10 Tracks with Tommy Taylor

This week’s 10 Tracks DJ is my pal, Tommy “T Bone” (maybe I’m the only one that calls him that?) Taylor. Tommy has been a fixture of the Fort Collins cycling scene for about as long as I can remember. He listened to me bitch about the fragmentation of the NoCo scene before either one of us knew I was going to launch YGR in 2008. He’s ridden for Miiflo Cycling Team (formally FCCT) forever and even spent some time as the technical director of Cross of the North. Here’s what he had to say about his playlist-

For a lot of us 2025 has started off a bit rough. This album encapsulates some of the personal rage that I’ve been experiencing around the current political climate. Plus I’m working on making a come-back on the cycling scene after a number of personal issues the past few years, for which this music serves as motivation. Wherever you’re at in your journey, I hope it helps you during your next hard training session.

When do you listen to these? Cranking out a set of intervals circa 2010, preparing for a 24-hour MTB race on an old-school trainer sans power meter in a cold, dark garage staring at the blank walls. We’ve gotten soft.
Favorite bike? My brand new Trek Emonda SL 7 AXS road bike.
Favorite ride? Of all time? The recently defunct Terrible Two fondo in Sonoma/Napa California. 200 miles, 16k climbing, usually very hot. Locally it would be TTH. I hope to make a come-back in 2025!
Preferred style of riding? I’ve been into MTB, road, cross, and gravel equally obsessively at one time or the other. Currently road biking is my main jam. I use to commute via bike a ton. But now with kids there are often too many constraints on my time sadly.
Years in NoCo? Since Aug 2003 (21 years)
Employer/title/years there? CSU Atmospheric Science Dept, Research Associate (Master degree), 21
Hometown? Chamblee, GA (northern suburb of the ATL)
Team name if applicable? Long time member of MiiFlo Cycling (joined 2004)
How do you take your coffee? I don’t drink alcohol or smoke anything. Caffeine is my only real vice (is it a vice?!) About the time I started cycling in Athens GA in 2000, I also started getting into coffee. It started with Americanos at the local coffee shop with riding buddies. At some point I moved to DIY at home. Sadly I do not own an espresso machine. I live in an small, old house in Old Town – space is at a premium! I like my shit strong, dark and chocolatey. One of my favorite movie scenes is the coffee scene in Pulp Fiction (damn – this is some gourmet shit!) I make pour-over for a single cup and French Press for 2 or more. In my old age I started mixing full caf and decaf to get half caf. That way I can enjoy twice as much without getting totally buzzed out. Pre kids I would grind my own beans, but with young kids underfoot you find ways to cut corners. I stopped shaving my legs most of the year and stopped grinding my own coffee.
Who influenced your taste in music? It started with an older neighborhood kid who was the youngest of 6. He had access to tons of records and tapes. This was mid 80s. We used to play “band” and jam out with brooms (guitars) and pillows (drums) to Boston’s debut album, Fleetwood Mac, The Who. All the standard Classic Rock. In eleventh grade I was at a new school and made friends with another new kid that had an uncle that had turned him onto Bob Dylan. It was love at first listen. Dylan is still my all time favorite artist. The first CD I purchased was the Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique after seeing the video for Hey Ladies! At the time I was finishing high school (93) and a college undergrad (UGA 93-97), hip-hop and G-Funk rap was exploding. I was exposed to Dr Dre’s Chronic and all the great stuff that followed and it left an indelible mark on my soul. These days I have a reasonably eclectic taste in music. The play list does not necessarily reflect that because I was more or less trying to stick with a reasonable theme. Nowadays I spend a lot of time in the gym and I listen to mostly electronic stations on SXM (Diplo’s Revolution, State of Armin, BPM, etc).