Sean McCarthy

Growing up, Sean had nothing more on his mind than his BMX bike – everything from freestyle tricks to racing anyone that wanted a piece on the local cemetery circuit. He was always the kid who was the first one to test a new jump no matter how big the gap was. If enough speed could be acquired, then gravity could be cheated…

About halfway through grammar school, his parents got him involved in soccer, basketball, and baseball. He was one of those kids who had to keep moving. As he grew older, he ditched baseball (“Too much standing around”) and began to focus on soccer and basketball. There was a point where he was playing in three
different basketball leagues and still squeezing soccer in. About halfway through high school, he started to burn out and needed a break.

The break came in the form of a mountain bike. His first ride brought the kid back out of him. To this day, he admits to partially not fully growing up because of his bikes. He started racing downhill first in the early 90s. Back then, they had a World Cup event at the local ski mountain every summer at Hunter, NY. Nothing compared to hitting the water berm on Belt Parkway at over 50mph. Talk about getting some distance. But it was at those World Cup venues where he caught the cross-country bug. He watched the pro race and said those are the fittest guys in the world. “More fit than the chumps who passed through the county for the Tour de Trump.”

Since then, Sean has raced collegiately for UMASS, pulling chores on the road, mountain, and cyclocross. After college, he rode for a local bike shop out of Northampton, MA. For the past decade, he has been trying his best to represent Bikeman.com.

Height: 6’0”

December Weight: “165ish.”

Race Weight: “160ish.”

Birth date: “December 11, 1973.”

Childhood Heroes: “Dr. J and Magic Johnson.”

Hobbies and Interests: “Drag racing, camping with the family.”

Favorite Movies:Cinderella Man.”

Musical Tastes: “Anything but Elvis.”

Favorite TV Shows: “None.”

Favorite Meal: “Pizza, even though I can’t eat it!”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Good old Quaker Oats.”

Favorite Pre-Race Meal: “My Super Smoothie.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Can’t eat it!”

Childhood Dream: “To be a point guard for Notre Dame.”

First Car: “1980ish Honda CRX. Car had no weight to it and could get crazy air!”

First Job: “Chevrolet Dealership, gopher for the mechanics.”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “Canadian Rockies and the Adirondacks.”

Pre-Race Feeling: “Where is the Portalet?”

Early Racing Memory: “Ripping downhill courses on ski slopes with shitty front suspension and a steel hardtail.”

Funny Racing Memory: “Forgot my mountain bike shoes for a race. Had to borrow someone’s, along with their pedals. It was muddy and the pedals I borrowed were set so tight that I could not get them to disengage. After the finish, I kept riding around in front of everyone, trying to get unclipped. I finally gave up and just fell over. Gathered a little attention for my sponsor with that one.”

Greatest Racing Moment: “Toss-up between winning Collegiate Regional Team Time Trial with my buddies two years in a row or winning the NY State 40k TT. The 40k State I had self-coached myself to peak for the race. I showed up with perfect form and took my age group by 2 minutes. Turned around the next day and took 3rd at a state mountain bike race.”

Most Painful Moment In Life: “Being hospitalized by my ulcerative colitis. The internal pain was nothing in comparison to the mental part. It effects every day of my life.”

Worst Injury from Racing: “Think I was about 30 years old and I was riding my BMX bike with the local kids. Went big and got the bike completely horizontal. Unfortunately, I never got the bike perfectly vertical again. Separated my shoulder, broke three ribs, and punctured my lung. The two tubes that they had to put into my lung to drain the blood hurt more than the broken ribs. I am pushing 40 and would do it all over again.”

Closest Racing Friends: “I would have to say Lee ‘Old School’ Palmateer.”

Funniest Racer: “Josh Misevis, pro downhiller. He tells it like it is.”

Favorite Race: “Anyone that puts me in complete distress. If I am drooling at the end, then it was good.”

Toughest Competitors: “Not to be cocky, but myself. I thrive for punishment and take pride in schooling guys on bikes that are worth four times that of my own.”

Favorite Athletes to Watch: “Cross-county skiers at the Olympics.”

Qualities You Most Admire in People: “No matter what cards a person is dealt in life, they are ready to play what they have.”

What You Love Most About Riding Your Bicycle: “Everything in the world stops. You just get out there and start gauging your legs for a throwdown or just pumping out some efforts for a workout. Sometime later, you roll back in in driveway and the world starts to resume again.”