Photo courtesy JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing, by Browndog Wilson.

Last weekend at the Detroit Triple Crown round of Monster Energy Supercross, JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing rider Chad Reed thrilled fans around the world by earning third overall and further inking his legacy in the Supercross record books as this was his 132nd trip to the podium. For Reedy, racing is still fun and something that he has a burning passion for, and it is that which keeps him coming back for more at 36 years of age. We caught up with Chad on the phone this afternoon and got to chat about everything from his third in Detroit, to his move to North Carolina, to mountain biking at night… Enjoy!

Third place last weekend, it has to feel great to return to the podium...

It was definitely nice, it’s been a long time coming for sure. I can't believe it’s been a full year since my last podium. It was nice to get some good starts and race up front again.

You and I chatted a bit, prior to the season, about how great it was going to be for you to get back onto a Suzuki because of the amazing seasons you had on them in the past. Has it been like putting on an old shoe?

It has been exciting! I’ve had a lot of fun, really since I threw my leg over the bike in August, before the last National. It’s been so enjoyable, to the point where I sold all of my stuff in Florida and made the move up to North Carolina. Obviously, at this point of my career the move hasn't only been motivated by moto, but it just felt like the right thing to do with everything. I’m enjoying the whole JGR crew, the area, and just the change of lifestyle in North Carolina. It’s been fun!

Were you able to sell everything that you were advertising on your Instagram at one point?

No, I actually still have my house and my property. Unfortunately, it hasn't sold yet but we have people interested. We have quite a lot of interest, just haven't made the sale yet, but we are working hard on that. I loved Florida, it was my home for 12-13 years. I kind of just got to the point where I felt like I was ready for a change, and I didn't really want to be in Florida any longer. For me, it’s challenging being in Florida during the summer time when I'm not racing. Racing and living in Florida rules, but not racing and living there.... not so much (laughs).

Is it the heat and the humidity?

Yeah, just going outside to play with the kids or hangout is so miserable. You’re constantly in this sweat box. You get dressed up for dinner and you're a sweaty mess before you even get there. All in all, it’s an amazing and beautiful place, but I'm ready for something different.

Is your track just sitting dormant now, or are there people renting it and riding?

Right now, my property is basically just sitting there, waiting for someone to take it over. It’s such a rad place, so ideally someone in the moto community purchases it. I think it would be really cool for it to stay the way it is and have another racer at the facility. It might not be the latest and greatest Florida facility, but it’s super convenient and has everything that you could possibly want for moto. It would be nice to see somebody pick that up.

It’s such a beautiful facility, some of the greatest days of my career were spent filming and shooting at that place...

Yeah, for sure! If I think about anything I miss about out there, it’s that. The memories of fun photoshoots out there are ones I’ll hold close. Some of the things you did, and the go-kart stuff, it was all just a blast.

I’ll never forget the rally car ripping around your property...

Yeah (laughs). The rally car was fun!

Are you all moved out then?

A lot of stuff is still there, like tools and such. Echoing what I just said, I'm really hoping someone in moto purchases it. It’s such a turn-key ready to go facility, and that’s how I'd like to keep it. All of my memorabilia and personal stuff has been taken out of there, I do have my two kids karts still there, but other than that I'd like to leave all of the go-karts and stuff there. Basically, people would buy the place and they wouldn't even need spare parts, depending on what bike they ride (laughs).

Total playground ready to go...

Yeah (laughs). I’m just ready to walk away, for me it’s not about trying to sell individual things. It’s more like, “here you go.”

“The pieces have been there, it’s just about putting it all together in the right moment and time.”

Tell me about North Carolina then, the area is undoubtedly beautiful...

Yeah, I love it! We are kind of up by where the race shop is, maybe 15-minutes from there. My kids are at a new school, and they’re really enjoying that. My wife and I we personally checked things out and we love the school. At this point in my life, kids are the priority so it’s nice when they’re enjoying it too. I love the team structure, it’s almost liking having your own place in the sense that we all get to ride together on a track that is always taken care of and it makes it rad. I don't feel like I miss my own personal space or track, because I'm not having to go ride at Milestone or Elsinore. I'm still at a private facility, just with my teammates.

What was it about this past weekend, in Detroit, that clicked for you?

Honestly, I've had weekends where I felt just as good. In Minneapolis, I felt that if I got a good start I could have finished up in the top-5, maybe even a sniff at the podium. There’s been weekend’s where I’ve felt really well. For instance the heat race in Phoenix, I rode really well and passed Roczen and Baggett, who were one and three in the main event. The pieces have been there, it’s just about putting it all together in the right moment and time. Although, my heat race was my best performance in the last two years, and I can say that with confidence, you get nothing to show for a heat race win. This past weekend, the track layout was quite simple but at the same time it was confusing in the sense that it had something technical and difficult about it. I felt like it suited me and I showed up and rode well. Of course each week you try and improve on setup, intensity, and technique to better yourself. And we for sure made some improvements during the week, but nothing more or less than the week before. It was just one of those weekends where I finally put it together.

At this stage of your career, do you think you are still learning things?

Yeah, it keeps me here. I feel like I'm constantly learning new things and taking on new things. And that’s something I’ve probably done better than most people, I’ve always been able to find a way to make things fun and exciting while learning. Maybe my results don't always show it, but I have always believed that I'm able to learn and adapt well.

“ I don't know how a 36-year old is supposed to feel (laughs). I mean, we don't come with instructions or rules, so I just feel like we all experience different things at different times.”

Do you think you're more popular now than you were in your prime?

Yes, of course. When you're in your heyday, people like you and people don't. There’s a reason why there’s no other 36-year olds out on the track. It’s a young sport, and I think people respect what I am able to do at this point and stage of my career. I inherited the Windham fans, which he inherited from LaRocco and so forth (laughs). Whoever’s next, whether that’s Brayton or maybe it’s even Eli (laughs), will inherit the same fan-base. The last few years, I’ve seen how the crowd moves and often goes for the underdog. Now, it seems to be Tomac, Roczen, and myself who have the biggest cheers of the night.

How is it physically for you, can you tell that you're 36?

No, I don't feel like I am. I actually had this conversation walking onto the plane this weekend, with Justin Brayton. I simply don't, and I don't know how a 36-year old is supposed to feel (laughs). I mean, we don't come with instructions or rules, so I just feel like we all experience different things at different times. For some, 36 is old and they feel old, and because they feel it they think it, but it’s over once you think it. I just love racing my dirt bike, and Im not ready to give that up yet. I love learning new things, I love traveling, and I love the week-in to week-out grind. I love trying trying to progress, and none of those things are old to me yet. The only thing that gets old with me is dealer signings on Friday night (laughs). I could do away with those and be 100% happy, but right now I'm 99% happy (laughs). If dealer signings are the only issue I deal with, than I'm completely okay with doing them.

Do you still enjoy the whole process of training?

I do, I enjoy it. I feel like it keeps me alive and going. It allows me to be a better person and a better dad, all of those things. I truly believe that training contributes to life, and that to me its far bigger than claiming that I'm better on my dirt bike because I worked out. Being able to work out and get what I need out of it for my professional job, but being able to have the energy after training and riding to go ride a scooter around with my kids is far more important. It’s fun to embrace living.

I get all pumped when I see on your instagram that you're at soccer practice, it brings me back to the 10 years I spent with my girls...

Monday through Thursday I’m soccer dad, and that’s the priority. Friday and Saturday, I get to go jump on a plane and go race my dirt bike. I didn't always have this perspective on life, but I feel like it’s just one of those things you gain with age. I honestly just feel happier as a person. I may not be performing at the best possible standard at all times, but I don't let it ruin my weekdays.

“I want to have a shot at winning. That’s important to me, I really really want to win a race.”

So really…how pumped were you after the third place finish?

The hard thing about doing interviews on a Monday, with the mindset that I feel like I've always had, is you try to live in the moment, and now I've had time to analyze everything from Detroit. I’m still happy with my result, but it’s Monday and I’m ready to look ahead (laughs). There are so many things that I feel like I could've done better. I went 3-5-7, and in my opinion, that’s less than impressive. I was the third best guy because of that? You know. I’m not a fan of the triple crown, I don't think it’s cool at all and I think it’s boring as hell. That’s just my opinion. I'm super old school and I love the traditional format for racing Supercross. I really wish we would go back to 20 laps, I think that was awesome. I’m so proud of my result, because when you look at the last few years it’s been a challenge. I always believed that I could still do it, and be on the podium, but proving it is a whole other story. That was something I truly believed I could do, and we did it. It was so rewarding, and it just validates my own thinking. I still think that there is so much more I can give, and I want to extract that and continue to be on the podium. I want to have a shot at winning. That’s important to me, I really really want to win a race.

What conditions would favor you for that win? What’s the perfect storm?

I’m not sure. I don't know if its conditions, or if its mindset. You have to take the positive events throughout each race day to the next weekend and keep building off of that. From this point forward, I think that starts are the biggest thing. I don't know that one particular condition will favor or hurt me, but I can definitely say a good start will only help me. I think that when I analyze and look over the 7 or 8 races that we have had this season, I can really see how important the starts are. The main events are not as gnarly and brutal as they once were. For example, this past weekend the track was not as gnarly on the third Main event as it was on the first two. There was so much track work before that last race, we literally had a brand new race track. I just think that it’s so dependent on initial track position when the conditions are like that.

One of the funniest things I saw was the accuracy in which you shot the champagne at your mechanic Ben. I don't know how you did that so well...

I think that goes back to the 132 podiums in Supercross and then you add in all the motocross races, I mean jeez I've been shooting champagne since 1998 (laughs).

You’ve developed a technique (laughs).

You’d like to think that 20-years later you knew how to spray some champagne (laughs).

Chad Reed likes to spend time on a Specialized Turbo Levo MTB on days that he’s looking to get a workout in without red lining.

Change in subject, we always chat about mountain bikes on Instagram, and you are a big proponent of the Specialized Turbo Levo pedal-assist mountain bike. Obviously, in main stream mountain bike media some are slow to approve of it. However, as a professional athlete, who uses cycling as training, what benefits do you see in a pedal-assist machine?

Now I'm in North Carolina, where it’s not completely flat so we have some inclines. Where as in Florida, you can't go ride a mountain bike in the non-existent mountains. One of my favorite things is riding with friends, where we are basically trying to hurt each other’s pride or lungs (laughs). Say I jump on a plane and fly somewhere to ride with my friends, I don't spend enough time in California to build my climbing legs and stuff like that. So, being able to jump on a Turbo Levo pedal-assist, switch it on low, and go grind it out with friends, no matter where I am, has to be the biggest plus for me. I get to achieve a solid workout but not feel totally exhausted. Say you have a planned out ride to go for an hour to an hour and a half, but my friend Peter loves to go around two hours and climb 10,000 feet (laughs). That is the situation where I can jump on the Levo and go with them, but not go completely into the red and just smoke myself. Personally, that is my favorite thing about it. I was in California between Oakland and San Diego, and I did a lot of riding in that time frame. Dan Truman, my good friend, is far from an athlete and yet he rode everyday with us, did the same distance and the same climbing, all while having a blast and burning a ton of calories. And yet, if you put him on a normal mountain bike, the guy would have died on the first hill, probably would have hated his life, and not been able to walk the next day. However, he rode four days that week and burned about 3,000 calories each day thanks to the Levo. I just think that it’s so amazing that an individual can go and do that. I have one at home, but I don't even get to ride it half the time because my wife rides it. Now, we have all three kids in school son we can say let’s go for a ride and because of the Turbo Levo she can rip around with me, and sometimes I have to tell her to back it down a little bit (laughs).

That’s when you connect it to your phone app and turn it down yourself (laughs)...

That’s exactly what I do. She’ll get all cocky and tease that she isn't even an athlete, so sometimes I have to remind her that she's on an E-bike (laughs).

I think the mis-conception is that it doesn't provide any exercise...

It’s an insane thing when people say that. I personally have never experienced negativity, but I've heard of it. I mean look at Steve Matthes, he’s been riding one and he's losing a bunch of weight, but I know he’s mentioned that he has people literally yelling at him on trails. I’ve never experienced that, but it’s just crazy because you just want to punch them in the face. I don't want this to sound negative, but Matthes is a heavier guy and he is riding a bike and burning calories. Shouldn't we be embracing that? Not trying to beat up on some dude trying to make a difference in his life. The loser that rode up on him and yelled is probably mad at the world because he sucks on his real bike (laughs).

I got smoked by Turbo Stevo on his Levo a couple weeks ago (laughs)...

Yeah! (Laughs)

You still love the traditional bike, and I know I just saw you on the new Specialized Epic Evo. That thing has to be a kick in the pants too...

Each and every year I get new bikes, but some reason this new Epic Evo was so insane, especially in California. I can't imagine why you would want any other bike. Somebody that comes from motorcycles, I like a little bit of extra travel and to have that on a fast bike like an Epic is just the ideal setup. I rode that thing, and was impressed the second I got on it. The thing is badass, I love it.

You know, it’s so badass we could probably put lights on it and ride together...

No, count me out. When you can show me that I won't get eaten by a mountain lion or some crazy animal, then I’ll consider it.

Mountain lions don't like the taste of Vegemite...

Yeah, they'll probably spit me out (laughs).

Yeah, they like Teriyaki. They’ll get me first! You only have to be faster than the guy you’re with, Chad...

Yeah, but if you're too fast then you're alone again (laughs).