Trey Freeman: Healthier Together

 

Trey Freeman knows how powerful a community can be. His background in team sports and time playing football at Stanford University taught him that. And when he started cycling to save his life, the Zwifting community motivated him to keep his healthy habit going.

“Unity through teamwork has always been a big part of my being,” he says. “I think riding with others, as with any competitive activity, brings out your best efforts.”

In 2016, a pneumonia infection attacked Freeman’s heart. He had to have two ablation procedures to correct an irregular heart rhythm that resulted from the infection. It took him two years to recover, but in the process, he put on a lot of weight. It took a toll on his health, and his blood pressure careened out of control.

“The doctor told me that my previous heart disease and blood pressure issues significantly increased my risk for cardiac arrest, so I had to make several lifestyle changes,” says Freeman.

He took up cycling, began to eat healthier, and worked hard to make those changes stick. It made a big difference!

“I lost about 50 pounds in 4.5 months on Zwift,” he says. “My blood pressure is under control. I honestly feel like it saved my life, because I might have died if I didn’t take off the weight.”

Finding Community

Freeman started riding his bike in 2019, but he says he didn’t “get serious” about it until a year later. Living in Washington, D.C., he wasn’t looking forward to riding in cold weather. He needed an indoor option to keep him engaged during the winter so he could stay physically active. He had seen friends posting Zwift rides to Strava, so he tried it out in the fall of 2020.

He was drawn in by the way he could use his bike to play a video game, exploring the maps and leveling up as he rode. But it was riding with other “players” – Zwifters pedaling on the other side of a screen, all over the world – that kept him coming back.

“The socialization aspect of group activities really did wonders for my mental health during the pandemic,” Freeman says.

It helps to look for communities that make an effort to be inclusive. Freeman noticed that a group called The Herd had consistent Zwift rides every week, and they offered rides and race teams for every skill level.

“The group was very welcoming of everyone,” he says. “Didn’t matter how fast or slow, race or gender. Just come and ride!”

He joined a race team called the Bear Mountaineers that was similarly welcoming. With the help of these and other Zwift groups, he has now finished five 100-mile “century rides” on Zwift.

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“I couldn’t have done that without the support of those I rode with,” says Freeman. “I loved communicating with people from all over the world, enjoying our shared laughter and pain. Definitely a bonding experience.”

Those group rides even inspired him to meet a fellow Zwifter in person and ride a century outdoors!

During his first Zwift century with the Bear Mountaineers, Freeman chatted with Martin, a Massachusetts resident. They raced on the same team for a while (but in different categories), before the two decided to meet up in person and do a challenging ride together.

“We decided to do the Bay to Bay Century Ride on the Eastern shore of Maryland,” says Freeman. “It was right at the beginning of summer, with a 97-degree heat index, 15 mph headwinds, and green horse flies that bit you through your cycling bibs. It was hell on a bike, but we made it!”

Healthier and Happier

As Freeman kept coming back to ride and race with others, he got to know them and learn more about their lives. He learned the struggles they faced, what difficulties they had overcome, and what goals they were working to reach.

“Going on long rides with people and hearing their stories was really motivational,” he says. “There are lots of really inspiring people on Zwift, but you wouldn’t know that if you didn’t ride a lot with people or interact with people through groups like The Herd.”

In Facebook groups for The Herd and others, Freeman is now a regular presence – cracking jokes, encouraging fellow Zwifters, and sharing his own story.

He tries to keep up a pattern of riding four days a week, saying it helps him not only physically, but mentally, too.

“When I ride early in the morning it helps to set my mood and purpose for the day,” he says. “When I ride at night I find it helps me have a more restful sleep. I find that cycling brings my life balance.”

For others who are wanting to make a change to better their health, Freeman has some words of advice.

“You have to love yourself enough to discipline yourself,” he says. “You have to eat healthy and burn more calories than you eat. It’s all about the ‘want to.’ … Believe in yourself and you can do anything you work hard to achieve.”

What is Freeman working to achieve next? He wants to get better at climbing and do more endurance gravel riding and bikepacking. He and a friend plan to ride the full C&O Canal Trail and Great Allegheny Passage in a couple of days next year. In total, that’s a trek of 335 miles, on a route stretching from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Zwift will be a big part of his endurance training, he says.

And he won’t be doing it alone.