Why Train Freight?

Mission Statement:

A high quality training plan shouldn’t break the bank. 

Vision:

Every athlete with the desire to prepare properly should have access to the right training plan to reach their goals. 

What We Believe:

Hiring a private coach isn’t the right solution for every athlete, but every goal without a plan is just a dream. 

The Story :

After 25 Years writing custom training plans, we know what works and what doesn’t. We’ll let you in on a few secrets: an effective plan isn’t about cramming as much “scientific” HIIT into your workweek as possible. It’s also not about creating so much complexity that you give up trying to understand what you’re working on, nor about blindly riding hours upon hours of monotonous endurance. There is no such thing as a “Coaching Guru” and no such thing as a one-size-fits-all plan.

Around here, we adhere to the Blue-Collar state of mind. There’s nothing glamorous about sweating your ass off in self-induced suffering, but whining and making excuses is downright pathetic. Every single day we have a choice to either give our best effort, or hope that our competition chose not to give theirs. Make no mistake- someone else out there is hungry for what you have, training for the same race, the same time in the spotlight- that you are. Staying in a Blue-Collar state of mind means outworking the competition day in, day out.

We’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of athletes coming in all disciplines and skill levels. From Pros like Payson McElveen, all the way to regular folks just looking to consistently improve their fitness & confidence on the local trails or group ride. Each of you will have your own goals, with your own needs. We’ve built a variety of plans so you can choose what’s best for you.

Using this experience, we developed Blue Collar Intervals to be the most efficient, effective, and dynamic intervals possible. The results speak for themselves.

Over 40 years. That’s how long I’ve been pinning on a number in our sport. That in itself doesn’t necessarily make me a good coach or trainer, but it does mean that I’ve seen this sport as a junior, through college, as a young adult with a job, a young parent, a parent with a child who races, and into masters racing. This covers BMX, mountain biking, track, endurance racing, cross, triathlon and road racing.

For those who keep score, I took a break from riding and racing for six years.  I didn’t ride except for a couple token rides each year.  When I stopped, I was at well over 100 wins with a couple dozen state championships in road, track, and mountain biking. 

I began racing at 12y old racing BMX, and then in my middle teens I was racing on the road and in triathlons.   I competed in the elite ranks of triathlon in my late teen and early 20’s, and I was a factory rider in BMX in my early teens.   I also competed for my high school in basketball, football, track, soccer, etc.  I’ve competed in the Olympic trials on the track (velodrome) as well.

I took a break from riding and racing due to taking on a directing and coaching job with a pro team while still maintaining this WRA Coaching Family.  We also had and have a residence program…there just wasn’t any time left in the day.  Further, I was battling some health issues.   All told…from lung disease, a broken neck in a bike accident, internal injuries from another, being hit by a car at 50mph, hip degeneration…I’ve taken a beating.   I also had a tumor removed from around my spine in 2016.  

These ailments were sorted out with some aggressive strength training, which included going after (and succeeding) challenges of 10,000 kettlebell swings (53lbs kettlebell) in 8 days and doing 1,000,000 pounds of squats in four months.  At the end of 2017, I renewed my racing license, set my ego aside and requested a downgrade in category, and I raced.  I don’t view racing categories as a lifetime achievement award, though I fully admit I’m enjoying the process of working my way up through the upgrade process again.

I’m now 50 years old in 2020, married for over 20 years, and I have three kids (24, 17, 16). My oldest (Noah) raced for a professional development team in Belgium. Heck, my wife, Chloé raced and won the Texas Cup in cyclocross while pregnant with our daughter. I’m a founding board member of the Texas Bicycle Racing Association. We’ve promoted over 15 races. Cycling is a family business.  My youngest doesn’t race, but he rides every day, rain or shine, and he’ll ride in the dark to keep his streak going. He’s also ridden on the velodrome in Roubaix.  Simply put, this sport is our passion.

These days my riding is weaved in and out of my two youngest kids who are in high school.  My oldest is working with me full time in the coaching business. He’s USAC certified cycling coach, earning that at 18y old.  My youngest kids are state level throwers of the discus, and I do workouts with them regularly.  There’s also the regular busy things of school projects, homework, plays, etc.  For those who race who have kids, I understand.

My day job is as a full time cycling coach, and that’s what I’ve been doing since 1999.  Along the way, I also spent a few years working as a director for Slipstream Sports (Garmin-Sharp, which is now EF-Education First), directing and coaching the development team.  With my wife, Chloé, Noah, and his fiancé, Elizabeth, we also run a residence program for athletes who take that extra level of commitment to the extent that they live here with us full time.   We also spend 3-4 months a year in Belgium and Italy, helping riders develop to the elite level and otherwise get that racing and living experience that can only be had in the heartland of bicycle racing.

I’ve coached riders to over 100 National championship podiums (we stopped counting) and over 20 gold medals there.   I’ve also coached riders to more than 100 State Championships. I’ve coached 15 riders to world championships, including a podium performance there.  I’ve had riders represent USA at the World Championships every year since 2007.

I’ve been head coach at camps in Mallorca, Italy, Belgium and in the US. I’ve been a coach and head coach for the USAC Regional Development Camp.  To show that we’re not a one trick coaching operation, I’ve coached riders to the podium and national championship and the national team in match sprinting, and I’ve also had riders complete RAAM and Paris-Brest-Paris.  Riders I’ve coached have set the national record in the hour on the track, and one might even have the current world record for juniors.  I’ve had riders on the national team for track, cyclocross, mountain biking and the road.  I’ve directed Team USA at the Pan American games for road and track.   I’ve worked with two juniors from their first road event all the way to the pro ranks, and I’ve coached more than 20 riders to the US National team.  At one USA National Talent Camp, I was working directly with 15 of the 28 athletes there.

My degrees are in Urban and Regional Planning as well as writing. My Masters work is in exercise physiology, and I frequently attend continuing education and coaching summits with UCI, USAC, and elsewhere. I’m certified at the highest level with Trainingpeaks.

If you read through all of this bio, understand that it isn’t that I want to talk about myself.  The point is to let you know who is behind writing these plans at Freight Training Plans. 

-Christian Williams