CHRISTIAN CLAY
ABOUT:
Christian went to Hudson’s Bay HS in Vancouver, WA until he turned 18 years old and joined the Marine Corp. He was a member of the fleet anti terrorist strike team (FAST). He also worked on special weapons installations guarding “special weapons”, and for a brief stint worked as a forward observer for an 81mm mortar team assigned to a tank battalion.
Christian then left the Marine Corp and became a kitchen manager for the Olive Garden. This is when he met his wonderful wife and started a family. Chris has 3 great children. His oldest son is a software engineer working in Seattle, his middle daughter is a math teacher at a local middle school, and his youngest son is a sophomore at WA State University.
While raising his kids, Christian started working for the railroad where he started as a conductor. He then worked hard to get promoted to yard master and then trainmaster. He then taught crews nationwide how to operate a new tough computer management system. From there, Christian was promoted into national sales and became a senior national account manager. During this time, he spent 6 years earning his bachelor’s of science in marketing and his masters degree.
Christian spent most of his time running, skiing, snowboarding, and lifting a lot of weights. His big goal was to bench press 400 pounds which he achieved. However, during this quest he noticed that he became very slow and a bit top heavy. To combat this, he started lifting weights less and running more. He then started running with his youngest son and entered them both into 20 plus races per year.
One day, he happened to see a flyer for a sprint triathlon and convinced his buddy to do it with him. They finished last and second to last. Funny enough, this got him hooked. At this first event, a lady was walking by and she said she just did the Ironman the week before. Christian will never forget turning to his buddy and saying “that lady is out of her mind, there is no way I would ever do such an insane event.” This was in 2007. In 2009 Christian committed to each of his children, that he would do an Ironman each year that they graduated high school as proof that you can do anything you set your mind to. This started the swim, bike, run adventure that lasted 7 years and 50 plus races including 3 successfully complete Ironman races.
Flash forward to today. Christian has pushed hard, and suffered a bit from 12 knee surgeries. This is due to his genetically poor knees. His physician Dr. Roberts at Rebound, says he better stick to the bike and shy away from running. Christian has always been a strong rider, but struggles greatly when it comes to hills. He is excited to learn from a group of seasoned riders, challenge himself to new races, and push hard up every hill in Clark County and all over Oregon. Most of all though, he is excited to enjoy the camaraderie of like minded people that enjoy riding!
With 3 kids out of the house, Christian enjoys happy hour(s) with his wife, hanging out with his children when they have the time, playing video games, building furniture, and planting his new 1 acre yard in his newly built home. He also loves to snowboard, hike, water ski, and camp.
My bio was quite long. I just like to ride with others and help support those around me. I am excited to give back to the community that has helped me. I look forward to the fun times, and the times that I will be swearing under my breath as you all pass my up the next hill. Let’s Ride!
BUCKET LIST RIDES & EVENTS:
- Death Ride,
- Vaud and Basel Switzerland
- Cycle Oregon
- Start racing in OBRA events.
