I am not an enthusiast, or a commuter, or a racer, or a builder. I am a cyclist.

I started riding bikes when I was 12 as a way to get around the rural and country roads outside Iowa City, Iowa. I started racing when I was 16 after seeing the Tour on television. At 17, I started working as a mechanic at my first bike shop job. I was hooked. And for the next twelve years I continued to wrench, tour, race and commute, constantly exploring disciplines, physical limitations and the incredible geography around me.

In 2000 I moved to Portland, Oregon where I took a job as a bicycle courier for five and a half years - the last two of which I helped start and run Portland’s only bike messenger collective. Cold, wet and dark mornings in the winter and endless hours of sunshine in the summer. For years I worked all week to ride and race on the weekends. In 2003, I finished second in an unsanctioned “rando-cat” from San Francisco to Portland, completing the route in 4 days.

Over the years and miles I have refined my own personal style of cycling routed in speed, distance and self reliance.

My experiences as a cyclist, my style and my love for the machines that make it all possible culminated in the creation of Ira Ryan Cycles which unofficially debuted in 2005 when I built my first frame and raced it without paint for 325 miles over 24 hours to win the inaugural Trans-Iowa Race. Gliding over moon lit gravel for hours and hours on a bike I made with my own hands, to win the Trans-Iowa, is an experience that will forever influence my riding and commitment to the craft of bicycle building.

Since then, I’ve made it back to Iowa for the 3rd Trans-Iowa – the 2nd was cancelled but I won the 3rd on the same Ira Ryan as before. I’ve also been steadily involved in the Rapha Continental. A three year project dedicated to riding, documenting and sharing the most epic rides in the country by region, creating an artful guidebook. I have  built and born over fifty frames for a steadily increasing network of friends and compatriots.