ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997 TAG: 9704240083
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA GIBSON THE ROANOKE TIMES
TRUE OR FALSE: To be a national-caliber athlete in the sport of off-road cycling, you must live in Colorado or California.
If you answered ``true,'' then you haven't met Julie Taylor.
Taylor, who lives and trains full time in Roanoke, is on a mission to make a name for herself nationally in the sport more commonly referred to as mountain biking. She's off to a blazing start this season, winning all five of the races she has entered in the women's expert class.
``I think Roanoke is an ideal place for a cyclist to train,'' said Taylor, citing the area's mountainous terrain, mild climate and central location for competition along the East Coast.
Taylor, 20, also is partial to the convenience of the Blue Ridge Parkway, where she trains 15 to 20 hours per week without having to worry about traffic. Road training is ideal for an off-road cyclist, she explained, because it gives the body a rest after the pounding it takes in competition.
Taylor specializes in the sport's cross-country event, where races average 20 miles and take 11/2 to 21/2 hours to complete. They can be circuits or point-to-point events and range from relatively flat to mountainous.
All the events, however, have one thing in common.
``Pain,'' Taylor said. ``You have to have a high tolerance for pain. You start off in a sprint and you stay there for two hours. You're at your aerobic threshold the whole time.''
Taylor's goal is to move up to the pro classification, earn a spot on the U.S. National Team and perhaps compete in the Olympics, which added off-road cycling in 1996 in Atlanta. Taylor will be 23 when the 2000 Olympics are staged in Sydney, Australia.
``Up until last year, most people considered mountain biking an extreme sport,'' she said. ``They viewed it as just a bunch of wild kids. But its acceptance to the Olympics has moved it one step up, given it more respect.''
But Taylor figures just because she's not on the U.S. National Team doesn't mean she can't train as if she were. Last fall, she got the manual used by the U.S. women's team and followed it religiously. Throughout the winter, she trained on the bike and in the gym, running and lifting weights. She also implemented a strict diet.
Taylor said the detailed regimen has been the biggest factor in her strong start this season.
``I feel explosively powerful, especially compared to last year. I feel like I'm a more complete athlete because I've trained the rest of my body.
``I also feel like I may have an edge on the competition because I'm really focused and dedicated. I cover all the bases with my training.''
Taylor has set her sights on not only the Virginia championship, but also the series titles in West Virginia and Kentucky. She also competes in a national point series through the National Off-Road Bicycle Association and is 16th in the mid-Atlantic rankings.
Competing within the region, she says, gives her sponsors the greatest exposure. Schwinn Bicycles and Cardinal Bicycle shop are providing Taylor with equipment, but there are many other expenses associated with the sport, including travel costs and entry fees.
``It's a sport you have to really love doing, because it's very expensive,'' she said. ``And even if you win a race, the prize money usually doesn't offset the travel expenses.''
Taylor, who won two races last year and consistently placed in the top five, hopes her strong start this year will attract additional sponsors.
``I'm a billboard, basically, like any other athlete,'' she said. ``I need to sell space on my jersey. And how I do that is by winning races.''
Besides being costly, the sport is time-consuming for Taylor and her husband, Jeff. The couple will travel to more than 30 races this season, taking up just about every weekend from now until mid-November.
``It's something we both enjoy,'' Jeff Taylor said. ``We get quality time together as we travel and compete at the races.''
The Taylors met in Greensboro, N.C., where they started work the same day at a local bike shop - she as a mechanic, he as a salesman. They moved to Roanoke in February 1996 when Jeff took a new job.
Jeff Taylor is his wife's manager, monitoring her times during races and providing her with water and information on the course and the competition. Without him, Julie Taylor said, she probably would not be racing at the expert level.
``I'm extremely fortunate to have him at races because he takes care of the little things, so all I have to do is show up and race. I can save all of my energy for the big event.''
Taylor, who is originally from Fredericksburg, attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for a semester before quitting to focus full time on racing. But she says she plans to return to college someday.
``My theory is, I can go to school when I'm 20 or when I'm 30 or 40,'' she said. ``But I have only one chance at this, and that's while I'm young. I'm going to make the most of it.''
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CARY BEST/THE ROANOKE TIMES. Says cyclist Julie Taylor:by CNB``I feel explosively powerful, especially compared to last year. I
feel like I'm a more complete athlete because I've trained the rest
of my body." color.