“For me, BRAG is a disconnection from the real world of busy work schedules, emails, phone calls, etc.. Here, you spend most of the day on the road, enjoying nature and making new friends. In the afternoons, you are enjoying great music and beers. At night, you are enjoying those campfire discussions about what if life was like this everyday.”
Walter hicks
In the late 1990s, a teenager stood outside his house on Highway 41 in Buena Vista, Georgia, watching an endless stream of cyclists pedal past. Hundreds of riders in colorful jerseys, rolling through his small town like a traveling carnival on two wheels. That teenager was Walter Hicks—and decades later, he’s become one of those riders himself.
“It is interesting now, that I’m one of the riders,” Walt reflects. It’s a full-circle story that could only happen in Georgia, where BRAG has been weaving through small towns for so long that today’s participants once watched it pass by as kids.
Cycling Vacay Mode: Activated
If you’ve ridden BRAG in recent years, you’ve probably met Walt—or at least seen him. He’s the one grinning at the tail end of the mass start while everyone else rushes to the front. “Most riders recognize me as the happy friendly guy on the ride,” he says, and that’s by design.
Walt operates in what he calls “cycling vacay mode.” While some riders obsess over Strava averages and spend miles staring at the wheel in front of them, Walt has a different philosophy entirely. “Well others rush to catch the mass start, I’m typically just starting to pack my stuff up!”
His typical BRAG day follows a rhythm perfected over three rides: hit the road at the tail end of the mass start, enjoy all the rest stop setups, take in the scenery, and then—in his words—”shower, nap, eat, party, repeat.”
Don’t mistake this for indolence. It’s wisdom! Walt, an engineer from Fayetteville who spends his non-cycling time traveling, hanging with family, and “always looking for that next thrill,” understands that BRAG’s real value isn’t measured in average speed. “For me, BRAG is the disconnection from the real world of busy work schedules, emails, phone calls, etc.,” he explains. “Here, you spend most of the day on the road, enjoying nature and making new friends. In the afternoons, you are enjoying great music and beers. At night, you are enjoying those campfire discussions about what if life was like this everyday.”
What if, indeed!
The Tent Spot That Changed Everything
Walt almost didn’t do BRAG at all. His dear friend and fellow cyclist Latonda—known to friends as Flower Child—had been going for years and kept telling him how much fun it was. But Walt hesitated. A week-long commitment? How would that fit with his other travel plans?
In 2022, he finally took the plunge on the Columbus to Brunswick route—a ride clear across the widest part of the state. And in one of those perfectly random BRAG moments, he happened to pop his tent up next to a fellow first-timer named Sara.
“We have been the best of friends since,” Walt says. That same year, he met Chris and Lacy, and the four of them have been on countless cycling adventures together ever since. “It all started with BRAG 2022.”
The friendship has become its own recruiting machine. Walt and Sara have brought “so many other first time BRAG riders” into the fold over the years, spreading the BRAG gospel one convert at a time. Since that first ride, they’ve done “soooo many other cycling festivals together”—but as Walt puts it, “Whenever I do other cycling festivals, BRAG is the standard I compare the others to.”
The Legend of the Foldable Cot
Every BRAG veteran has their essential gear, and Walt’s choice reveals his engineer’s mind at work: a foldable cot. But this isn’t just about sleeping comfort—it’s a multi-functional masterpiece.
“Not only does it give you more comfort for sleeping, you can use it outside of your tent for staging and organizing your clothes,” he explains. “It also can convert to a sitting bench for your friends to hang at your tent.”
Bed, closet, and social furniture in one. That’s the kind of optimization that makes camp life better—and keeps Walt’s tent the place where friends gather.
His packing philosophy is equally refined: “Never over pack… slightly under packing is always better than overpacking.” It’s advice earned the hard way, and it tops his list of wisdom for newcomers.
The Accidental Olympian
Walt rides casually with his daughter, whose range runs about 5 to 10 miles. But among his friends and family, his BRAG accomplishments have elevated him to legendary status.
“My friends and family all think I’m some super cyclist because I can ride long miles across the state,” he laughs. “I keep telling them, this is just average cyclist stuff. However, in their minds, they see me as an Olympian athlete.”
There’s truth hiding in that humor, though. BRAG did transform Walt’s relationship with cycling. “It gives me a level of confidence that I can tackle any ride, any climb at any time,” he says. And there’s a badge of honor that comes with it: “Every time you wear a BRAG jersey on any ride, people are like, WOW you did BRAG!”
His training approach is refreshingly straightforward: time in the saddle, riding 3 to 4 times a week leading up to the event, then a full rest week right before to ensure his body is healed and ready. But his real secret? “In my opinion BRAG boils down to mindset.”
A Small-Town Kid’s Perspective
Having grown up in Buena Vista, Walt brings a unique appreciation to BRAG’s small-town stops. “Being a product of a small Georgia town, I understand the charm and laid back feel of small town Georgia,” he says. Where some riders see quaint novelty, Walt sees home—the front porches, the slower pace, the genuine hospitality he knew as a kid.
And though North Georgia’s climbs are notoriously challenging, Walt considers that region “breathtaking”—proof that his cycling vacay mode doesn’t mean avoiding the hard stuff. It just means enjoying the view while you climb.
His BRAG bucket list reflects his go-big spirit: having conquered the state’s widest point from west to east, he’s dreaming of a north-to-south traverse. “I know the mileage would be crazy,” he admits, “but doing a through north to south would be epic.”
Keep Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’
If BRAG had a theme song, Walt’s pick is pure energy: “Definitely, Limp Bizkit – Rollin’.” It fits the man perfectly—someone who keeps the party moving and never takes himself too seriously.
His advice for newcomers is classic Walt: “Pack light. Get familiar with being in the saddle all day. Ride your ride. Don’t let people flying past you discourage you. Always do you.”
And his definition of a true BRAGger captures the resilient spirit beneath the fun-loving exterior: “You can keep pedaling through whatever comes your way…”
That’s Walt Hicks in a nutshell—the teenager who watched the bikes roll by his Buena Vista home, an engineer who found his escape from emails and deadlines, the friendly guy at the back of the mass start who’s in no hurry because he’s exactly where he wants to be. Walt came to BRAG hesitant about committing a whole week. Now he’s the one recruiting first-timers and comparing every other festival to the BRAG standard!
Because once you’ve experienced those evening conversations about “what if life was like this everyday,” you understand what Walt figured out back in 2022: the answer is to keep coming back, keep making friends, and keep rollin’.
