Nicole Rocking Nats in 2010

From the Colorado Daily

Duke's 2012 summer and 'cross season were rough -- she sustained a broken ankle, a punctured bursa sac, took care of sick kids, came down with random illnesses, had mouth surgery, went through a divorce and split from her racing team. All this strife weighed on the normally relaxed competitor each time she stepped to the line.

...

"Everyone has their 'something,' right?" Duke said. "Some people have religion, other people turn to the drugs or whatever. But it's my peace of mind. If I'm struggling with something in my life, usually I can just get on my bike and -- I wouldn't say pedal it away -- but pedal through it maybe.

"The bike has saved me in a lot of respects where I would have otherwise maybe been depressed or gone through extremely hard times."