Coach Len Pettyjohn
Location:
Vero Beach, Florida
Years training:
50
Years coaching:
48
Cycling disciplines:
Road, gravel
I am a coach because I am a teacher (I retired in 1989 from a career as a college professor). I am obsessed with helping riders get stronger, faster, and safer in all aspects of cycling. My coaching development began with international-level juniors (multiple national and world championship medalists) and amateur-level men and women (multiple national, Olympic, and world championship medalists) and moved to world-class professionals (Tour de France and world championship-level riders). I am now exclusively coaching riders over the age of 50, because I feel I have a deep personal level of experience with older rider performance and recovery (multiple national and world championship medalists over the age of 60).
Beyond coaching I have organized dozens of national-level cycling events. Among my earliest events I created were event/race courses for road bikes that used sections of dirt and gravel in the 1980s and 90s. I was accused by multiple riders of secretly working for the bike industry to destroy wheels and bikes on unsafe and dangerous roads, and I now have a perverse sense of satisfaction that my gravel interest was a precursor for modern cycling.
Events I've participated in:
1984 Olympic Games
1988 Olympic Games
World Championships 1980 to 2012
Tour de France 1989 and 1990
USA National Championships 1980 to present
Athlete Testimonials
Len is outstanding. Incredible coach. I feel like I hit the jackpot meeting and working with him. I don't ever want another coach. He totally gets an athlete's mind set. He makes the works doable yet challenging. He has brought me from doing the same thing everyday to slowly and in a progressive way increasing my work load. I totally believe in the approach he is taking. The caliber of training I am getting is outstanding. Can't say enough great things about him. Look at where I started and where I am now. It is all Len!!! - Mary Z.
I could not have asked for a better coach! Len has a depth of knowledge that is simply amazing, this stems from helping create the sports physiology lab in Boulder, and his continued studying to stay current in the area. BaseCamp taught me some fundamentals too, development of the battery of aerobic endurance, and the turbo of anaerobic performance. But Len gave me new skills equally important, like teaching me how to drink and eat on the bike without stopping! All from our coaching calls because he would see the pauses in my workouts. He follows my workouts and makes comments in TP, or texts or calls after a significant ride. He makes recommendations on equipment and clothing too that are useful. - Michelle S.
I have had a plethora of coaches during my long athletic career and I can honestly say that Len is the best of the best! He gets me which is so important. Both Len and his wife came to Augusta to cheer me on at Nationals this year which was so special. - Shirley C.