Founded in 2003, Organic Athlete’s mission is to “is to promote health and ecological stewardship among athletes of all ages and abilities by sharing information, building community and inspiring through athletic example”. In 2007, a multi-disciplinary cycling team called Team Vegan was established, with Bradley at the helm. Team Vegan includes all categories of racers from the elite category 1 & 2 (about 10 right now) to the club level (about 75), with racers across North America.
(Bradley Saul on the left, fellow racer Antonio Castelli on the right)
Paul Parker: What sets Team Vegan apart from other teams?Bradley Saul/Team Vegan: One, our team is just part of a much larger organization made of up athletes of all different sports called OrganicAthlete. OrganicAthlete is a membership organization for athletes of all ages, sports, and abilities. We have over 550 members worldwide, and these include runners, triathletes, bodybuilders, surfers, and more.
Two, we're a team of vegans.
Three, we have riders from across North America who are members of the team.
Paul: What was behind the launch of OrganicAthlete?
Bradley: Before I started OrganicAthlete, there were no organizations actively promoting and educating people about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle through sports. Plenty of veg organizations used athletes as role models, but there was not an organization for those athletic role models.
Paul: Must riders meet any minimum requirements to be a part of Team Vegan? Are there a set number of races that they have to do?
Bradley: The only requirement to be part of the club is 5 hours of volunteer work per year. All members of the elite team must be vegan and commit to the team schedule, which we're still working on for 2008.
When building the team schedule, we are looking at both cost and time, but also we want to consider the team's development. We need to enter races that challenge us as a team, but we don't want to overdo it.
Paul: When racing, do you or the other athletes find it difficult to find food that meets your dietary needs?
Bradley: No, plant foods can be found or bought everywhere we go. We know that race sites often have very limited suPaullies that meet our dietary needs and so we try to plan ahead. We carry what we need in our team van, a 1982 VW Vanagon with a turbo diesel that we run on bio-diesel when we can
(The Team Van: "Harold and Estelle")
Paul: Name 2 things that helped you get through this season.
Bradley:
1) Our mission. “Founded in 2003, OrganicAthlete unites people in a global effort to create a better world through sport. Through individual initiative and teamwork we can achieve the extraordinary and inspire the pursuit of personal and planetary health. Our mission is to promote health and ecological stewardship among athletes of all ages and abilities by sharing information, building community and inspiring through athletic example.”
2) Organic bananas.
Paul: Have you received any taunts out on the race course? Your bib shorts say "Go Vegan" on the back, and that must elicit some response.
Bradley: Any taunts usually come from our friends. We've gotten a lot of respect for what we're doing and what we stand for.
Paul: When racing, how important are team dynamics, on and off the course?
Bradley: It depends. We're a new team that's just learning how to work together in local and regional races. In the bigger national level races, we're pretty much trying to hold our own. A good team can definitely take advantage of the disorganization in the peloton that is characteristic of smaller races, but you have to be strong enough to do that.
Paul: Who are your 2 favourite cyclists right now?
Bradley: Christine Vardaros - a pro cross racer and member of OrganicAthlete's pro-activist team. christinevardaros.blogspot.com/
Scott Nydam - a local BMC pro rider who has completely shredded me at countless Tuesday night crits. He's a nice guy, too. www.bmc-cycling.com/team_nydam.html
Paul: What is in store for the team in the future?
Bradley: We're growing as fast as OrganicAthlete is growing, and we'd like to have a continental level pro team in the future. This year, the elite team is sticking to the West Coast with the possibility of entering a couple of international races.
I would love to do the FBD Ras (www.fbdinsuranceras.com/event/) in Ireland again. I did this race in 2000.
Paul: Who are the stars of Team Vegan right now?
Bradley: Molly Cameron finished 5th overall at the Tour of Ohio (www.mollycameron.com/). David Glick finished 20th at the San Dimas Stage Race (http://www.u.arizona.edu/~dglick/cycling.html%20). We were stoked about those finishes. Of course, there's Sami Fournier who won the Masters Women 40-44 National Championship in 2006 (spokepost.com/diary/sami/).
Paul: I heard that you have recently opened a bike store Sebastopol, CA. Tell me a little bit about the shop and how your core values as a vegan and cyclist are expressed in the design, merchandise, marketing of the store and your role as a business in your local community.
Bradley: The name of the store is the West County Revolution Bike Shop (http://www.westcountyrevolution.com/). Though Steve Michel (part owner) and I are hard core roadies, we also recognize that we are the only shop in our town to sell bikes. We try to have a range of bikes from kids to the dedicated racer. Charity Kirk (also part owner) keeps us in line organized and focused on our goals.
This year the store opened just weeks before the Sebastopol Tour d'Organics. As the ride director and shop owner, I was pretty busy.
At the store I do most of the buying, so I don't buy any non-vegan nutritional goods. I do my best to purchase non-leather saddles and soft goods. Ultimately, the ethos I bring to the store is compassion. I want to see more people riding bikes, as I believe it is healthy for people and the planet.
Paul: Shout out your sponsors.
Bradley: Our sponsors rocked this year:
- VegNews Magazine (http://www.vegnews.com/);
- Organic Spa Magazine (www.organicspamagazine.com/);
- Clif Bar (www.clifbar.com/);
- New Harvest Organics (www.newharvestorganics.com/);
- Melissa's (http://www.melissa.com/);
- Mill Valley Cycleworks (www.millvalleycycleworks.com/);
- Beljum Budder (www.beljumudder.com/);
- Bio-Lube (www.bio-lube.com/); and
- Verge Sport Clothing (http://www.vergesport.com/)
