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Kurt Refsnider, Ph.D.
Kurt fell in love with bikes and the sense of freedom and exploration they provide at a young age. At age 13, he trained for and completed a solo century ride, his first endurance pursuit. Since then, Kurt has raced extensively in everything from track to road to cyclocross to mountain. Looking for new challenges, he dove into world of ultraendurance mountain bike racing in 2008 and has since competed in and won some of the longest, toughest mountain bike races in the world. Beyond racing, Kurt has become an avid bikepacker, having ridden extensively in the American West, traversed half the Alps, and through Scotland, Nepal, Morocco, and Alaska. He was also featured in the adventure cycling film Reveal the Path. And throughout his racing career, Kurt has been self-coached. Kurt holds a Ph.D in geological sciences and currently is a professor of geology at Prescott College where he also coaches the Prescott College Cycling Team and teaches the first college-level course to involve bikepacking – Geology through Bikepacking. He has also co-authored with Kaitlyn Boyle an introductory guide to bikepacking, due to be available later in 2015. Striving to be as knowledgeable as possible about his passions, Kurt continually furthers his understanding of the different elements of all he does, whether it be geology, racing, nutrition, or gear design. And one of the best parts of this continual process is learning together - learning with colleagues, learning with students, and learning with clients. Kurt also has ample experience with time management as he managed to balance life in graduate school with several years with 1000+ hours on the bike. Experience and Accomplishments 19 years mountain bike racing experience (Cat 1) 9 years of ultra endurance cycling experience 5 years cyclocross racing experience (Cat 1) 8 years road racing experience (Cat 2) 9 years Nordic ski racing experience 1 year ultra running experience 3x Tour Divide finisher, 1x win 6x Arizona Trail 300 finisher, 6x wins/records 1x Arizona Trail 750 record 2x Coconino 250 finishes, 1x record 3x 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo wins (duo/solo) 1x Stagecoach 400 win 1x Colorado Trail Race (ITT) finish 1x Grand Loop finish 1x Colorado Best Cyclocross Rider Award (Pro/1/2) 1x Collegiate Cyclocross National Championships medal Certified USA Cycling Level II coach Certified Wilderness First Responder Prescott College Cycling Team coach |
