Dean was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  His father hauled produce in the 40’s and early 50’s and became familiar with Denver.  After moving the family to Denver his father was hired as a mechanical engineer for the Gates Rubber Company which is where he spent the rest of his working career.  His mother was a school teacher.  As a family, their first home was in Edgewater, but they moved permanently to Lakewood after a few years.  He is a graduate of Creighton Middle School and Lakewood High School.  Then he graduated from CSU in dietetics.  From there he worked for the phone company as a computer programmer and eventually retired from his tech job at the Colorado State Department of Revenue.  

Dean got an early start on his bicycle as a paper carrier, but he never raced.  He did a bit of jogging to stay in shape and eventually traded in his touring bicycle for a road bike.  Locally he has ridden the Bike Tour of Colorado, the MS 150, the Triple Bypass and the Tour of Wyoming.  Overseas, he followed the 2006 Giro d’Italia and toured northern France on a benefit ride for SIDS research.   He really likes the Sella Ronda, a scenic ride in Northern Italy that traverses three passes.  In Colorado he enjoys riding from Durango to Ouray.