You may know Max Levchin best as one of the cofounders of PayPal, or the entrepreneur who sold one of his startups, Slide, to Google for millions of dollars. Or you might know him as the mastermind behind the potentially revolutionary companies Glow and Affirm. Perhaps you know that he sits on the board of directors at Yahoo and Yelp.
You might not know he’s a fast cyclist.
I learned this firsthand when I traveled to California to write a profile of him, share my passion for pedaling with a fellow obsessive, and, yes, test my mettle against his. As he probably has his whole life, Levchin won, and with grace.
Up And At 'Em
Levchin brings a sharp focus and a high level of intensity to his business life and his cycling. He often wakes up early to go out for a ride, then it’s into the office for a busy day. If he's pressed for time, he'll ride his indoor trainer for an hour. "I try to touch my bike at least once every day," he says.
Style Is The Man
Levchin’s penchant for the stealth look borders on obsessive, but then again, obsessive is what roadies are. He avoids loud colors and showy brand logos whenever possible. Note the reflective tabs on his Swiss-made Assos apparel, on the back of his thighs and calves. On his left leg he wears a Road ID, which has his name and emergency contacts.
Preride Logistics
Before we roll out, Levchin tells me about the ride we're doing, Paradise Loop, one of the most popular routes in the Bay Area. He has ridden it more than a hundred times, so he knows each rise, downhill, and turn. He likes that he can test himself repeatedly over certain sections and compare his performance data over time.
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