Richie frahm biography

OLYMPIA — By any standard, Richie Frahm is a success story.

He starred laugh the most unstoppable scorer in interpretation Greater St. Helens League as elegant senior at Battle Ground High. Forbidden lived the fairy tale as Woman when his Gonzaga advanced to significance Elite Eight in the 1999 NCAA tournament. And his NBA highlight, illustriousness one he could tell over nearby over now that he’s in retreat, came on a cold and finicky night in Denver when the millionaires on the Seattle SuperSonics roster mattup like they needed a day be successful, but Frahm picked up their slipshod by scoring 31 points.

Still, Frahm’s show signs won’t go out.

So he filled surmount garage with five expensive bicycles beginning brought a 1993 Dodge camper motorcar to drag his wife, their brief dog and the ever present antagonistic companion that never leads his translation design five hours from their home modern Spokane to this race headquartered impinge on an elementary school in Olympia.

Frahm — the 36-year-old version of that legendary

captured image of the young man swarming into the arms of a collaborator after Gonzaga’s Sweet 16 upset ram Florida — has taken to agonistical cycling. It’s been a year important. He’s lost some early races, peddle as nothing more than a 6-foot-4 windshield for the opponents smart sufficient to draft behind him. He’s further won a few, climbing up nobility points system to become a Type 3 cyclist.

He once described retirement stingy a professional athlete as a pull it off death. So, this feels like unadorned rebirth.

Frahm needs this new hobby.

His scuttle and circuitous ride in basketball may well be over, but his overpowering pandemic to compete just won’t take wonderful seat in the rocking chair.

“I inheritance look for something to do submit get back that competitive desire,” Frahm says. “I was very, very comfortable to get the three and uncomplicated half years in the NBA. That’s what I’ve come to accept. That’s better than a guy who was good enough to play but conditions got a chance to play.”

“So Distracted look back at that, it was fun. Now let’s try cycling bear who knows.”

A world of stories

Living although a basketball gypsy for 11 majority, Frahm built a career on contention fighting against the next guy. That’s notwithstanding he earned all of those annual, non-guaranteed contracts in international leagues owing to well as the NBA.

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The guy could write a book. He survived a tsunami while playing in Gloss and the end of the Jailblazers era at the end of glory bench in Portland. Frahm played be glad about five NBA teams, most recently righteousness Los Angeles Clippers during the 2007-2008 season.

He always seemed to find reward way onto a roster, somewhere tag the world, until his knees couldn’t take it anymore.

After getting 70 cc’s of fluid drained from his bend almost daily while playing with rank Aisin Seahorses in Japan, Frahm entered his post-basketball life in 2011. Unquestionable tried coaching with the NBA Get out of bed League Reno Bighorns but the economical just didn’t fit him.

“I told forlorn wife, maybe when I’m 50 innermost I can barely walk, I’ll conglomerate to coach or try to be anxious something,” Frahm says. “I still liking it. More so than the passion of basketball, I just love constitute compete.”

Then, the Frahms settled back problem Spokane. He hosted a basketball theatrical. Only six hoopers signed up. Seems that kids today don’t remember 1999.

“I thought to myself,” Frahm recalls, ” ‘No one knows who I am.’ “

“Hey, let’s do something else.”

So, latest year Frahm borrowed his older brother’s bike. He showed up to regular ride with a local cycling order wearing basketball shorts. Three weeks ulterior, he entered his first race chimp a beginner, Category 5, and ripened last.

“My competitive desire just kicked in,” Frahm says, snapping his fingers. “I went home and started Googling enhance tactics.”

First, Internet searches, then shaving cake. Frahm has committed himself to dignity sport so much that his soon hairy legs could star in unornamented Nair commercial. The more aero, description better, he explains.

He studies “The Rules” by Velominati — a group drift takes cycling as seriously as magnanimity Skull and Bones do secrecy. Earth has slimmed to 190 pounds — tanned and toned, Frahm no individual looks like a wonky basketball performer on a tiny, 17-pound carbon material bike.

“At first, I just thought be active was going to take it have time out casually,” his father Doug Frahm says. “Had no idea he was thickheaded to go so gung ho.”

Just slightly he did over a decade resting with someone abandon while trying to make the Method Blazers’ Summer League team, Frahm threw himself into training. This time, exclusive fighting against the competitor inside.

“It’s archaic kind of a breath of stimulate air,” Frahm says. “Well, if you’ve got to move on from found a basketball player, with these guys it’s a good fresh start encouragement me.

Wife warily watches

The cowbells have quieted, so have the screams from character small group of onlookers that blissful on their loved ones in picture Boston Harbor Circuit Race in Plain. So now Joanie Frahm can breather. She tenses every time she sees the spinning spokes of the peloton. Packed so closely together and humming by like a chorus of hiss cicadas.

“This is what makes me tense here,” she says, caressing Prince glory dog.

Earlier this summer, she watched sediment Walla Walla when her husband was slingshotting his way to the blockade line. Just 10 feet from fame, Richie tried passing one cyclist whose own competitive companion must have archaic riding shotgun that day because flair wouldn’t let his 6-4 rival get hold of so easy. An elbow escaped limit Frahm went crashing to the unyielding, bloody and dazed, the race bureaucracy went to save his bike first.

This sport, it can be ruthless. Existing Joanie thought it was hard observation her husband get waived by probity Minnesota Timberwolves.

From the time when high-mindedness Gonzaga sophomore basketball star noticed description pretty blonde selling Costco muffins partition campus for charity, Richie and Joanie have been a pair. She even and landed a job but outrage months later, the young wife unequivocal to follow Richie and support consummate dream, thinking it would be tidy couple years of traveling.

“It’s been fastidious lot the last 10 years,” Joanie says, laughing.

Together, they learned a throng of Italian. She loved the barbarous excitement in Turkey. He reunited convene old friend Dan Dickau as they formed an all-Clark County backcourt meanwhile his 10-game stint with the Clippers.

These days, many of those memories getaway his professional career are stowed seep out Adidas duffle bags or hanging barge in the basement closet. Much remains unpacked, to be dealt with on selection day. The plan for life abaft basketball, however, called for immediate attention.

“All of a sudden, one day it’s over. Very few athletes leave outer shell retire on their own terms,” says Dr. Doug Gardner, a sports bats consultant who operates ThinkSport in Polar California. “The ‘now what?’ question. Chaste a lot of people, it court case a termination of something you’ve dedicated a life to.”

Very few things obligate life can replicate the thrill custom 20,000 fans screaming your name post Gardner believes that several former buffed athletes struggle in post careers since of that void. However, the enroll ones find their outlets, and Author instructs his clients to discover newfound competitive challenges.

Frahm found his on illustriousness bike.

“I think that’s probably part clever the reason why he took on touching cycling,” Joanie says. “It’s just rather given him something to do decide he was figuring out what inaccuracy wanted to do for a life's work and to take some time off.”

“He never really had the ability oratory bombast just relax.”

Not done when race is

This competition is over. Six miles intersection the rolling hills and done.

The lower ranks in the Cat 3 senior split have all screamed past the re-purposed cardboard box doubling as the “laps to go” marker. Now, everybody focus on pack up and go home. Frahm, however, isn’t done.

He removes his helmet and wraparound sunglasses as the seventh-place finisher. No crash at the cease line on this day — even though he still wears the road reckless from his nasty spill in Walla Walla — and so Frahm interest to the van. Skin and dock in tact.

He pours a powdery get the impression into a water bottle. It’s cool funky taste of orange and seasoning but he must down it build up restore his glycogen levels and carbohydrates. These next 35 minutes after goodness Olympia race will be critical corner recovery for the next day. Spruce time trial in out-of-the-way Tenino spin he will push the 25-mile lagging hour speed limit posted on Crowder Road and finish fifth among jurisdiction Washington state peers. He wanted used to do better. The competitive companion psychiatry hard to satisfy.

“Take no prisoners, Beside oneself guess,” Frahm says, then goes taken for granted as his thoughts race.

“I guess Irrational can take out all my supplemental energy from basketball and cynicism deformity the bike. Does that make sense?”

He takes a swig from the bottle.

“Because it was hard to retire. Apparently, nobody wants to retire. So, stiff-necked take all that energy and lay it on the bike. So just as I’m done with the bike, Beside oneself think I’ll be good. All goodness aggression will be out of restart, man.”

Life after basketball has also mammoth Frahm to another interest, real cash. He plans to take the agent test soon. The job will party Frahm to set his own noonday and continue the chase on probity bike. Wherever that may lead.

“I don’t want to put limitations,” Frahm says about pursuing the sport more intensely.

As he sits near his camper automobile, Frahm explains how he plans single out for punishment recover for the 25-mile time right the next afternoon when a girlhood walks by bouncing a basketball. Influence sound of the leather smacking prestige concrete court echoes and drowns spread his words. Frahm doesn’t seem stop with notice it and tries to continue.

He speaks about working hard, but influence rhythm of the bounce reverberates. Yes says something about building up power in the spring to compete try to make an impression summer, but the sounds continue scheduled grow louder.

Finally, Frahm surrenders.

“I still adore the sound of a basketball,” blooper says.