Please allow myself to introduce…myself.
Hey all, I thought I’d take a second to reintroduce myself since you might be wondering who is flipping switches on the other end of this thing.
When I launched YGR back in 2008, I could identify most local riders from their silhouettes on the trail or the way they leaned on their bikes as I approached a group ride; however, I may not have been able to recognize them at the grocery store without their helmets, sunglasses, bikes. The scene has grown a lot since then. Hopefully, with the help of YGR, it’s more connected and better informed than ever.
Anyway, I’m Dan Porter and I run YGR, aka Your Group Ride, which is my full-time gig. I moved to Fort Collins in 1999 “to go to school”–actually to ride my bike. I am originally from Sioux City, Iowa and the youngest of five boys. I came up racing the Psycowpath MTB Series in Nebraska during the 1990s (a great series that’s still going today). I spent the last few years of the decade going to school in Kearney, Nebraska and working at Western Schwinn Cyclery. The first few years of the next decade were spent racing bikes and splitting time between Fort Collins and Glenwood Springs while going to Colorado Mountain College. After graduating with a photography degree, I moved back to the Fort full time, got married, started what could have been a career, and worked my way up to cat. one on the road.
Shortly after my oldest was born and about the time I launched The Group Ride (the site’s original name), I started racing ‘cross, mostly single speed at the time. As a new dad, I found ‘cross to be much more conducive to having a family than road racing. For me, it didn’t require the same amount of training time, the racing style, venues, and courses were much better for spectating, and my wife appreciated the fact that I probably wouldn’t severely hurt myself in a ‘cross race. Somewhere between launching YGR and now, I quit my job conducting federal background investigations and went all-in with the site and eventually had two more kids. Nearly 20 years on and ‘cross is still my primary focus when it comes to racing bikes, but I still try to line up on the road, mountain, and especially gravel bikes whenever I have the opportunity. If it has two wheels and pedals, I’ll try to race it. I also enjoy bike packing.
I’m a husband to a PSD assistant principal, teacher of the year nominee, and breast cancer survivor. I’m a work-from-home dad to three little punks (two girls and a boy), four if you include Scout the Doodle. As a family, we enjoy a good road trip that includes either our tent or our 1968 Red Dale travel trailer.
Thanks for stopping by,
Dan
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