#pedaltherapy w/ Charles Smart

Meet teammate Charles Smart! Charles grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and is the oldest of six kids. He went to East High School where he met the girl of his dreams, then graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in economics, and now has been working in finance ever since! Charles has always loved to bike. He has been road biking for years, even before it became popular amongst our generation.  Three things Charles loves besides biking: Family — He is an amazing husband and the best father to our 4 children (Charlie 9, Ellie 7, Ruby 4, Caroline 2). Everyone is happier when he is around! Skiing — He loves skiing and has has taught our kids to enjoy the sport as well - he and the kids have already been up 3 times this season! A good nap — He can fall asleep anytime/anywhere... he has been known to completely pass out sitting up while chaos erupts around him! Charles is a beef jerky connoisseur, Mexican food is his favorite and he lives for our yearly trip to Newport Beach... For some reason he’s always in the market for a new bike and spends unnecessary amounts of time on KSL shopping. Quote from Charles, "Sister kidnapped when I was 16 years old. That was life changing for my family. Biking became a form of therapy for me during that time. My mind would race to all sorts of potential bad/scary outcomes when my sister was gone. Going out on the bike I was either suffering too much to worry about other things or too focused to think about anything other than descending (more so on the mountain bike). This was hugely therapeutic to me and to this day is a big part of why riding a bike is so special to me. Although the life variables have changed. I’m a believer in trying to balance some structure with just riding. Might not be the smartest method, but cycling is therapeutic for me physically, mentally, and even spiritually. Group rides and structure rides solve different pieces of that puzzle in my life"