Balance Cycling Ride Leaders

Ryan Huffman

he/him/his
Balance Cycling Founder

After years of riding and racing with area clubs, Ryan created a community of cyclists unlike any he'd experienced. In 2005, he founded Balance Cycling and the Minneapolis cyclists finally had access to a club of dedicated riders who put group dynamics before personal gain. As a true team player, Ryan enjoys leading out teammates for town signs, besting his PRs on segments and attracting riders who want to have fun, score some points and do it with just the right mix of self-confidence and selflessness. As the club evolves, Ryan loves welcoming new riders, rolling with old friends, creating new routes, and practicing optimal bike fashion. Ryan is a former Cat 2 road racer.

Bikes

• LaMere custom carbon road bike with Sram Red eTap 12-speed, and Zipp 404 NSW wheel set

• LaMere custom carbon road bike with Sram Red 11-speed, and HED wheel set

• Evil Following v3 full-suspension mountain bike with Sram Eagle X01 1x12 and LaMere carbon wheel set

• Three Stars custom steel single speed

Lisa Martens

she/her/hers

Lisa has been spending time on and off her bike with the Balance cycling community since 2009. She has always enjoyed being on 2 wheels, but since riding with Balance her love has grown tenfold! Whether commuting, road racing, shredding the mountain bike or fat bike in the winter months… she loves meeting and connecting with cyclists who share a passion for the sport. Lisa co-leads the Thursday evening Ladies Ride and thinks there is no better feeling than a paceline of strong women calling out "On your left"! She lives in Longfellow with her husband Bruce and son Torsten. She loves her work off the bike as an orthopedic physical therapist. Lisa is founder of the dopest mountain bike club in the Twin cities: Stoke MTB.

Bikes

• LaMere Seasonal Selection

  • Shoulder Season: Gravel

  • Summer Season: Road

  • Winter Season: Fat

• Shitty winter commuter willing to sacrifice to the Salt Gods

• Yeti SB 115 mountain bike

• BMC Alpenchallenge AMP City eBike for commuting

Kelly Trom Nygren

she/her/hers

Heyo, my name is Kelly but many call me Trom.

By day, I’m a registered dietitian and by night, I am an athlete to the core.

I don’t know where I’d be without the Thursday ladies ride and community that is Balance Cycling. A member for ~10 years and have created AMAZING friends both on and off the bike! I love seeing new faces come try out the club and I love pushing my limits with fellow riders up Smith bridge just for the hell of it. Balance adds balance to my life and I am forever grateful.

Minneapolis is a phenomenal, bike friendly city with Balance located in the heart of it all. My husband, Karl and I live in Bryn Mawr with access to so many great trails, paths and roads to ride. We recently welcomed a new little addition and can’t wait to get Boden out riding.

Hope to see you out there or at least for an afterparty at Sea Salt for a beer. Cheers!

Bikes

• ‘Prince’ is my pompous purple Trek Madone for all things Balance road riding.

• ‘Tall dark and Handsome’ (TDH) is my black sexy Trek Speed Concept for all things not Balance road riding.

• ‘Neil’ is my teal Trek Top Fuel for all things off-roading through the woods.

• My trusty teenage commuter for all things that could get stolen downtown.

Kirsten “Kiki” Hoogenakker

she/her/hers

I'm Kirsten, AKA Kiki. I've been riding with Balance since 2017.

The two highlights of every week are attending the ladies' Thursday rides and leading long rides with the best team-speedium crew on the weekends (bonus points when any ride ends with tacos and a cold beverage). I keep coming back because the people I get to ride with are honestly amazing. I love the way we support and challenge each other both on and off the bike, complete with encouragement to be the best versions of ourselves. Year over year, I am impressed how everyone gets stronger and more confident on the bike and it keeps me coming back for more.

Bikes

• Ridley Fenix

• Ridley X-Fire

• All-City Thunderdome

• Kona Hei Hei Trail

• Salsa Casseroll

Anna Luckow

she/her/hers

Anna, a lover of pre-ride waffles and post-ride tacos, started racing road bikes in high school and has since picked up mountain biking and cyclocross racing. She has experience leading rides at all levels and enjoys sharing her passion by helping others feel more confident on the road. Anna loves the way cycling helps people enjoy the outdoors and feel more connected to their community. She wants to make sure everyone is presented with these opportunities and is thrilled to be a ride leader for Balance Cycling.

Bikes

• Trek Top Fuel

• Trek Boone

• 2013 Cannondale SuperSix

• Fat bike

Amber Quito

she/her/hers

I started riding with Balance in 2012 and learned everything I know about group riding here! I’ve never raced, but I love being outdoors and meeting new riders who appreciate similar interests. Riding with a group helps me push my boundaries. I enjoy working as an orthopedic physical therapist, traveling, hiking and riding MTB with my husband, Javier and our energetic dog.

Bikes

• Fuji Altamira (road)

• Yeti Betti (MTB)

• Marin Juniper (winter/commuter/run the dog bike)

Tim Bishop

he/him/his

Tim found cycling after a couple of back surgeries left him looking for a lower impact exercise option. He quickly found a passion for cycling, thus turning what had been an unfortunate injury into a stroke of good fortune. You can find Tim riding with almost all the different groups Balance has at some point or another (well except maybe ladies night haha). He enjoys setting personal fitness goals and meeting more people in the cycling community. In the off-season, Tim enjoys skate skiing and training for the Birkie. He also finds it weird to write about himself in the third person.

Chelsea Jenson Dunkel

she/her/hers

I’m Chelsea and I found my way to Balance in 2014. After 18 years of competitive swimming and a decade of strictly riding a bike to train for triathlons, Balance helped me discover the amazing world of group road riding. Though I still race triathlon, Thursday night Ladies Rides are by far my favorite athletic activity. It’s hard to beat riding around the city on an endless summer night with an incredible community of cyclists—and then, of course, sharing beer and laughter at Sea Salt. When not on the bike I work as an Organizational Development psychologist and live in Minneapolis with my husband Damon and our two young boys. 

Bikes

• Pinarello Gan S—for all things road

• Cervelo P3 TT—for racing and going fast

• Raleigh RX 2.0—for momming around on two wheels either towing or chasing kids

• Liv Lust Advanced—for collecting dust in the garage… someday it’ll be back in the dirt

Amy Roe

she/her/hers

Erica Schwanke

she/her/hers

Bikes

Karl Nygren

He/him/his

I was invited to a Balance Sunday Fast ride one auspicious summer morning in 2019 for a first date. My wife Kelly and I have been together ever since… biking, running, skiing and building a life together. In 2023, we welcomed our son, Boden, to the world and club. My background is cross country ski racing but I’ve always had a passion for bikes. Balance group rides have helped me develop tremendously as a rider. I enjoy pushing my limits, chasing KOMs, racing and fast group rides with friends.

Bikes

• Dengfu R12 custom build

• Trek Speed Concept

• Santa Cruz 5010

Peter Olejniczak

he/him/his

I joined my first cycling team in 2011 after my Cross Country Ski friends encouraged me.  I found a sense of team and belonging that seemed to often be missing from endurance sports. Thats been the BEST part about Balance Cycling. I found a steady and constant cycling community that challenges me in new ways… all while making new friends! I attribute strong mentorship and skill development to a successful professional racing career, so you can expect me to always put the cohesiveness of the group first! Balance Cycling gets me excited about my future cycling journey! 

Bikes (to name a few)

• Look Blade 795 RS

• Cervelo ZFS-5

• Twin Six Rando

• Trek Boone

Danielle Lyons

she/her/hers

First time I was on a road bike was in 2019, my wife tried to get me to go for a bike ride with her and I hated it, vowing that day to never ride a bike again. After 7 long years in CrossFit and my body hurting all the time, I attempted to find something that was less impact on my body and ended up giving cycling another attempt. I started with Balance in 2022 and have loved group riding ever since.  Somewhere along the way my wife also introduced me to mountain biking which has become a second passion as well. My background is soccer and CrossFit and I still occasionally enjoy running from time to time. Balance rides are my favorite part of the week, and after spending so much time working out exclusively in a gym I have absolutely loved being able to combine fitness with being outdoors now. 

Bikes

• Trek Edmonda SL 5

• Santa Cruz Tall Boy

Gabrielle Russell

she/her/hers

Hi I am Gabrielle!
I got into cycling around 2011, I was looking for a way to stay in shape after hanging up my pointe shoes. My Dad suggested cycling, helped me pick out a bike and got me a cute pink Jersey! I was stoked, but I wasn’t expecting to get so into cycling. I tried my first race that same year and decided I really wanted to get better at it. I went on to race at the regional/national level for a few years and met a lot of wonderful humans. About 5 years ago I found the wonderful riders that make up Balance. I find the rides challenging but really enjoyable. I started making the rides a regular part of my training. I found the group to be really welcoming and encouraging.

I ride a specialized tarmac (road)
And a trek Crockett (CX/ gravel)
Making room for one bike this summer

Bikes

• Specialized Tarmac

• Trek Crockett

• Making room for one more this summer

Shannon McKeegan

she/her/hers