Acclaimed chef and cyclist Matthew Accarrino hardly needs an introduction. If you’ve been to a Mill District event, you’ve likely had the opportunity to partake in his cuisine or his draft. If you know Matthew, he only has one pace: “full gas”. We’ve been tracking his #myridetoonemillion and wanted to share his progress with you.

1. We’ve heard rumors you’re attacking a lofty goal for 2022. Tell us about it! How are you feeling as you pack in the final days?

My annual goal of 1 million feet of climbing for 2022 is a big number, no question, but I’m an ambitious guy. This year with all the challenges of running a restaurant post pandemic I got to mid-November, the usual end of a jam packed event and racing calendar before the holiday period where i’m blacked out.  I looked at my Strava profile and thought hmm, I’m 275k short…how to hit a million? I ran it by a few people who all suggested it was improbable if not impossible. I had about six weeks. So me, I’m pretty generally up for a challenge, ‘I’m gonna do it’ I said to myself, and away we go! Not four weeks later and I am closing in with less than 70k to go. I still have three weeks. I think it is as much who I am as what I stand for; anything is possible if you can commit to it. Right now my training stress is at an all time high, I should feel very fatigued but somehow I do not. It has definitely sapped some snap from the legs but at the same time it has motivated me to get out on my bike, ride, de-stress and re-focus on the year ahead as I prepare for big goals and life adventures including the opening of another SF restaurant. In the end, life is short, I want to make the most of it and be my best self. I think #myridetoonemillion is about that for me.

2. What’s your recovery meal of choice as you finish these monstrous days of riding?

I could say that as a chef and athlete I’m always thinking of all the angles between nutrition and recovery following hard rides. But while part of the general fabric of my viewpoints around fresh and nutritious food, I want flavor and simplicity too. Mostly I’m eating carbs (i.e. sugar) during all day riding: I’ve put the hurt on my fair share of UnTapped maple waffles, packets and drink mix in the last month. So I look to things that while simple in nature are savory and still both hearty and satisfying. It could be an epic rice bowl, polenta with braised meat or a stew (which I of course prep ahead, in batches) or sometimes just simply popping to my favorite local deli for a nice big sandwich. Despite eating all I really can, I have lost about a kilo in the last month with all the climbing. Not too bad for a base heading into the 2023 season of races, events and life challenges ahead. Eating to ride and riding to eat are all in balance; a place I find myself pretty happy in.

3. What’s your favorite Healdsburg riding memory?

I have ridden in Healdsburg so many times. The thing that keeps me coming back time and again as much as the great roads, paved and some not so much, is the community. The Kings along with MDV have created a community around cycling and love for a life well lived. We get to gather with all sorts of people, ride, I cook, we all eat and the memories are made. It’s the memories in life that have the most value, that’s what you get to carry with you. One of my greatest days in Healdsburg was to be able to start a Grasshopper from the Mill District along with several hundred others and ride hard knowing we would all finish back with a wood-fired meal that I got to cook (with some help of course) for everyone. It was an epic ride that lived up to the billing.

Photo credit: Daylen Yang