Hello! My name’s Henley Phillips, and I’m really excited to be joining the rider team at Chumba this year. For those interested, I thought I’d take a few lines to tell a little about myself, my re-introduction to bikes, what riding means to me, as well as my plans for 2023 aboard my steel Yaupon.
I’m from a small town in Texas originally, and like most of us, can remember bicycles being a part of my childhood. Nothing too memorable other than there was always a bike lying around, usually something secondhand. There were also 10 acres and a creek nearby, so I spent a lot of time playing under the pecan trees, swimming and being outside in general.
Fast forward a lot of years, to 2013, and I had just moved to Austin after living and working abroad as a Peace Corps volunteer. I hadn’t been on a bike in almost three years. On the day before my birthday, I was stuck in downtown traffic on a beautiful winter day and was feeling pretty frustrated by not being able to move. Cyclists were zipping by in the bike lane next to me, looking pretty thrilled and having a good time. I knew immediately what my gift to myself would be that year.
Since then, my life on a bike and as a cyclist has been so full and rich. Moving on two wheels has given me strength both physically and mentally, provided creative outlets for storytelling, and brought me into a wonderful community of kind, caring people. I’ve been fortunate to pedal in some beautiful places around the world, including a honeymoon bikepack across Spain, routes in Asia and Europe, and several smaller trips here in the United States. My most memorable trip to date was supporting my wife on her transcontinental run of Australia, 2112 miles from Darwin to Adelaide, pedaling a bike+trailer with upwards of 300 pounds of supplies to get us through remote stretches of the Outback.
As for upcoming plans, I’ll be attempting the first multisport yo-yo of the Arizona Trail this Spring, aiming for a 20 day northbound thru-hike and a 15 day southbound thru-ride. I love creative approaches and atypical ideas and am definitely drawing inspiration from Andrew and Katie’s Colorado Trail yo-yo. After that, I might try to outpedal Google, attempt another multisport yo-yo, and am also hoping to put on an event down here in the Sonoran Desert (stay tuned!).
Henley’s new Yaupon Steel MTB in Drop Bar mode w/ 120 suspension fork