FACes & PlaceS
LOCAL COLOR 2004

Josh Taylor
by Marilyn Bullock

Lance Armstrong has made US cycling a more popular sport than ever. Many of you may not realize that we have an award winning professional cyclist right here in our own backyard. Trexlertown resident, Josh Taylor, has been racing at a professional level for almost half of his life and has been the co-director of the spinning program* at Cornerstone Health and Fitness Center in Doylestown for over 3 years. Enthusiastic and “cocky” (by his own admission,) Josh is addicted to cycling and to bringing the joy of biking to greater numbers of people.

Josh was born in Colorado Springs 31 years ago. He lived there until he was 13 when his mother remarried and they moved to Quakertown, PA. Throughout junior high school Josh was on the Allstate Volley Ball team and played on the Junior Olympic team. One of his coaches was also a biking enthusiast and got him interested in the sport when Josh was 15. The first time Josh rode on a racing bike he was hooked and from then on couldn’t wait to get home from school to ride his bike for 10, 15, or 20 miles.

Josh started training at the Velodrome in Trexlertown, where Air Products (the chemical company) sponsors a once-a-week training class coached by a professional athlete. On his first “Air Products Night” – a finale of all the classes – Josh beat everyone else in the class by a hefty margin.

Josh finds cycling demanding, challenging, and exciting. Tall and lean, Josh is a natural cyclist. When he started racing, he began as a Category 5 (Cat 5) cyclist in the junior division, the lowest cycling level. To move up in categories, a cyclist must win points during races. Josh did so well in such a short period of time that he skipped two categories and moved to a Cat 2 only 6 months after his first race. Within another 6 months he had attained Cat 1 status.

The main difference between Cat 1 and Pro cycling status is that a pro has sponsors and is paid to ride every day and race every week. Josh’s sponsors are Mad Dogg Athletics, Team Fuji Bikes, Zone Perfect Nutrition, and Lexus of Lehigh Valley.

The United States Cycling Association has 3 divisions, each dependent on the ability of the cyclist and the level of sponsorship. Josh Taylor is in Division 3 – Lance Armstrong in Division 1. Cycling in the United States is usually shorter than some of the races we see on TV. Criteriums are fast, multi-lap, exciting races that take place on a closed course, like the Velodrome. Circuit Races are similar but are not on a closed course. The yearly Wachovia Ride in Philadelphia is an example of a circuit race. Finally, a Road Race is longer, typically a day-long race. The Tour de France is a staged Road Race that includes 20 stages over the course of 3 weeks.

“Cycling requires a huge aerobic engine, a ton of endurance,” says Josh of his sport, “The body is like a race car, improving in power and strength over years of consistent training.”

A typical summer week for Josh might look like this: Sat and Sun he races; Mon is a rest day, meaning just 2 or so hours of cycling; Wed he might ride 75-120 miles on a hilly road in addition to “The Derby”, a 35 mile training race that takes place every Wednesday in Trexlertown ; Thursday is an early ride and then a Criterium Training Race in the afternoon; Friday is another rest day (yep – only 2 hours on the bike.) During the winter, training is more focused on weight lifting and periodization training – Long Slow Distance training (the cyclist’s version of LSD.)

Clean food (organic whenever possible) and lots of carbohydrates are crucial for the optimum performance of a professional cyclist. Josh may burn up to 3,000 calories during a one day race (Now, why haven’t we heard about THIS diet?!) During an extended road race, a cyclist will require 6-7,000 calories a day just to maintain his body weight.

A cyclist’s career may extend into his mid thirties. At 31, Josh plans to stay within the cycling industry when his professional career is over. He is a master instructor for Mad Dogg Athletics and travels around the world motivating, inspiring, and coaching other athletes and spinning instructors. Josh loves his involvement with Spinning. “Spinning is all about the mind/body connection. It makes people feel good. Spinning brings cycling indoors for everyone to enjoy without getting hurt.”

As an avid spinner and weekend cyclist, all I know is that whenever I take a spinning class with Josh, I am inspired to push myself to new aerobic limits. For at least an hour, I can pretend that I am riding side by side with Lance or Josh – going for the gold, or in cycling-ese, the “maillot jaune.”

For more information on spinning, go to www.Spinning.com. For more information on cycling, go to www.USACycling.com.

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* Spinning is an instructor-led exercise program that provides a strenuous 45 minute to 1 hour aerobic workout on a specially designed stationary bike.