By Brian Maslach
Nick Gould is a new addition to the Colorado Springs cycling scene and one of our newest ambassadors. He also happens to be one interesting, and fast, character. As such, I was eager sit down and chat to find what makes him tick.
Music
One of the things I was most surprised to learn about you is that you were or are a DJ. How did you get started?
Ever since I was a teenager I always liked electronic music. In 2002 I bought my first pair of Technic 1200s and started spinning records. The rest is history.
Where did you perform?
I have played all over the US- NYC, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, LA, and Burning Man. Internationally, I have played in Mexico and Thailand.
Check out Soundcloud for Nick's work.
Yoga
You’re a yoga instructor -- what type of yoga do you practice and teach?
These days I practice mostly restorative for recovery. I teach a mix of vinyasa, hatha, and anusara in my classes. I used to teach hot vinyasa for many years, but it became too hard on my body.
Can you tell me about the "anti-bike" postures you mentioned during our last conversation?
I teach a ½ cycle ½ yoga class, and the yoga part is all poses geared towards balancing out the postures on the bike. Lots of hip and heart openers, spinal extension, and alignment cues.
I need this! We should cover it in more depth soon.
Ska Zia
The Ska ZIa Team is something of which you’re proud. Please tell us about it.
I started the Ska/Zia team in 2013 and managed it for the last 6 years. It has evolved into something really special and has become quite well known in the region. The team acts as a stepping stone for up and coming pro riders coming out of Durango DEVO and Fort Lewis College. We have a race series that often gets over a hundred racers on a Wed night. Other than racing, the team is heavily involved in the Durango community. The team embodies all the best elements of mountain biking and the culture of the sport. Bikes, beers, burritos!
Coaching
You also a coach high school and college athletes, correct?
Yes, I used to coach the Fort Lewis College MTB team in Durango, and since moving to Colorado Springs, I’ve started working with the Highlanders composite NICA team, and the Summit Development team. I also run an online coaching business called PurEnergy Performance Coaching and do personal training, yoga and cycling classes at Garden of the Gods Collective.
Student
On top of everything else, you’re working toward a masters degree in sports psychology. How do you plan to put this to use?
Yeah, I’m very excited about working towards this degree to balance out my exercise physiology background. The mental aspect of training is equally as important as the physical and often overlooked. Once I finish my degree I plan to start a private practice called Performance Enhancement Counseling that will be linked with my coaching business and geared towards working one-on-one with athletes. The focus will be on determining limiting factors to enhance mindset and increase overall performance. I am halfway through the program and plan on being done in a year.
Athlete
What are your athletic goals for 2019?
Continue racing professional mountain bikes competitively, win XC and Marathon US Nationals 40+, break the Death Ride Challenge record (225 miles, 12 hrs 15 min), take back my Colorado Trail Classic record (75-mile MTB race in Durango). Maybe a MTB stage race or 2?
What does your own training look like?
I typically ride 6 days a week and take one rest day. All of my training during the week right now is 90% aerobic, but on the weekends, I mix it up with the Acacia Park Group Ride and a mountain bike ride on Sunday. I’ll throw in an occasional race in the offseason like last weekend; I did Old Man Winter gravel race in Boulder. I also started working with Performance United once a week doing Wattbike sessions to work on my sprinting. Other than that, lots of yoga, meditation, foam rolling, and some strength training.
How about nutrition, do you follow any particular strategy to recover quickly and stay fueled while staying lean?
Yes, nutrition is super important for me. I try and stay very balanced with what I put in my body as I do not adhere to any particular diet. I have been trying to cut back on meat and eating more plant-based these days, although I enjoy an occasional burger every now and then. Endurobites have been a game changer for my “on bike” diet, as now I eat more real food during training and racing and fewer gels and blocks.
Life
Any particular life philosophy?
It always comes back to balance.
What do you do for fun when not working or training?
I enjoy hanging out with my wife and dog, skiing, trail running, climbing mountains, and I just bought some rock climbing gear, so stoked to get into that. We like going out to dinner and the movies on the weekends and enjoy traveling internationally when the opportunity presents itself. She is in med school, so not a lot of time for traveling these days.
Last question, is there a story behind your username – goldenboygould?
Haha, great question. The nickname “Goldenboy” was given to me around 15 years ago from a guy in Durango named “Diamond Dave” Howard. He owns a bike shop Pedal the Peaks and I used to work there. Not sure why he started calling me that, but he did and it stuck.
For more from Nick, follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Strava.
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