He lived in a country house in Belgium, waking up every day to a homemade breakfast, a meal so fresh that before the cook cracked the eggs into a bowl she had to wipe away the chicken feathers from the shell. A personal masseuse treated him to a massage when his muscles were tight. Each day he filled up with a 4,000-calorie load of bread, pasta, fresh vegetables and fruit.
This may sound like an overly indulgent profile from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but this was the daily routine from 23-year-old Dale Suttle's cycling days. Although from the ages of 15-22 he pursued racing dreams, in 2003 he traded in his helmet, cycling shoes and jersey for a drafting board and pen to work on an architectural degree at The University of Memphis.
The Belgian home was the U23 United States National Team house for the 19- to 23-year-old age bracket. This was home to about 12 to 15 other team members at any given time living with the coach and his wife, who provided all of the wonderful food. Suttle would spend a six-week period training in Europe, return to his Memphis home for a rest, and then head back to the cycling grind.
The professional masseuse was usually someone who had given massages to the elite European racers. Not only was the masseuse good for unwinding the muscles, Suttle said he had quite a few tales of behind-the-scenes events at famous cycling races.
Those 4,000 calories he consumed were not the pound-adding monsters that most Americans despise. The recommended daily calorie intake for most people hovers around the 2,000 range. But when you are a competing cyclist riding about 400 miles or a range of 23 to 27 hours a week, your body needs a little extra energy.
A little extra energy for cyclists is not found in fast food, candy bars or whatever is available in the vending machine. At the competition level, cyclists balance their diets with an overload of carbs, veggies and fruit while strictly avoiding sugar, fat and alcohol.
"Each year you get a little more extreme. I would learn a little more about things I thought were healthy only to find out they really weren't," Suttle said. "Things I thought were healthy when I was 15, I wouldn't even go near when I was 22.
The European freshness also helps fine-tune cyclists' diets, something that American canned foods and fast food chains fail to provide. And at a serious riding level, or one more serious than a weekend warrior, Suttle said every little bit helps.
In a country where basketball, baseball and football seem to monopolize the sports pages of the newspapers, many Americans have a hard time understanding what a cyclist actually does. People usually confused his sport with motorcycling, BMX or mountain biking.
But the cycling sport is far different - different bicycle, different helmet and different endurance level. Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong helps raise American awareness in a sport that Suttle says is bigger than football worldwide.
The 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia started April 19 and runs until the 24. With Armstrong using this American race as preparation for the grand Tour in July, cycling awareness around the United States is slowly increasing.
While Armstrong has swept the cycling world's most coveted prizes, Suttle said his thinking helped enhance his riding. "He's a very American kid, with a very bullish, American way of thinking. He is not afraid to think differently about the way to ride," Suttle said.
"Most Europeans approach the race with a very straightforward tactic that says if you ride more you'll get stronger, and you'll win. But Armstrong takes a different approach," Suttle said. "He'll say, 'Wait a minute. If I think about my position and ride more aerodynamically then I don't have to train as much, and I can go faster.' He always seems to be a step ahead of everyone else."
With that bullish, American way of thinking, Armstrong consecutively claimed six of the famous yellow jerseys, a first in the history of the Tour de France. However, Suttle is hesitant about Armstrong winning yet another yellow jersey in this year's 92nd tour, which takes place in July.
Win or lose, Armstrong confirmed he is wrapping up his professional cycling career in France.
"After a lot of thought, I've decided that the Tour de France will be my last race as a professional cyclist," Armstrong said at a press conference for the Georgia race on April 18. "It will be the last one, win or lose. Ultimately athletes have to retire. I've been doing this for 14 years. My time has come."
Although Suttle competed for about half the years Armstrong raced, at a young age Suttle said he "liked it (cycling) more than other kids" from the beginning.
But how does a Memphis kid even get involved in a sport other than football or basketball? Suttle's dad raced in college, placing in the Texas state championship during his competing years. Although his dad no longer competes, he still rides on the weekend with a local cycling club sponsored by Back Yard Burger.
"I just pulled my dad's bike out of the closet when I was about 12 and started from there," Suttle said.
Having parents who understand the cycling lifestyle really helped him pursue his dreams. "My parents did just about everything they could to get me where I needed to be," he said. "Everything" included providing money, good food and constant encouragement.
Other mentors in Memphis also played a role. Robby Fromin, owner of Memphis boutiques Isabella, Ella and Eve, was one of Suttle's influential friends.
"He'd sit me down and say, 'These are things you have to consider: do you really love it, or do you want to move on?'" The answer at the time was a yes to loving it. Now Suttle says he loves the sport as a whole, but he just doesn't have the passion to compete.
"To really do it at a high level, you can't really do anything else," Suttle said. "I wanted to be racing in Europe. But since the racing category for my age group ended when you turn 23, I didn't have much time left."
He said he came home one day from racing in Europe and decided that he wanted to start working on his degree. "I was continually going back and forth about the decision. Whatever I would be doing, I wanted to do it well."
With tendonitis slightly injuring him and hindering his riding schedule, Suttle thought he had accomplished as much as he could for his cycling career.
"I never quite made it to the pros. I was at the stage in cycling similar to college kids who play basketball or football in college," he said. Playing college ball helps prepare you for the pros, but it's not the NBA he said.
Although he stopped short of a professional level of cycling, Suttle has placed his passions into pursuing architecture at The U of M. Architecture may be structured differently from cycling, but Suttle says the two intertwine on various levels.
"They both take a whole lot of determination and dedication to push to the finish line."
