Beyond Limits, Part 2 - Caleb Sprayberry

In November 2018, I was diagnosed with a mild heart attack. As per my recovery and part of the doctor's instructions, I needed to change my diet and do exercises that were better at heart conditioning rather than bodybuilding in the gym. I initially started out swimming, but since I lived in Alaska, the pools were only open for parts of the day. I went down to the local REI and picked out the cheapest “skinny tire “bike I could find. I initially started out, just riding around the neighborhood a few times, and I was instantly hooked. I am very competitive in nature and this instantly grew into something that I became competitive with. I truly enjoy the aspect of being alone with myself in my head and working on my personal problems. Cycling incredibly long distances give you the perfect opportunity to better yourself mentally and physically.

One day I happen to have a friend send me a news article link that was titled something like “Army veteran to set 24-hour record “. My friend asked me if that was me, to which I replied, no. However, I do have almost all of the exact same characteristics; disabled Army veteran, beard, and endurance cyclist. I looked Caleb up on Facebook and reached out to him. I initially asked if I could help him pass the 24 hours by coming out to do some riding beside him. He told me that it wasn’t possible during the world record attempt, but that he would ride out to Pahrump where I live so we could chat. The very next day he rode his trike from Las Vegas all the way to my house. We spent several hours chatting about the past, army experiences, and future goals with endurance cycling. That is where we sat on the stage to do the train-up and made plans for the 24-hour world time trial championships later that year.

When I first built my “race bike “I had done a ton of research online as to simple fixes and upgrades that would help make the bike faster and lighter. There were a ton of options, but at the time I had no idea how in-depth I would get so I started with what I could afford. The first thing I bought was the Kogel pulley wheels for my rear derailleur. I immediately noticed a difference. Once I was able to talk my wife into letting me spend more money on bike parts. I was able to get the bottom bracket as well. From that day back in 2019 I have always bought and used Kogel on all of my bikes. Although I have been through 11 since then, I have always chosen Kogel. I feel as though I have truly put the product through the wringer. I have ridden thousands upon thousands of miles with minimum maintenance and virtually no problems. I specifically chose Kogel for my time trial bike when competing last year in the world time trial championships because I knew that it would not let me down.

As a team, Caleb Cline and I have chosen some pretty difficult races, and our goal for 2023 starting off is the first US RAAM qualifier in Texas. They have a training camp the week prior to the Longhorn 500, which is the first race for me of the year. The second race is the HooDoo 500 in August, then the Silver State 508 in September. And then finally finish off the year with the 24-hour world-time trial championships again. This year my goal is to finish higher in my category than third place and to do better than sixth overall. I am incredibly thankful to be working with Kogel this year and for the sponsorship program. It has been a dream come true for me to be a sponsored athlete, especially by one of the companies where I use the products the most.