Episode 64
“You send four Kiwi boys off into the distance and see what happens and it’s a bit of a laugh”
Can you place the accent of this week’s podcast guest? He’s been a crowd favorite all summer, and we were certainly sad to see him leave. Andrew is joined this week by Kaio Lart, a cyclist from New Zealand. Kaio ventured out to T-Town this summer with a group of mates to get a solid block of training and racing done, as well as pick up some valued UCI points. Listen to learn how Kaio got his start in cycling, what it’s been like racing here in T-Town, and much more.
Instagram:
@kaio_fart
Thanks to B Braun Medical Inc. for sponsoring the Talk of the T-Town Podcast. BBraun is a global leader in infusion therapy and pain management, B Braun develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical products to the healthcare community. They are also strong believers in supporting the quality of life in the communities where their employees work and live.
Transcript
Voice Over:
Broadcasting to you from the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. This is Talk of the T-Town Podcast, where we discuss all things, track cycling.
Andrew Paradowski:
Welcome back to another episode of Talk of the T-Town. I’m your host, Andrew Paradowski. And we’re here to talk about all things T-Town, and all things cycling. Today, our guest is Kaio Lart, from New Zealand. One of the young riders who has joined us for the prior UCI Racing Block that we had here in June. Kaio, how are you doing?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, I’m good, thank you. And thanks for having me. It’s been pretty cool here so far. So, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Well, we’re glad to have you and all of your other Kiwi teammates, you certainly have come in full force. I do realize that a lot of the team have left to other events and races. I know there’s a big push to the Commi games, but you and a few of your brethren have stuck around to continue racing here in T-Town. So, we appreciate you for being here as well. And also, for being on this podcast, this show with us today here. We’ve had a chance to get to know you over the last couple of weeks, watch you race and learn a bit more about you. And you’re a young racer, you’re just getting into school now and you’re doing quite well in the racing scene, but that’s not who you are only.
You’re not just Kaio, the racer. I found out that you are also Kaio the coach, Kaio the commissar and Kaio the volunteer and all things cycling. So, you’ve got all your bases covered. So, let’s talk a little bit about that. You don’t see that very often in young racers. It’s usually just, hyper focused on cycling and maybe after the career winds down a little bit, then they move into something else to stay in the sport, like coaching in cycling. So, what has given you the spark to stay, or sorry, to get involved in all these things so early?
Kaio Lart:
I’m not really too sure, to be honest. Normal thing, is I’d probably just blame my dad for it, but I guess, it felt like the right thing to do. I guess, I’ve been around the sport, since I was eight, nine, so that’s a good part of my life. Feel like I owe something back to the sport. And now, I’ve finished school, I’m first year at university, I can’t do schools racing at home anymore. And it seemed like a really cool opportunity to then go back and be a commissar, help out and get to punish all the kids I don’t like. But nah, just, it seemed like a cool opportunity. And I guess, when I moved up to Cambridge at home this year, where our home of cycling is, I had a couple of plans that I’d become a coach at the track.
It would give me access to track time. And then, if I became a commissar, or got my technical license, I could just help out and try and learn how to run our timing system. Because, there’s only a few people who could do it. It’s just, gaps that need filled. So, I just thought, “Why not?” And then, yeah, I’ve done a couple of shadow commissar work through our junior track nationals and criterium nationals at home. And then, when I was knocked out the first weekend here in T-Town, early on in the sprints, I was like, “Oh, well I’ve got nothing to do this evening. So, I’ll just go ask if I can bum around and watch it. And yeah, ended up being pretty cool.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, how would you say that affects your outlook on cycling in general and racing in general? Having seen it from different angles. Commissaring, timing, as you said, sitting out there at the table trying to get results for people, helping out, volunteering. How has that affected your racing style and your attitude towards cycling?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, I mean, it goes without saying, that most people respect the work that the volunteers and commissars do, but until you sit with them and actually realize how stressful it gets sometimes, you don’t really realize it. Us riders, we just try to pin our numbers in the most aero, trendy position possible. Turns out you can’t see that if you’re a comm. What other things there was, trying to get start sheets out, trying to get result list out, or points races in the middle of a points race, things that, as a rider, you just expect to happen immediately. Like, why isn’t there numbers on the lapboard? Or, why can’t we see it straight away? And there’s a whole load of decisions that have to be made behind that.
And it’s obvious when you think about it, but when you’re in the middle of the heat of a race, you don’t really have that obvious thought pattern and to actually have some evidence behind it yourself, to make you process those decisions whilst you’re racing, is good. And I guess, being able to deem, also where am I making a dodgy decision? Am I going to send it under this rider? And is it going to get me disqualified? Or, is this thing going to slip? You get to learn where those boundaries are in racing. And I’ve noticed myself, watching my own racing, watching my friends race, where I think decisions will be made, or what might happen. But yeah, I guess, you learn a lot of the rules as well, as a rider. And I guess, as it should, it should carry over, there should be a pretty close comparison between the two of them.
Andrew Paradowski:
It’s interesting. So, it sounds like it affects your strategy as well, a little bit. Before you actually started doing a little bit of officiating, would you say that you had a good command of the rules and regulations? Or, was it only afterwards, when you sat down and read the book for doing that thing, that you discovered the full, broad scope of the rules?
Kaio Lart:
Mm, I’d like to think, I’ve always known the rule book reasonably well. Just through, I guess, trying to push the limits like everyone else is trying to get as close to as possible. And everyone’s always asking, “Is my bike legal?” Or, “Is this right? What’s the rules here?” And I guess, you just go to learn the quick fire really and-
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, you mentioned earlier that you were blaming your dad for getting involved into cycling. Is that your cycling origin story? Was he the one who got you into cycling and racing, or?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, sort of. So, he doesn’t really ride, himself. Well, he likes to think he does. But, I was at the age eight, nine years old, just every sport in the back of the school newsletter, dad was like, “Right, you’re going to do that, you’re going to do that.” Was going everywhere, left, right and center. And I guess, cycling’s the one that stuck. I mean, from the first day I went to school, I rode my bike. I think, pretty much, from year seven onwards. So, the last seven years I was in school, I missed one day riding to school and it’s something I’ve done my whole life. It’s just what happens.
Andrew Paradowski:
How far from school is your home?
Kaio Lart:
Ah, about 10K.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
So-
Andrew Paradowski:
That’s a pretty good ride.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, it’s good. I love the morning commute.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
Especially, going home after school. All my mates would always hop on the bus. It’s always a race home, because I can beat them out of town real quick. But then, once we hit the highway, it gets a bit more even. So, there was a consistent period where, when I was older, I was always beating the bus. But, in that, I guess, 14 to 15 year old age gap, every day it would change, who would win, me, or the bus?
Andrew Paradowski:
Did you ever get in behind the bus and just draft the bus all the way?
Kaio Lart:
Oh, definitely. I love a good bit of car surfing. Definitely, illegal and I do not recommend it. But, heck yeah, I love it.
Andrew Paradowski:
That’s a good disclaimer. I like that. And I-
Kaio Lart:
They’ve got this awesome hill, outside the school I went to, and it’s just one straight big run down into town, and then you get traffic lights. I know the entire Nelson traffic light system off by heart.
Andrew Paradowski:
And the timing as well?
Kaio Lart:
Yup.
Andrew Paradowski:
Nice.
Kaio Lart:
I can get through that… I reckon, I can get through town in about a minute and a half.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, at least after all that too, you’ll also have a good story for your grandkids to be like, “I rode to school, both ways, uphill, for 10 kilometers.”
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, exactly. So-
Andrew Paradowski:
And then, you just continued on through high school. And then, at what point did you get into formalized racing?
Kaio Lart:
Oh, I reckon I would’ve been first year, under 15. I think, it was probably when I started traveling around the country, racing, for… Yeah, that would’ve been when I did my first track nationals. And then, yeah, I just kept going. From then, done track nationals most years. I think, my first win came in second year, under 17. I won the 500 and the sprint event. Nearly broke the national record that time. And then, I got pretty annoyed that I didn’t. I was out by maybe, 400th of a second. So, came back half a year later and smashed it, which I was pretty stoked on.
Andrew Paradowski:
Nice.
Kaio Lart:
And that record, it stood for a while. Everyone knew about it. And then, that was just before Oceania Champs in 2019. And then, we went on to win the team sprint with Sebastian Lipp, who’s here with us. And one of my mates, Hamish Coltman, who’s now at university. And then, that was it, before the world wrapped up for a wee-bit. And oh, we got to Bundaberg in Australia. That was my first overseas, international competition. And that was pretty cool to be invited to that.
Andrew Paradowski:
You made an interesting statement there, you said before the world wrapped up a little bit. I guess, you’re referring to COVID?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah. That’s probably, the politest way I’ve ever heard of it either on this podcast, or elsewhere. “The world wrapped up for a little bit.” Yeah, it shut the doors and-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Hid for a year and a half.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah. So, I was supposed to go to both, Junior Worlds, as I got selected for both of them as a junior. But, obviously that was 2020 and 2021. So, that didn’t happen. At the time, bit of a shame. It wasn’t great, I wasn’t stoked on it. But, in hindsight, it was probably one of the best things that happened to me. It meant, I knuckled down a wee-bit more at school. I focused, achieved the academic goals that I had set out. And to be fair, my dad probably pushed me pretty hard as well, but I ended up being the head boy of the school I went to and getting the highest level that New Zealand recognizes, academically.
Andrew Paradowski:
For our listeners at home, head boy would mean, I guess, the top scholar.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah. Class president, top of the school, basically.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
So yeah, that was a pretty cool opportunity. It ended up being quite a rough year for other reasons as well, but we won’t go into that.
And so, yeah. And then, that, along with all my cycling results, worked out pretty well and got me an awesome scholarship at the University of Waikato, where I am now. So, yeah, had COVID not had happened, I would’ve gone to Junior Worlds, probably wouldn’t have got the academic results and the leadership results that I did otherwise. And now, I think about it, it was a good opportunity to step away from the sport a wee-bit, just have a wee-break, it’s all I’d done for the past 10 years. So, to have that wee-break and reset-
Andrew Paradowski:
Reflect?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
About the future.
Kaio Lart:
Definitely.
Andrew Paradowski:
Mmm-hmm.
Kaio Lart:
And yeah, like my dad said during that first initial lockdown period, it was some of the best conversations we’ve ever had, because I wasn’t coming home tired and just burnt out every day from training and whatever. I just had a chance to relax. And I think, I actually grew a lot, as a person in that period.
Andrew Paradowski:
Well, it’s always super interesting to learn about the silver linings that everybody seemed to have discovered over that period, when the world shut down for a little bit. But, we’re back open now and you’re here racing and you’ve had some pretty good results in some of your sprinting, so we’ve been certainly impressed with that. Is this your first, big block of racing that you’ve done outside of New Zealand? I know, you mentioned that you went to the Oceania Championship, so maybe an event here, or there, but-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, yeah. So, we did Ocies, which was at home, in Waikato. And then, we did Bundaberg, which was just a week in Australia. But yeah, this was the first, big, overseas campaign we’ve done.
Andrew Paradowski:
Mmm-hmm.
Kaio Lart:
So, I’m here for a month and a half. So, start of June to mid-July. And then, a couple of the others staying here for maybe another three weeks afterwards. But yeah, this is our first big time away. And basically, for all of us, this is our first big international trip. And-
Andrew Paradowski:
So, how’s that going for you?
Kaio Lart:
It’s been interesting. You send four Kiwi boys off into the distance and see what happens and it’s a bit of a laugh. But, nah it’s been awesome. So, you got the four of us, and then we’ve met this other fellow, Dalton, who’s rooming with us. He’s Australian, gets on real well. We’ll just Dodge past the Australian bit. But nah, it’s been awesome. There’s been ups and downs, we’re all racing each other. So, we’re in the head space to get racing, but then it’s also like we’re here on a cool trip. It’s-
Andrew Paradowski:
Can you think of… So, this being your first, large trip away for cycling, or in general as well? You haven’t spent this much time outside of-
Kaio Lart:
Not by myself.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah, okay.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, what would you say, is your biggest challenge? Or, possibly a culture shock? Or, something that you found interesting and unique when you came here to the US?
Kaio Lart:
Everyone says, “Yes.” When you say thank you, or something, rather than, “You’re welcome.” That’s the one that gets me the most.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
Driving on the wrong side of the road, that’s always a laugh. The amount of times we’ve pulled out the car park here and just ridden straight down the wrong side of the road. And then, everyone looks at you funny. I don’t know. I guess, the language a wee-bit as well. Talking to the kids out there, coaching today, I’m calling them mate and, “You’re all good bro,” and things like that. And they just look at me blankly and go, “All right, then.” Yeah. I guess, just a couple of things like that. Maybe, we are a bit casual, but yeah, it’s a bit different, but similar in a lot of ways, I guess, you can see where everything’s built its own little ways of going around.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Is there anything that you miss from back home?
Kaio Lart:
Oh, a pie. There’s no pies here.
Andrew Paradowski:
All right now-
Kaio Lart:
Mince pie.
Andrew Paradowski:
What’s a pie to you?
Kaio Lart:
Well, I don’t know. You got some pastry, and then you’ve got some mince inside of it. And-
Andrew Paradowski:
So, you mean meat?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, most people here, when you think pie, they think apple pie, cherry pie.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Right?
Kaio Lart:
The amount of times we’ve asked for pies and people pointed us to sweet stuff, we’re like-
Andrew Paradowski:
Right.
Kaio Lart:
“No, no we want a mince pie.
Andrew Paradowski:
You want a meat pie?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
They’re actually pretty popular up in Canada. You might have to take a trip to Quebec to get-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yourself a meat pie.
Kaio Lart:
No, I would be keen actually.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
But yeah, we’d have them at, say, gas stations, not servos, but anyway…It turns-
Andrew Paradowski:
Is that what the gas stations are called in New Zealand?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, we just call them servos, yeah. And they’re like, “Oh, we’re off to the servo”. And everyone’s like, “Oh, you’re going where?” But, yeah. And you can’t-
Andrew Paradowski:
We could sit here and probably, talk for half an hour-. All the slang-
Kaio Lart:
Definitely.
Andrew Paradowski:
What’s that?
Kaio Lart:
But, yeah. And we go to the hot cabinet expecting to find some pies and oh, well there’s nothing there. So, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Just hot dogs.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
I mean, we’ve succumbed to eating them, it’s not the end of the world.
Andrew Paradowski:
Have you been to a Wawa yet?
Kaio Lart:
A what?
Andrew Paradowski:
Wawa.
Kaio Lart:
Nah.
Andrew Paradowski:
It’s the big servo here. There’s two competing gas stations, Wawa and Sheetz. I think, there’s even a cross-Pennsylvania, the fight over which one’s better. But, full-service gas station, with a convenient store. And then, they’re serving food as well. And you can get hamburgers and-
Voice Over:
And milkshakes.
Andrew Paradowski:
Milkshakes.
Kaio Lart:
Maybe, we have. I mean, we don’t have a car with us, we’re riding our bikes everywhere. So, there’s that slight thing.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah. And you’ve got the school in Kutztown.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah. Oh, we were-
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
We just moved to Bob’s house, but-
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, no, we’ve been at the university as well.
Andrew Paradowski:
Right.
Kaio Lart:
But yeah, for a bunch of sprinters who normally, are pretty lazy. Drive to the track, track’s indoors at home, it’s a bit cozy-
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
To having a ride back and forth every day. I think, all of us have easily doubled our K’s for the year, while we’ve been here.
Andrew Paradowski:
There you go. And that must be tough for a sprinter, huh?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, yeah. Hard life. Yup, real tough.
Andrew Paradowski:
All right, let’s do some rapid fire questions.
Kaio Lart:
Okay.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, you’re mostly a track racer. So, what’s your favorite track event?
Kaio Lart:
Madison.
Andrew Paradowski:
Why
Kaio Lart:
Love getting slung into the middle of a race. That’s just wicked.
Andrew Paradowski:
Even though, you’re a sprinter, that’s your-
Kaio Lart:
Yup.
Andrew Paradowski:
Favorite race? All right, cool. What would be your favorite pro race around the world? Any discipline. Road, track, stuff that you like to watch, or that’s just, your big favorite?
Kaio Lart:
Probably, saying UCI Track League. I really enjoyed that last year.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
To see that the sport developing in that way, going more to the performance side of things. Yeah, probably something like that. Just any short, hard and fast, that gets crowd involved, or a six-day, that style, party event.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Favorite bike? And it’s okay, if you have to say your sponsor’s name. We understand.
Kaio Lart:
Oh, I don’t. I can say whatever I want here. Favorite bike? I mean, I’m quite a big fan of The Hope. I know a lot of people aren’t, I reckon it looks wicked. The Avantis that we all ride, as a country, they’ve been pretty awesome. They’ve obviously stopped now, but I love mine. It’s stiff. It handles well. But yeah, there’s a lot, I’ve worked in a bike shop, so I’ve got a chance to ride a lot of bikes and try a lot of things. But, there’s still a rather large list I’d quite be keen-
Andrew Paradowski:
All right.
Kaio Lart:
To try a Titanium, hand-built, or something like that.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, we spent a lot of time talking about the past. Let’s talk about the future. You’re young, you’re at the top of the sport at this point, going around doing international events. You see yourself continuing on for the next number of years? Maybe, trying to get up in bigger events? Nations cups? World championships? That thing. What’s-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, definitely.
Andrew Paradowski:
What’s the plan?
Kaio Lart:
I mean, I think the dream of any young kid, is to make it to the top, right? And in our case, that’s the Olympics. So, being, I guess, back here, in LA for 2028, that’s the main game for my age group and that’d be a dream come true. Like I said, the aim is to make it to the top. So, yeah, the world champs along the way, nations cups, things like that. And I guess, yeah, this is the starting point for it. But, I guess, it always comes back to, I guess, why I’m still here? Is because, I love the sport. And so, as long as it’s fun and I’m enjoying it, then that’s wicked.
Andrew Paradowski:
And then, what about afterwards? At some point the cycling career gets a bit tougher, you’re older, and then maybe, not as fast anymore. So, how do you see yourself? I mean, we talked about it a bit earlier, but how do you see yourself evolving out of the racing side of the sport, but staying in cycling?
Kaio Lart:
Oh, I don’t have a clue really.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah?
Kaio Lart:
But, I guess, I’ll probably always be part of it. I guess, either through coaching and commissaring, like all the other, I would say, old buggers, but I probably can’t. And yeah, I guess, just staying a part of it. There’s always going to be someone to help, someone to get involved, inspire some kids. Yeah, I had never really thought about it. I guess, I’d just always ride my bike. So, it’s pretty easy. But, I’m doing engineering at university, so people often ask me, “Oh, why’d you choose engineering?” I was like, “I know dad did it. It’s got some maths, seems fun.” But, probably something to do with that. Maybe, something to do with performance hardware, or software, or something in the sport. Helping the team that helped me, I guess.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah. I guess, I feel like I haven’t been here in the sport long, compared to some other athletes. But, I still feel like I owe this world a lot.
Andrew Paradowski:
Well, you led into my next question there. I was going to ask you about what you’re studying at university.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, engineering… I mean, that’s a broad subject. Are you-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, so I’m-
Andrew Paradowski:
Specializing at this point?
Kaio Lart:
Doing Mechatronics Engineering.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
Which, is a cross between mechanical and electrical. Once again, 100% my dad’s fault. He did mechanical engineering at school-
Andrew Paradowski:
Mmm-hmm.
Kaio Lart:
Been an engineer his whole life. And I guess, as a kid, that’s just how you get brought up. Everything’s math and logic based.
Andrew Paradowski:
Mmm-hmm.
Kaio Lart:
So yeah, dad, that’s 100% your fault. But, he knows it and yeah, just, I guess, it seems like a bit of fun. I was good at maths at school and I just enjoy that problem solving side of things.
Andrew Paradowski:
Hmm.
Kaio Lart:
So yeah. And then, the opportunity, being able to test things about bikes, where are we going faster? Where are we not? It’s just, that seems obvious, so yeah-
Andrew Paradowski:
That’s very neat. Yeah, it’s always good to have a plan for-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, definitely.
Andrew Paradowski:
After-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah. The scholarship really helped me set that up. So yeah, I’m full time this year and I’ll slow things down next year, but this is just to make the most of the scholarship in the first year. Thanks to some of the rules.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, what are your plans for making sure that you can still train, while going to school? I know, it’s a challenge. And I’ve seen a lot of professional cyclists do it. I even know one young woman who managed to become a doctor while she was still racing and aiming for the Olympics. So, it’s possible, but you have to have a good focus. So, what’s your goal for this coming semester?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, probably try slow things down a wee-bit. I was pretty, flat out before I left to come here. I was working at the track, I was training, and then I had full time at uni. So, basically, I’d be up at 5:00, I’d be at the track until 8:30, then back to uni for 9:00 until 3:00. And then, come straight back to the track, go coaching, and then train afterwards.
Andrew Paradowski:
Mm.
Kaio Lart:
And I wouldn’t get home until 10:00. And there was maybe, three days a week, I was doing that and I was getting pretty burnt out. So, definitely for the first wee-bit of the semester, just slow things down, I probably won’t train as much, just because I need a wee-bit of a break after this. And then, just ramp back into it. I don’t really have much of a choice for this semester. I have to stay at full time, but definitely next year I’ll slow things down to probably just two papers a semester and allow myself to really hit training a bit harder. But, if I drop too much on the work side of things, I’ll end up with free time throughout the day and I’d prefer not to. I perform better when I’ve got more going on than less.
Andrew Paradowski:
Good. Very good. So, tell us a bit more about Kaio, the guy. Not Kaio, the racer. What do you like to do at home? What’s your favorite hobby in your spare time?
Kaio Lart:
I ride bikes, really.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
That it’s-
Andrew Paradowski:
You’re not the first person who said that. It’s bikes.
Kaio Lart:
Funny that.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
No. So, where I grew up in New Zealand, a place called Nelson, it’s quite a mountain bike area. So, I did what every other kid who rides bikes, just pull up at the local bike shop. “Well, can I have a job please?”
Andrew Paradowski:
Does that work?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, it did actually.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
I claimed I could make coffee, because coffee is part of our business. Turns out I actually could. And so, I made the boss a coffee and he was like, “Oh, it’s not bad. Come see me in a week and you got a job.” So, sure enough, five years later, just left the job after moving up North. But yeah, at home we all ride mountain bikes. The shop has a huge array of bikes. So, after work all of us hop on our bikes and go for a ride. And eventually, got my work mate to all ride mountain bikes down to the track. They all binned it on their first attempt, but they deserved it, to be fair. So yeah, I guess I just rode bikes really.
It sounds bad, but yeah, it is pretty much my whole life. I played guitar a wee-bit as a kid. I probably still could, hopefully. And what else do I do? Oh, yeah. So, this is a bit of an odd one, but after COVID, like I said, I had that wee reset period. I was like, “Right, I’m going to learn how to dance.” So, dad had been to some dance class maybe a couple of years before I think, to meet partners. So, after my parents split up. Being successful, apparently. But, anyway, and then, so I was like, “Oh dad, those dance classes you went to, can I go to them?” He’s like, “Yeah, all right. I don’t know if they’re still running, but okay.” And sure enough, I turned up and it was a relaxed ballroom set up. And I did that for the past year and a half, until I left home, which was wicked. I mean, you turn up to school balls and formals and you blow the socks off everyone.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, we’re talking about pure ballroom dancing?
Kaio Lart:
Nah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Tango? Waltz?
Kaio Lart:
Sort of.
Andrew Paradowski:
Paso Doble?
Kaio Lart:
Bit more relaxed, but yeah. Not all the stringent rules of it, but yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
The Foxtrot?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, I’d give it crack.
Andrew Paradowski:
You keen?
Kaio Lart:
But yeah, my mum’s Brazilian, so there’s some bit of natural ability to dance. And when you grow up with a mum who’s in samba her whole life, you get used to it. But yeah, no, I don’t keep it on the down low intentionally, but it just doesn’t come out a lot. So yeah, that’s probably one of the other cool bits that I get up to.
Andrew Paradowski:
That is really neat. And to tie that back into cycling, would you say that learning to be nimble on your feet, has sort of helped you navigate the chaos, that is the Peloton?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, a wee-bit. I like to think I’m one with a bike, it might sound a bit cheesy, but I like the feeling of being able to just lean your bike over and just send it around someone, or leaning on someone and being able to pull away from it, knowing you’ve got all your own weight, feeling. I guess, yeah, really connected with the bike. You can control it really well. You can quite happily, ride into someone, or the fence, or just do something. I’ve got this challenge for when I get home, that I want to be able to ride basically, directly up the track and do a u-ey and come back down the other direction. I started it and I got closer and closer, but I haven’t quite got to the corner yet. So yeah, this is on an indoor 250 as well, so…
Andrew Paradowski:
Well, if you ever get video of that, you’ll just send it our way.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, definitely. I’ll give it a crack, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Even, riding backwards on the track, is unnerving to a lot of people. Just…
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, to be honest, I’m still scared by that one.
Andrew Paradowski:
Mm.
Kaio Lart:
It really does feel like you’re going the wrong way.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
But, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Just like the roads here, right?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, yeah. Exactly, the same actually. Yeah, you feel like you’re going to slip off. The hard one with the roads here, is looking the right way.
Andrew Paradowski:
Mm.
Kaio Lart:
You pull up to an intersection, look, oh, wait, I’m supposed to look that way. And by the time you’ve realized which way you’re supposed to be looking, you’re too late.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
Or, coming into the track here, all of us go into the middle lane, and then look left behind us, and then realize that the cars are coming from forwards. Consistently, the whole group of us will do it.
Andrew Paradowski:
Well, I’m glad that you’re still safe.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah. We were still when none of us have crashed yet, or caused any accidents-
Andrew Paradowski:
Just look both ways. And then-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, we-
Andrew Paradowski:
All right, let’s do another rapid fire. Get to know you a bit better. What’s your favorite movie?
Kaio Lart:
Ooh, well right now, it’s probably the new Top Gun. We watched it right at the start of this trip and it’s become quite a theme around the house. Dalton’s tried to grow a mo, we’ve been playing it.
Andrew Paradowski:
We’ve seen it.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, yeah. It’s… Yeah. We’ve been playing the playlist quite a bit. It’s become a bit of a hype song really. So, we’ll probably go with that for the moment.
Andrew Paradowski:
Right on. What about music? What’s your favorite music? Whether, just relaxing, or training to, or whatever?
Kaio Lart:
Dire Straits, U2. I guess, once again, blame my dad.
Andrew Paradowski:
80’s fan, very cool.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, Elton John, Snow patrol-
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
Midnight Oil. Yeah, wee-bit, not so much.
Andrew Paradowski:
Men at work?
Kaio Lart:
Oh yeah, of course. Down under, I mean, it’s not quite New Zealand, but it’s close enough.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah.
Kaio Lart:
So, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
I actually don’t know any New Zealand artists that I could name.
Kaio Lart:
Six60.
Andrew Paradowski:
Okay.
Kaio Lart:
Stan Walker.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah. It’s the same thing-
Kaio Lart:
Lorde.
Andrew Paradowski:
From Canada, right?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Oh, Lorde. That’s right, yeah.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Lorde is from New Zealand. Same thing from Canada. I mean, we had rules for the radio for the longest time, where a third of the music had to be Canadian content-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
So, we have all this music that we listen to, and then we come down here and we’ll say some name and we’re just next door. And they’re like, “Who? What?”
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Couple of big hits, but yeah. I know what that’s like.
Voice Over:
Justin Bieber?
Andrew Paradowski:
Well, I mean… Drake.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
What about food? What’s your favorite snack in general? Or, maybe even after riding the bike?
Kaio Lart:
Go-to, is definitely sushi. There was a joint just across the road from where we worked and it was quite a common lunch stop.
Andrew Paradowski:
Have you found good sushi here?
Kaio Lart:
No, actually, I haven’t had sushi while I’m here.
Andrew Paradowski:
We’ve been more-
Kaio Lart:
Is there a sushi place here?
Voice Over:
Yeah, yeah. I could recommend one.
Andrew Paradowski:
Oh, yeah.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, right. I mean, not, we’ve been tight on what we’ve tried to spend, but we’ve been pretty lazy. We try to avoid just getting by with the food-
Andrew Paradowski:
Mm.
Kaio Lart:
So, yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Yeah, it’s not cheap to do a big project like this-
Kaio Lart:
No, no, it’s-
Andrew Paradowski:
Over here.
Kaio Lart:
Definitely, it’s been a big cost, but it’s cool, so…
Andrew Paradowski:
All right. Well, let’s wrap this up maybe, with one last question here. What do you think is the big difference between racing in New Zealand, and then racing here in the Americas?
Kaio Lart:
I’m not sure. So, racing here… Well, racing at home rather, it’s me, Dylan, Sebastian, Ruben. We all race each other, all the time. So, to come here and race other people, I guess, it’s foreign really. It’s a bit odd. We’re so used to how each other race and how each other ride. But, definitely, on a track like this, there’s a lot of running from the back. I can’t remember many races that have been run one from the front, versus at home, the track we have, it’s got quite a short, straight for an indoor. So, the runs from the back don’t always work as well, versus the one in Waikato, at home. It has quite a bit of a longer straight. So, the runs normally win. So, I guess, yeah. And that’s the other thing, we grow up, we’re used to riding on an indoor track. Just, we always ride indoor, it’s just what we do. And so, having to deal with the weather here is a bit odd, things like that.
Andrew Paradowski:
That’s interesting, because up until I think, Atlanta ’96 was the last time the Olympics were held outdoors.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
And prior to that, it was really an outdoor sport and of course, there were odd, indoor tracks around the world and stuff being run there and stuff. But, now it’s exclusive, especially for the Olympic-bound of world championships, it’s all-
Kaio Lart:
Yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Indoor thing. So… But, would you say that the indoor culture is a bit different from the outdoor culture?
Kaio Lart:
Yeah. I mean, and with the indoor track at home, it’s definitely, it’s a business it’s called the Grassroots Trust Velodrome. I guess, it’s similar to this, in a way that we have programs that we run to get people involved, corporate challenges, things like that. But, definitely, it feels like maybe, it’s a bit more relaxed here, the gates always open, we can just rock up and ride, which is awesome. And where I originally grew up in Nelson, that’s what I’m used to. In fact, our track’s actually modeled off this, Jason Craig, who’s the man of the town in Nelson. He raced here in his youth and loved it. And ever since then, he is been pushing to get a track like that, built at home.
But yeah, I guess, it’s just that bit nicer, relaxed feel. But somehow, with the grandstands, you still get that big party atmosphere, that first Friday night, or the first UCI class one, we had. Having a grand stand full of people, like the Beer Garden, that’s awesome. The only time we see crowds like that at home, was at the world cups and stuff like that. And you got 5,000 people in there, stomping for their home country, man that got rowdy, but I bet it’s cool to see that thing existing elsewhere, and especially on an outdoor track and yeah.
Andrew Paradowski:
Cool. Well, we’re glad to have you. You think you’ll be back next year?
Kaio Lart:
Oh, definitely. But yeah, without a doubt, it’s been awesome. We’re already talking about how we can do things better, where else can we link stuff up?
Andrew Paradowski:
Very cool.
Kaio Lart:
So yeah, no, it’s been awesome to hear and thank you very much for having me.
Andrew Paradowski:
We’ll have to sit you down next year again, to see how Kaio Lart has advanced in one year and all that stuff. So anyways, thank you very much for coming in today. I really appreciate having you and I’m sure our listeners learned a lot about you and what it’s like to do a big trip from New Zealand all the way up here to the USA. So thanks for sitting down with us and we’re looking forward to seeing you continue race here and what the future holds for you.
Kaio Lart:
Yeah, no, it’s all good, hey bro.
Andrew Paradowski:
All right.
Kaio Lart:
Thank you.
Andrew Paradowski:
Very cool. All right, that wraps up another episode of Talk of the T-Town. Be sure to check us out in the coming weeks for more episodes. And of course, check us out on Spotify and all the other streaming channels. And we’re looking forward to you listening to us next time.
Voice Over:
Thank you for listening to this week’s episode of The Talk of the T-Town Podcast. If you like what you heard, please rate us and leave a comment on wherever you consume your podcast. To find out more on this week’s guest, head on over to our website, thevelodrome.com, to check out the show notes and subscribe, so you never miss an episode.