As Matt rode behind me on the way up Lookout, I thought that he must be staying behind me on purpose because he certainly appeared to be a strong, healthy cyclist.  When we stopped to talk at the top, he said that he had gotten started cycling with his beautiful new carbon fiber bicycle and had already lost ten pounds, but probably would not ride faster than I until he lost a few more pounds from his football lineman-sized frame.  His is a cycling career that will be interesting to follow into the next year.  

In fact an old football injury involved his knee and recovery hiking seemed to be limited to about a mile, as he had lost some bone out of the joint.  But CYCLING proved to be the ticket to his physical recovery.  He started cycling on a trainer at home a couple years ago and has progressed to cycling all year around with three to four weather permitted trips per week up Lookout Mountain.

Matt grew up in North Carolina and still sports a bit of a southern accent- something that he is pretty sure that he will not lose no matter how long that he lives in Colorado. He and his son have a general contracting business, constructing houses in Denver and Boulder.  His web address is creationhousesdenver@gmail.com if you need some construction work, but he will also be working around his goal of training for the 2023 Denver Century. I can vouch for him as a steady, determined, personable cyclist.