Off The Clock: Road Scholar Mike Speck

Qdoba’s Mike Speck finds the journey is more important than the destination.

By Maya Norris, Managing Editor -- Chain Leader, 6/1/2006

Mike Speck takes full advantage of living near the Rocky Mountains. The vice president of human resources and training for Wheat Ridge, Colo.-based Qdoba Mexican Grill rides his bike 50 to 75 miles a week in the foothills of the Rockies. But the 46-year-old has recently stepped up the pace as he prepares for a weeklong, 450-mile bike ride.

Speck is training for the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, a road-bicycling event through the Rockies June 25 to July 1. Each day bicyclists will ride 60 miles to 100 miles through mountain passes ranging from 7,893 feet to 11,530 feet above sea level. Unlike mountain biking, which involves single-track trails on rugged terrain, road biking takes place on paved roads and involves long distances.

To prepare, Speck started a three-month training program in March. He rides five days a week, gradually increasing the distance from 40 miles a week in March to 185 miles a week in June. Three days a week, he gets up at 5 a.m. to ride 90 minutes a day. He rides about three-and-a-half to seven hours a day on the weekends.

“I get a tremendous amount of personal enjoyment, confidence and self-satisfaction from the discipline and accomplishments involved in training, along with the ability to not only experience the Colorado Rockies from the bike, but the relationships developed with others sharing the same passion and competitive spirit,” he says.

Highs and Lows
This will be Speck’s third year in the Bicycle Tour of Colorado. He will ride four to seven hours a day. Besides the elevation and endurance, riding in a pace line will be a challenge. Speck will ride with a group of three to seven people 20 to 30 miles per hour uphill and 50 miles per hour downhill with their tires only inches apart to minimize wind resistance. “It’s part of teamwork because you have to trust the person in front of you,” he says.

Speck will also have to deal with temperatures ranging from 35 degrees in the morning to 85 in the afternoon. “In previous years, we’ve experienced all types of weather, from beautiful sunny blue-sky days to rain, sleet and snow, sometimes waking up to a frost-covered tent,” he says.

After he completes this event, Speck will move on to the Triple Bypass Bicycle Tour on July 8. The 120-mile ride includes ascents of more than 10,000 feet.

Residual Benefits
When he’s not training, Speck goes road and mountain biking at least three days a week. His wife, Julie, and his children, Rachel, 11, and Andrew, 14, sometimes join him. “They haven’t gotten the addiction yet, but I’m hoping they will someday,” he says. “My family is completely supportive and excited that Dad has the gumption to physically keep the pace going.”

Biking also helps him at Qdoba. “Time on the bike requires full concentration on the road or trail conditions, the constant changing weather and physical stamina to go the distance,” he says. “As my overall physical endurance and stamina has increased so has my ability to focus on long-term strategic thinking."