Charley French didn’t start Nordic skiing until he was 49. Since, he has let no snow go untouched on Sun Valley-area trails. He’s taken part in nearly 50 Boulder Mountain Tours, leading to the Half Boulder Course being named in his honor.
He rode 7,000 vertical feet 66 miles up one of the most grueling climbs in Tour de France at age 85. And he bicycled the Bogus Basin Hill Climb into his 90s, until a cracked pelvis suffered in a bicycling accident last spring slowed him down.
And when he wasn’t out on the trails, he was inventing such things as aerodynamic bicycle handlebars that put the body into a tuck, changing the sports of cycling and triathlon.
Sit down with Eye on Sun Valley’s Karen Bossick as she chats with Charley about just a few of his accomplishments in today’s video. Before it’s over, you’ll be saying, “I want to be like Charley when I grow up!”