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Meet Mi Duole team member, Dr. Dan Thunell, and enjoy his bio from his wife Meg 😎

"My name is Meg. And my husband Dan is an addict. A cycling addict. 

"When he proposed, I had no idea I would spend 40% of our marriage pulling wet Lycra out of the washing machine and hanging it to dry on every banister and railing in our house. Dan started off as a runner, but after an orthopedic surgeon told him he had the ankles of a 96 year old man, he started mountain biking for exercise. 

"Here’s Dan’s dirty secret: he was a complete snob who FOR YEARS refused to even try road biking. But after our last kid ended up being surprise twins, he was too scared to ask me for enough time to drive up the mountain, bike on the mountain, and drive back from the mountain. It wouldn’t have ended well for anyone.

"His older brother, Mark, had been a cyclist for years, & finally convinced Dan to give road biking a chance. One of his very first road rides was a century in Park City. 

"He almost died. 

"But he didn’t, and a monster was born.

"For the last 10 years, Dan has gotten up around 5 am almost every day so he can get his miles in and still be a dad to our six kids, eight chickens, and very needy dog. 

"He has ridden LOTOJA as a relay three times, and raced solo six. Only one of those solo races ended in the back of an ambulance, so that’s pretty good I guess. (I would please very much like you to ask him to tell you the story of why he ended up in an ambulance, by the way).

"For the last three years, he, his brothers, and his best friend have rented an RV and spent 24 hours in the wilds of Utah for the Kokopelli Relay. He’s climbed Pikes Peak, the Mt. Whitney portal, Mt. Evans, Haleakala, and many, many more. He also got a VPN so he can watch every monument, classic, and tour event at ungodly hours in languages he doesn’t speak, and he has as many bikes as he has kids.

"He even planned our 20th anniversary trip to Italy around the Giro, and promised if we went to one stage he’d go to as many museums as I wanted. 

"Professionally, Dan is a periodontist who is beloved by his patients, staff, and peers. He’s been awarded professor of the year by the dental residents at the University of Utah, and is constantly disappointing little old grandmas who want to line him up with their grandchildren. 

"The things that make Dan a great doctor, husband, and father are the same things that make him a great cycling companion. He is meticulous and detail-oriented, but more importantly, he is unfailingly and unyieldingly kind. There are no games with Dan—what you see is exactly what you get. 

"He’s extremely competitive, but only with himself. He loves riding with complete novices who wear their kids’ helmets and Nikes as much as he does racing as a Cat 3 cyclist.

"As long as he has a hill to climb, he’s happy. And because he is so kind and patient, and because he mostly tries not to make fun of me for almost totaling our car on an Idaho service road after I got lost driving Lotoja support last year, I keep pulling him shaking and shivering off the sides of mountains with a car full of hot tea and handwarmers or Cherry Coke and Reese’s.

"Also, this is completely unrelated, but I will never have a platform like this again. I want to make sure everyone knows that he has an unhealthy obsession with Vans shoes and currently owns 24 pairs. I had to give up a full shelf in our closet for his fancy footwear."