Amber Gaffney
“Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine”- Bob Dylan
D.O.B.: 12/27/1982
Location: Grew up in Denny, CA
Current City: Claremont, CA
Height: 5/10”
Specialty: all around hard worker, track endurance racing
Previous sports: Everything. Basketball, volleyball, track, distance running
Nickname: Doc, Comrade
Years racing: 3
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Amber grew up in the mountains in Northern, CA in a place with very few people, but a plethora of wildlife and trees. It was here that she developed a love of nature and hard work. Amber earned her PhD in social psychology in 2014 and currently conducts research on social identity and social influence, with a particular focus on extremist groups and polarization. She took up cycling for commuting in college and as stress release in graduate school and found that she was too competitive to not race her bike. She currently focuses most of her energy on track cycling, focusing on endurance events. In addition, she works hard for her team in road races, contributing to what the team needs, and also works at time trailing on the road.
Career Highlights
- 1st Pan American Championships Team Pursuit
- 3rd US Nationals Team Pursuit
- 3rd US Nationals Individual Pursuit
- 1st SCNCA Road Race
- 1st SCNCA TTT (course record)
2014
- 1st Pan American Championships Team Pursuit
- 5th Pan American Championships Individual Pursuit
- 2nd Colorado Grand Prix Points Race
- 4th Colorado Grand Prix Omnium
- 4th Valley of the Sun TT
What inspired you to become a bike racer?
I don’t have hobbies, I have lifestyles.
Who is an inspiration to you in your life, both on and off the bike?
Anyone with the strength to pursue her goals while simultaneously helping others to achieve their goals.
If you weren’t bike racing, you would be...?
Ideally, I’d be travelling the world in search of animals (especially large felines) in their natural habitat and climbing to the tops of peaks all over the world. Realistically, I’d be in a lab conducting research, at a conference presenting research, or in a classroom teaching statistics and scheming to get to the jungle.
Favorite meal when training?
Greens, beets, either rice or pasta, and chicken or salmon.
The best thing about being a bike racer is?
Knowing that I don’t have to someday tell myself “I might have been able to do that”.
Favorite place you’ve raced your bike and why?
Bend, OR. It’s beautiful and not far from home so my family has seen me race there.
Favorite cross training or off season activity?
Running. Hiking.
Best tip for a new bike racer
It’s bike racing, so please don’t take yourself or cyclists too seriously- it’s meant to be fun.
Favorite things to do off the bike:
1. See wildlife in nature
2. Climb mountains
3. Travel
4. Talk research
5. Read
Top 10 warmup/pre-race songs on your iPod:
1. Bob Dylan’s version of Gospel Plow
2. Hynotize- NOTORIOUS BIG
3. Shooting Star- Ruby Friedman Orchestra
4. Country Grammar- Nelly
5. Mountain Jumper- Crooked Still
6. You Shook Me All Night Long- AC DC
7. Bulls on Parade- Rage Against the Machine
8. Crosstown Traffic- Jimi Hendrix
9. Paths of Victory- Bob Dylan
10. Bombs over Baghdad- Outcast
TWENTY16 has an emphasis on education with the initiation of our Junior Scholarship program in 2015.
Explain why it is important for an athlete to pursue education by going on to college after high school.
“Athletes need something beyond athletics to make them well-rounded people and to survive in a changing world- education, travel and trade learning can help to satisfy these things. Every person should have the freedom to pursue education if that is her desire. There is nothing more freeing than learning and expanding the self through knowledge.”
