six things I really want the audience to know about him. 

1. Anyone who interacts with Zac comes to love him. He has had an extremely successful career because he can relate and build relationships with such a diverse group of people. Doesn’t matter if it’s a bunch of dudes who like to wear lycra or camo, they all love him. 

I won’t embarrass Zac any further out of concern that he will literally end this podcast prematurely; however, I’ve spent literally thousands of miles with Zac in Glacier, Whistler, the Grand Canyon Kauai, Carmel, Leadville, Moab, Jackson, St George and more. Those are some of my most cherished memories. He’s a tremendous example for me and somebody I consider a dear friend. (Taylor Cannon) 

AJ has been riding & racing bikes since before most of the podcast audience was born. But he’s so much more than a talented cyclist. He’s one of the most driven, goal-oriented people you’ll meet and he’s a natural leader, both on and off the bike. He’s raced hundreds of races, (some years more than 50 races!) & he truly enjoys racing but he loves to mentor young cyclists even more. He ran a junior development team for Hangar 15 & it was one of the most fun & rewarding things he’s done. When he’s not out putting in the hours & watts on the bike, he’s leading huge teams & projects for CHG Healthcare or he’s busy being the most supportive dad & husband. AJ is an excellent listener and is always willing to advise on matters of career, life and his favorite, bike race strategy!

When Jon decides to do something he doesn’t quit before it’s done. Jon’s journey into distance running commenced in 2005. He has since completed numerous races, both road and trail, with some detours for cycling along the way. His love for trail running grew as he got older (easier on his body) and met others that enjoyed exploring the nearby mountain trails. He likes to see how far he can push his body. When people ask him how he does it, how he runs so far and so fast he replies with a frustrating answer of, “you, just put one foot in front of the other.”  This could be a motto for Jon’s life, reflecting his unwavering dedication and refusal to succumb to adversity. He has worked hard consistently from a very young age and doesn’t give up easily. He’s dedicated to what he does, and is loyal to his family, friends, and beliefs. 

If you know Jack, you know that anything he’s willing to invest time in is something he really cares about. Jack has an unwavering ability to set goals for himself and completely focus in and dedicate himself to achieving them. This stands true in his personal life  as a husband and father to our two children, his professional life where he has to be one of the youngest people to be made partner at a reputable/legitimate venture capital fund- certainly in our region- and in his cycling career where 5 years into owning a bike he finished LoToJa as the 24th fastest rider ever. 

I’m proud to say I got Jack into his cardio fitness era. When we met in 2014 I convinced him to start running with me in the mornings as it was something we could do together before work. Much to his chagrin, I even convinced him to run a couple of half marathons and wasatch steeple chase but in 2018 we decided to try out cycling together. We bought matching Pinarellos and spent the summer as two of the slowest people on the mountain. That position would clearly not cut it for Jack and his interest in cycling quickly spiraled. 

Fast forward to 2024 - Our kitchen is now a science lab for his various nutritional supplements and the concoctions he mixes on a nightly basis. Our garage houses so many bikes, I’m fairly certain he’ll be parking on the street this summer to make room for more. And I’ve recently learned we’ll be spending our retirement driving a sag wagon around France for our competitive cyclist children. 

But in all honesty, cycling has brought a lot of joy to our family and I love that he loves it as much as he does.