Coach Deanna Duke

Deanna comes from a rather unorthodox background for coaching cycling. She began road cycling during her time at the University of Washington while studying biological anthropology, where she focused on the evolution of the human body through bipedal movement and improved nutrition that resulted from the advent of cooking. Additionally, she has a degree in computer science with twenty years of experience in software development and data science. Her coaching takes into consideration both these skill sets, marrying human evolutionary biology and physiology with data analysis.

Since moving to the Cascade range of Central Washington, she has been highly focused on all things gravel cycling, in addition to road. She started coordinating and leading women's group rides to introduce more women into the sport, eventually extending it to open group rides that are held several times a week (when she isn't buried under 6+ feet of snow). She's currently taking graduate-level courses in applied sport psychology to help her athletes work on setting expectations, motivation, and focus, as well as positive self talk and fighting anxieties.

Deanna prefers to coach with a methodology that isn't just focused on the physical science, but also heavily takes into consideration the more human element of cycling and racing. Lack of self confidence and poor mindset often can be blockers to performance, ranging in everything from fear of FTP testing and lack of course skills to overall "imposter syndrome," particularly for younger, newer, and even older cyclists. Working on both the mental and physical elements using customized training in a very hands-on and encouraging environment to create a well-rounded athlete is her goal in helping her athletes achieve  their goals.