Kellen Winslow Jr. moved to Austin, Texas last year to re-make himself. The former Pro Bowl tight end wanted a fresh start in a fresh city. He also wanted hills. Really long hills. Winslow says he wants to be the first former football player to make the jump to professional cycling. He’s training 6-7 days a week 35-60 miles per day and has dropped 30 pounds since he last played for the New York Jets in 2013. Winslow is down to a super-lean 215 pounds from a hulking 245. Winslow says he’s in the best shape of his life. “I’m climbing 3,500, 3,000 feet a day, and that’s just because I’ve got to get home,” Winslow said of his home in southwest Austin. Winslow, 31, almost lost his football career and his life in a motorcycle accident in 2005 while playing for the Cleveland Browns. He missed the entire season with a torn ACL and a subsequent staph infection. His passion for cycling first made news a training camp with the Jets, where Winslow would bike to and from camp. Fully-committed to cycling now, Winslow has finished in the top 10 in 5 of his last 6 races. “Football was about explosiveness and getting from point A to point B as fast as possible,” Winslow said. “This is about using guys in front of you to benefit yourself. Football is witty also, probably way more witty than cycling, but there’s also a lot of thinking that goes into cycling.” There’s also a certain measure of solitude that Winslow seems to enjoy – the challenge that comes from being the human engine the bike relies on. Cycling is a thinking man’s game, centered around measured effort. Football tapped into Winslow’s aggression and impulsiveness. Cycling, Winslow is a perfect stress release. Winslow’s break up with football ended with a bit of drama, coming after being arrested for possession of synthetic marijuana. His dedication to his bike has allowed him to block out any negatively in his life, from football or otherwise. “It’s a good outlet for me,” Winslow said. “It’s the best outlet for me. I don’t run as much as I used to. I just cycle. I’m in the best shape of my life and I haven’t run in a year.” Winslow talks about defying the odds. It’s not something that’s unfamiliar. He went from an expectation of being one of the NFL’s biggest stars, to nearly losing his career entirely, to rising back to Pro Bowl-level play. Now he’s climbing again, on his back and in his life. “It’s definitely a couple years away, two or three years away to be on that level, Tour-level," he said. "That's all I think about now. It's all that's on my mind."
http://www.askmen.com/news/sports/kellen-winslow-jr-wants-to-be-first-nfl-pro-turned-cyclist.html