One Year Older: Ryan Standish Takes on Kokopelli & White Rim
The desert light is starting to take on sharper mid-morning edges when Ryan Standish reaches his crew for another hand-off. New bottles. A quick mouthful of food. A slather of sunscreen. A few words of encouragement. He doesn’t stay long, just a minute or two, but it’s a world away from how he did this ride last time.
Last year, in the Film Why Wait, Standish set out to link the Kokopelli and White Rim trails in one continuous ride, more than 300 miles and 26,000 feet of climbing, under official FKT rules: no outside assistance, no cached supplies, no deviation from the route. In theory, he had the fitness and skill to pull it off. In reality, the unsupported nature of the ride nearly broke him.
“There’s no water out there. When you’re 140 miles into a ride and you still have another 160 to go, it’s a pretty crazy thing to start the White Rim from town with nothing waiting for you. Last time, I was carrying eight liters of water up the longest climb of the day. This time, I could carry three or four liters, drink it all, and see my crew again in a few hours.”
That’s the biggest difference between Ryan’s first attempt, captured in Why Wait, and this time. Ryan let go of the FKT rules. The 2024 ride started as a record attempt and turned into something else entirely, a personal challenge defined by stubbornness, pride, and a connection to something bigger than himself. When he came up short, he left the door open. At the end of the first film, he says almost casually, “Maybe we can do this again.”
In May of this year, he did.
“The good thing is that I know what I’m getting into, but it’s also the difficult thing that I know what I’m getting into.”
Not exactly excited, Standish was committed. He had a support crew he’d see three to four times. His friend Garrett joined him for the White Rim section. Without the weight of rationing water and food, or the literal weight of extra liters strapped to his bike, the experience shifted. It wasn’t easy. It was never going to be easy. But Standish says knowing what was ahead, and being realistic about how hard it would get, made the difference. So did letting go of the clock.
“The first time I went out, I thought I could do it in 24 hours. But when you expect to be halfway done in 12 and you’re halfway done in 20, that breaks you. This time, I threw out all the FKT rules. I just wanted to see if I could do the ride.”
The underlying motivation hasn’t changed. His dad, who lives in Australia, has Multiple Sclerosis. Standish knows his father doesn’t have the luxury of choosing to keep going, he just has to.
"Other people don’t have a choice to not keep going. That motivates me. I have the choice to come do this or not, and that’s a huge privilege. For me, it’s not about being inspiring, it’s about showing him that I can follow through with something I started. At the end of the day, this is two days of my life. I can get to the end, sleep for a few days, and then go back to normal. A lot of people don’t get that opportunity.”
That perspective has started to seep into the rest of his career. For half his life, Standish has raced mountain bikes, chasing results, rankings, performance benchmarks. But lately, he says, there’s been a shift.
“This season, I’m not worrying about results as much as going out and riding as hard as I can. If you get to the finish line and you’re completely done and empty, that’s a success. I love riding bikes so much more this year than I have for a while."
It’s a mindset that doesn’t always fit neatly into the pro cycling template. Standish still races. He still works the expo circuit, still meets sponsor obligations. But he’s also carving out space for projects like Why Wait.
“It’s weird to be a professional bike racer and not worry as much about the racing piece. We live in a time when being a personality is also a way to be a full-time athlete. I don’t want to be a YouTube guy or an influencer, but there’s this weird middle ground.”
He compares it to Josh Bryceland, the former downhill world champion who pivoted from racing to making creative, joy-driven riding projects with friends. For Standish, the point isn’t to leave racing behind, but to remember that it’s not the only way to measure a career.
“I have the ability, and especially the inspiration. Stuff gets hard, but if you don’t get back up and try again, what’s the point of setting the goal in the first place?”
For Standish, finishing the Kokopelli–White Rim linkup wasn’t about redemption or revenge. It was about following through on something that mattered. It was about honoring the spark behind the first attempt, and the person who gave him that spark. It was, in every way, a reminder of the original project’s title.
Why wait, when can you go now?
Do you want to take the same route as Ryan? Perhaps take it on in one day or split it into a few days of adventure. Check out the route and start planning your next big adventure. We are sure Ryan has some great pointers and would be happy to share them if you're up for an adventure.
See where it all began when Ryan first took on this epic Adventure. Dive into his motivations for this project and inspire yourself to not put off that adventure you have been daydreaming about.
Credits:
Director, Videography, and editing: Danny Awang
Still photos: Rachael Galipo
Words: Betsy Welch
