This is a 10 Tracks I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, and neither the interview nor the playlist disappoints. Peter Discoe is the man behind the Ramble Rides, he’s an operating partner with Type Two LLC, an event management company that runs events such as the Wasatch All Road in Utah and the American Criterium Cup and was the guy flippin’ switches at SWOBO when the brand was based in Fort Collins. He’s a lifelong equal opportunity cyclist™ (rides all the bikes) and lover of music- aka the perfect YGR 10 Tracks DJ.
When do you listen to these? I listen to music all day. Our family would rather have a good stereo system than a good TV. Since 95% of my riding is solo, I always ride with music. Riding with music has been a bad habit since 1986, starting with Maxell 120-minute cassettes and an autoreverse Walkman. There’s no stopping now.
Favorite bike? My Ibis Hakka MX. But that’s not just a sponsor plug; I like this bike, and it’s my only bike other than my townie. With road tires, it’s a decent road bike, and I’ve built the Ramble business on a Hakka; all the miles,
routes, etc. It’s never let me down or made me want something else. I don’t fall in love with bikes: they are just tools to me, and this is a good one. I have a checklist of what I need a bike to do, and for gravel, this bike checks all the boxes.
Favorite ride? I’ve been lucky to have ridden worldwide; a year-long European tour, rides in China, Taiwan, and all over the US. If I had to name a favorite ride, it would likely be a road ride in Santa Cruz, where I grew up: San Juan Grade comes to mind as a ride I miss. If I could name a region, it’d be the Central Coast of California and anything road or MTB. I’m nostalgic for where my riding started and think about those rides and experiences often. Same with some rides in South Carolina and flirting with heat exhaustion in Lower Richland; I miss suffering with the boys on Screaming Eagle. Closer to home, riding in the Routt and Medicine Bow National Forests. I spend about a month riding there every Summer with the events and prep. I love it there.
Preferred style of riding? At a point, all the bikes. I raced for twenty years: Road, MTB, Cyclocross, and Track. But now, for sure, road and gravel. One and the same to me. Not a super fan of the MTB riding here, so I never gravitated towards it living on the Front Range. I’m at the age where I can be choosey and be okay with it.
Years in NoCo? We’ve been in Fort Collins now for ten years. My brother and parents lived here for many years prior, so we came to Northern CO a lot, which is why we moved here.
Employer/title/years there. I’ve been self-employed for twelve years—a bike company and events. Our event business is Type Two LLC, and we do a lot of operation support for other races, series, and charity rides. Ramble Rides are in their seventh year and keep presenting opportunities, so who knows where it all will lead.
Hometown? Santa Cruz, CA. Deep down, it’s still home. I think anyone from there feels this way. Richard Novak of Santa Cruz Skateboards, MTB, O’Neil, etc., once told me, “Santa Cruz people take care of each other.” It’s true. It’s more than a place to be from. If I come off cocky at times, I apologize; I’m from Santa Cruz.
Team Name? How about Team Ramble Ride.
How do you take your coffee? Every day, two double-shot Americanos. Cream and sugar. But just two, and I don’t usually drink coffee outside of the home unless it’s diner coffee and then just black.
Who influenced your taste in music? I come from a very musical family. The kind that gathered around the piano/organ after Sunday dinner: my grandmother would play, uncles would play guitar, and everyone would sing. My mother was into all sorts of music so that 70s and 80s playlist you love? That was how I grew up; music played loud and usually sung right along. My kids keep me contemporary and always send me things to listen to. So music is important to me and sets a mood. I tend to get into specific artists, like Josh Homme and Chris Cornell, so I follow the music from many associated acts. The playlist is just a peek into what is mostly 90’s era music because it puts me back into the mindset of when I was racing and training at a high level (my son says it’s because that’s the last era I was cool.) A particular song comes on, and I automatically do an interval—that type of stuff. My sub-three-hour rides are usually all rock/metal; I mix it up on longer rides and listen to contemporary classical. It keeps my mind occupied on those six-hour Ramble scouts. I like the complexity of Phillip Glass and Max Richter.
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