I was told that there are about 900 gold medal winners in American Olympic history. When I thought about the number 900, I wondered how many kids that are influenced by a gold medal ever get to see a gold medal. What I thought was really neat was that I've already had a couple hundred kids touch my gold medal.

In the midst of regular life, running is the touchstone that breathes adventure into my soul.

I don't think it's the worst thing ever to start when you're in your twenties. You're not burnt out, you're going to stick around and most of the best cyclists are in their 30s.

Running is always an exercise in humility.

I think that with some education there are real possibilities at the high school and college level, but more so at the college level, to bring people into cycling.

I'm not the kind to go out and tell people 'Oh yeah I'm a gold medalist.'

I didn't know that you could race your bike until after college. I didn't know anything about cycling except that I rode my bike from class to class or to my friend's house. But here I am an athlete, I ran, I played soccer, I swam and people are riding their bikes and racing them? I had never seen a bike race.