Ride with Dustin
| In an effort to encourage more folks to push their limits, we've brought on local MTB sensation, Dustin White, as our MTB Race Ambassador! If you've been thinking about trying a race or maybe you just want to take your riding to the next level, Dustin is your resource. Not only is he incredibly fast on a bike, but he's also an incredibly nice guy (however, this guy does not finish last). He's more than willing to help anyone that wants to improve their riding. Check out Dustin's bio below and check this page for post-race reports! And if you're interested in trying an XC MTB race or just want to check out some race action, see the race reports at the bottom. |
- MEET DUSTIN WHITE -  |
If you are reading this, I feel as though you are either someone I already know who is looking for ammo to heckle me with, or you are curious about a crazy guy who likes to spend weekends suffering on a bicycle. Whatever the case, welcome to this probably too long or short biography! Enjoy the ride! Before we get into deep and meaningful sharing, I figure it’s probably best to give you my speed dating speech. I am a 26 year old mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Florida who works as a design engineer at John Deere. I am married Anyways…if you are still reading, you may interested in how I started cycling and how I got hooked up with the AJBW family. In 2009 I started college after marching drum corps over summer, yes amongst other heckling highlights I was a drumline nerd, and I was looking to continue my competitive drive in a new sport. Sitting down with the list of rec sport opportunities I narrowed the selection down to wakeboarding, fencing, or crew. I feel as though I am leaving you on a great cliff hanger here because none of those options include pedaling feverishly down a road or trail. However, since I do not frequently wield a sword and cannot clear a wake behind even the most moderate boat, the majority of my freshman year in college was spent paddling a boat around lakes and rivers throughout the southeast US. Crew was a fantastic sport! In comparison to cycling, it is very high on the list of miserable total body experiences, but also produces that exercise rush of accomplishment! Fast forward to summer of 2010 and I was headed to intern in Albany, GA and wanted to improve my fitness for crew, thus I bought my first road bike (Specialized Allez Comp). I spent this summer making fast yet pain staking gains on the road up to July when I entered my first road race at the Gwinett Bike Fest. If you have ever raced a cat 4 or cat 5 road race, I do not need to explain the epic throw down that ensued, but finishing in 10th place I was hooked. Road racing was a fast paced, fitness based game of chess and I wanted to be the Queen! Why the Queen you ask?! Well let’s be honest, the game of chess is very relative to life in which the Queen does everything epic and the King stands there as a pillar that moves around slowly.
In fall of 2012 I got my first mountain bike (Specialized Stumpjumper HT Comp) that I am still rocking today, although it looks nothing like it did in 2012. Before the bike came in, I went to my first mountain bike race in Tallahassee, FL aboard a borrowed FUJI 26” hardtail. On Saturday I got 2nd in the TT, 1ST in the STXC and Sunday 1st in the XC in the entry level category C. I hate to say it, but this was probably the sand bagging low of my cycling career. Up next was the conference championships in Gainesville, FL and aboard my new 29” monster I won the TT, STXC, and XC races in category B. At this point I knew I had a lot of work to do transitioning between the road and off road terrain, but I was hooked! Two months later I did my first cyclocross race aboard the old trusty Stumpjumper (formally known as Stacy) and won both days by close to a minute =) Jump to January 2014 and I am lined up in to race Collegiate Cyclocross Nationals in Boulder, CO having just graduated in December. Although the race had a very unfortunately timed flat tire, (curse you guy from Appalachian State for flying over the bars!) the race was a great send off from a collegiate cycling career! At this time I am about 70% committed to the off road scene but still being labeled as only a roadie. Note, there is nothing wrong with riding or racing road bikes…I do not want to address the inter discipline rivalries of cycling…everybody love everybody! Speaking of love, I moved to Augusta in January 2014 roughly a week after being in Boulder. Here I started my career, started to “adult” (yes that is used as a verb), and even made my best life decision…changing my USAC license primary account to cyclocross….wait….I mean to say I proposed to my now wife Cassie…yes that sounds better! Having been in Augusta for 3 years now, I can say I am fully committed to off road cycling
After being super long winded, I think it’s very easy to communicate why I am excited to race for Andy Jordan's…the culture of that shop transcends being just a business…it is a family. The Jordan family and AJBW staff are always working hard to give back to the cycling community they love in any way imaginable. Receiving a chance to be a part of this family and spread their commitment to the sport of cycling is a great honor and highly motivating! 2017 may be the kick off of this new relationship and there is much to look forward to, and I hope to keep shredding with the family for many years to come! |
2022 RACES A Brief Tale of Gravel Racing in FL & GA 10/21/2017 FATS Flow Master |
with 2 lovely fur-babies otherwise known as dogs (translation for you non-pet folks). Outside of cycling, work, and my personal life I am pursuing my MBA at the University of South Carolina. This is a point in which I must make a very firm distinction….I am a die-hard Gator fan! There is no other room in my heart for another allegiance. It is important that we get this in the open so you can either heckle me, close this page, or continue into phase 2 of the bio, but note I will have many Orange and Blue based references (yes I capitalized those colors…it’s a pride thing).
Heading back to UF in the fall of 2010 I opted to not return to the crew team and instead joined the cycling team! The next 3.5 years laid the foundation of my true passion for cycling! I spent the first 2.5 years solely training and racing on the road. I believe I jumped categories every year until becoming a category 2 in roughly November of 2012. Along the way I won a couple of time trials and even a stage race. However, I have still never won a 1 day road race or crit…plenty times being the bridesmaid yet never the bride. The best part of these years were the spring collegiate road seasons. We had roughly 5-7 guys on the A team and it was always a pleasure to have a team working together with nothing but school pride and desire for competition on the line. Professionals speak about the true sacrifice and team work in road racing and I have only experienced this in the collegiate racing scene. It is a true gem within the competitive cycling community. Before moving into my off road cycling journey, I would like to note 3 accomplishments on the road that stand out:
races. I have grown from being a Queen on the road bike to a Knight off road. I am not trying to sing my own praises here people. On the contrary, this is a continued reference to the game of chess. If you have not played chess, the Knight never moves in a straight line…ever…thus it seems fitting to label an off road racing cyclist a Knight! If you still don’t understand, or for some reason have never played chess, please use The Google to complete this reference. Once again, before I move on, I want to highlight some awesome off road cycling accomplishments: