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The AFL season begins today. We talk to one prominent former player, Ryan O’Keefe, about how he came to cycling and what he gets out of time on the bike…
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When he played AFL he was one of the stars on the field. In 2012, when the Sydney Swans won the premiership, Ryan O’Keefe walked away with the Norm Smith Medal, the best player in the match. He’s since hung up the boots but remains involved as a coach for the Adelaide Crows.
These days O’Keefe enjoys his footy but, he readily admits, he loves his cycling.
“I’m averaging about 550km a week on the bike,” he tells RIDE at the start of the 2018 AFL season. “Last year I did a bit over 27,000 kilometres.”
He came to cycling largely as a commuter but he now rides almost every day. It’s sport, exercise, therapy and the 37-year-old has become an ambassador for his second sport almost by default.
“When I was playing, I just used to jump on the mountain bike to commute to training every day. It was just a quick trip through Centennial Park in Sydney but now the mountain bike collects a bit of dust and only goes out on adventures with the kids. And the road bike gets a fair workout, pretty much every day.
“I live about an hour ride from work,” says O’Keefe about his cycling in Adelaide in 2018.
“I ride into work every day but in the mornings, I probably do a couple of hours on the bike.
“I’ll do an extra hour session before I roll into work and get on with the day. And then roll an hour home after work.”
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Ryan O’Keefe is happy in Adelaide: he’s coaching the Crows, and riding his bike daily…
Photo: Beat Cancer Tour
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During his playing days, he was loyal to one club: the Sydney Swans. Between 2000 and 2014, he played 286 games, scored 261 goals, and helped the team to two premiership wins. When it was time to stop playing, he signed on as a coach for the Adelaide Crows and one thing that helped sway that decision was the riding terrain on offer in South Australia.
“Adelaide is one of the most beautiful places to ride in Australia.
“The options for riding that you’ve got here – with the hills and everything else – it’s fantastic. It’s one of the great spots for cycling; you can ride every day and take a different route and not get bored.”
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O’Keefe was the Norm Smith Medal winner in 2012.
Photo: Sydney Swans
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For someone who has been an elite sportsman in another field the changes in body shape have been significant since he stopped playing and began riding even more than before. How has this change of exercise affected him? “I’m probably about five or six kilos lighter than when I was playing football,” says O’Keefe.
“I lost a lot of that upper body mass that you need for AFL.
“My wife is quite disappointed: I’ve lost the bulk on my arms and she’s not happy about that. Anyway, I say to her, ‘It helps me up the hills, dear…’ and she just shrugs and walks away.”
Once an athlete, it seems, always and athlete. He’s paid to coach but he’s still looking after himself, largely so that he can keep up with the bunch rides in and around Adelaide.
“I make sure I’m watching what my weight is and am keen to keep getting lean, especially when you join the bunch rides like I’ve been doing. We’ve got NRS riders in the mix and you get the odd pro that pops down – so I don’t want to be carrying any excess weight up those hills.”
The two sports help him keep things a little diverse, even when socialising. “Obviously, I’m still involved with AFL as a coach here at the Crows so with that circle of people I’m talking about footy. Here in Adelaide, they love their AFL. They’re mad on it, so there’s always a conversation about footy wherever I go – you can never escape that.
“There’s also a really cool cycling community that I’m part of here and, with that group, we’re always talking about rides and bikes and all sorts of stuff.
“I get the best of both worlds in terms of conversation.”
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Out of the spotlight and onto the bike… that’s how life has been since he stopped playing and started coaching.
Photo: Adelaide Crows
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When discussion turns to AFL, things can get heated in many corners of the country. It’s a topic dear to the hearts of many. When it comes to cycling, one topic tends to re-emerge time and time and time again. Doping pops up in conversation often and both sports have had their share of scandal. What does O’Keefe think about the pressures on professional sportspeople in modern times?
“I think it’s like society in general,” he says, “people are going to try and push the boundaries but what we’ve seen is, eventually, everyone gets caught. You might get away with it for a little bit, but I think the truth is like the sunlight, you can never hold it in. It always ends up shining out.”
He had a long career and was lucky to end his playing days without too many serious injuries. Now that he’s riding more than he’s kicking the ball, can he offer a comparison of the physical toll AFL and cycling have on the body?
“AFL is extremely physically demanding. You can do between 15 to 17 kilometres of high intensity running per match – plus getting tackled and smashed… the physical contact that you can’t avoid. Like I said before about body shape, you’ve got to carry a bit of muscle mass, more for injury prevention and protection.
“You’re throwing around a fair bit of mass, but I suppose the difference between that and a sport with very little impact, or no impact, like cycling is the fitness requirements are totally different.
“I was very fortunate: I came out of AFL with my body in really good shape, no injuries.
“I looked after myself. I think, like anything, if you prepare well and put in the work and look after yourself, your body will be fine and can handle the rigours of whatever you throw at it.
“So, when I’ve come into cycling pretty seriously, I felt good and the good thing about the low impact nature of riding is that you don’t have the sore knees or the jarring in the back and stuff like that. You just get a different sort of soreness.”
O’Keefe’s advice for anyone who is looking for longevity in their sport is to look after the body and it’ll serve you well.
“I was meticulous with my preparation,” he says of his playing days. “I made sure I was super-fit all the time so when you go into a season or go into the game, you’re not underdone. Often that’s when injuries happen, when your body is not prepared for full intensity something usually gives.
“I always made sure that I was in good shape and ready to go. I looked after myself; recovered well, ate well… and my body thanked me for it.”
The pleasure of cycling extends beyond the exercise and social aspects and O’Keefe is also grateful for the headspace that time on the bike offers.
“It’s good for many reasons,” he says, concluding our chat about his cycling, “not just the physical benefits but there are also mental gains of socialising, and joining your mates for a bunch ride, or getting out there on your own sometimes and thinking.
“I’d like to add a shout-out to a mate of mine, Wayne Schwass, who is doing the Puka-up Ride as we speak. I think cycling has been a really big vehicle to help men with their mental health issues; it’s fantastic and I’d definitely encourage others to take it up.
“It gets you out, gets you thinking, gets you social with another group of great people, and when you’re physically fit you generally feel happier.”
– By Rob Arnold
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