When asked, Nathan has a hard time explaining why he started racing bikes. He can tell you he bought his first racing bicycle in eighth grade. He'll tell you of long adventure rides exploring southwestern Idaho as a teenager. He'll tell you of first being outclassed, then competitive, then winning races as a junior rider. He'll tell you of putting away the bicycle in college but coming back to it in grad school. He'll tell you he's been racing road, mountain, and cyclocross bikes for over 35 years, but that it's not so much about the racing as it is a way to order his life. If you ask, he'll tell you about the wins, but mostly he'll want to talk about the joy of competition, about pushing limits, and the psychological value of doing hard rides, long rides, disciplined rides, and joy rides.

Nathan has a PhD in Organization Studies from Vanderbilt University, is a professor of management at Shippensburg University, and has coached the Shippensburg University Cycling Club for two decades.