Introducing Dallas' Premier Personal Fitness Educator

Mike Keel, aka “Bikin’ Mike”

In 1974, as a student at Richland Community College, Mike Keel discovered physical fitness. It was a discovery that would help him convert his liability of a body into an asset. His life would never be the same.

One year later, Keel began designing personal fitness programs for guests and members of Ray & Clare Stern's Health Center. As the first co-educational health club in the southwest, this facility provided the perfect place for Keel to apply his newfound knowledge of physical fitness. Fueled in part by information he learned at the Institute for Aerobics Research (founded by Dr. Kenneth Cooper), Keel made sure that all his clients had an aerobic portion within their exercise program. 35 years later, he is still active, playing racquetball, riding his bicycle and lifting weights. Plus, he is still teaching fitness classes and designing personal fitness programs.

Keel acquired the nickname "Bikin' Mike" during a time when he did not own a car. He used a bicycle as his primary means of transportation. A resident of his apartment complex first used the nickname and it just fit so well he is still using it today. As Bikin' Mike, Keel has developed into a local celebrity of sorts. An avid recreational cyclist and bicycle commuter, he has logged more than 130,000 miles since 1974. A regular face at area bicycle events since 1987, he began providing 2-day weekend bicycle tours in 1991. He has also directed several large bicycle events as fund-raisers for area charities.

In 2000, Keel teamed up with local bike shop owner Rick Gurney to open the Bikin' Blast Training Center at Plano Cycling & Fitness. The Training Center provides an excellent location for Keel to use as a home base. During the 5 month "off season" he concentrates on delivering a conditioning program for area cyclists through a schedule of 10 indoor cycling classes each week. The rest of the year is spent producing cycling events in the North Texas area as well as other parts of the US. He still manages to ride some 5,000 miles annually while working with clients to get more fun and fitness out of their time in the saddle.

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