Racing to the Finish Line

Kelsey Ritchie
May 3, 2011
Filed under Profiles

One boy. One bike. 100 miles a week. Hit by one car. Though these statistics may seem extreme, to sophomore Steve Duke they are just components to everyday life. This young biker works hard from practice all the way to the finish line.

Duke started biking as more than a leisure activity last May. He trained for three months before entering his first race.

“My first race was around July of last year. It was a 10K timed trial,” Duke said.

However, biking wasn’t always Duke’s primary interest. He has been involved in numerous sports, but he suffered a basketball injury his 8th grade year that took him off the court. After damaging his knee, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to play basketball again.

“After that injury, I had to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t be able to play anymore. But I knew that I would have to find something else to keep me active without putting too much stress on my knee. And so, biking became the obvious choice.”

Duke’s interest in biking was influenced by the fact that both of his parents are bikers. They supported his decision to begin racing and even train with him on occasions.

“Steve does work hard at it. On Wednesday night he rides with a group of racers, some of whom are quite talented. He stays with the group until he can’t keep up anymore. Every week he tries to stay with them a little longer. He also does repetitive hill intervals by himself other times. Last year, whenever we rode together he struggled to keep up with me. This year, I struggle to keep up with him,” Chris Duke, Steve’s father, said.

Both of Duke’s parents are proud of the work that he has put into this hobby. They believe that he is very motivated when it comes to this sport. And they are obviously right. Duke bikes around 100 miles a week, and even more than that if a race is coming up. Not only is it something that he actually enjoys, it also keeps him in fantastic shape.

“On my average week I bike around 100 miles. But if I have a free weekend, that number can easily double. I try to put in some extra miles before an important race. I burn about 1000 calories in an hour and a half. I know that that sounds like a tremendous amount, but when you train for a race you bump up the intensity to where you do burn that many. Last weekend, I biked around 80 miles and burned 2200 calories total. I have to eat like twice my body weight daily to survive,” Duke said.

But his family members aren’t the only ones who notice Duke’s passion for biking. Everyone he talks to realizes that he genuinely loves the sport.

“Steve is a hardcore biker. He lives to bike and bikes to live,” said friend and classmate Andrew Wood.

Duke rides a Wilier Centro Uno with Sram Red Componentry. He rides this bike all over Tulsa, although he does like some places more than others.

“My favorite place to ride is probably the backside of Turkey Mountain, no pun intended. I really like it because it’s completely shaded, so in the summer it’s about five degrees cooler which is a relief,” Duke said.

But Duke doesn’t always bike alone. He travels with a team to many races and trains with them. Although he did say that the “best way to prepare to bike is simply to bike,” he enjoys having other people around him with the same interest.

“The amount of races that I go to just depends on how training is going and the races my team is interested in. My team is called the 918 CX racers. There’s not a lot of us, and we’re all ages,” Duke said.

But it’s not all fun and games. Although he is very careful when he bikes, he has definitely had a few close calls. Luckily, neither he nor his bike were injured.

“I have absolutely had a few accidents. A few weeks ago, I was hit by a car that turned right on red without ever seeing me. Thankfully, I was not injured and neither was my bike. But my worst accident occurred in a race, when a man swerved in front of me and I had no choice but to hit him. I went flying over the handlebars and got huge scars on my stomach and sides,” Duke said.

Although there are not opportunities to bike for a college sport, Duke says that he loves the sport and doesn’t plan on giving it up.

“I’m actually planning on going for a ride when we get finished with this interview. But in all seriousness, my parents both still ride bikes, and some people that I ride with are in their sixties. It’s a great way to stay in shape without being too hard on your joints, so I plan on continuing biking throughout my life.”