'A bomb went off in my world' – Colin Strickland adapts to restoring collectable autos after stopping racing in 2022

Colin Strickland escaped the lead group mid-race, and knew the following hours would be headwind, followed by a tail wind back into Emporia.

From fixed-gear to gravel, the only bike of interest now for Colin Strickland is a 'townie' cruiser. The Texan went from cycling hobbyist to Red Hook Crit sensation by 2016, and then carved out a top spot in the rising off-road scene in 2019 when he won signature races in Kansas, Unbound Gravel 200, and Iceland, the Rift.

An early trendsetter for a one-rider marketing programme with major brands to earn a living as a gravel cyclist, now called a privateer, Strickland's world came crashing down in 2022.