CYCLES
Grief and Restoration on the Open Road
When I stepped off the plane in Seattle I had no idea what to expect about the 8 days that were ahead of me. Thoughts of fear and doubt rattled through my helmeted skull as my two best friends and I scrambled to assemble our bikes in the middle of baggage claim, desparate to make it out onto the road to find a decent place to sleep before dark.
It seemed like so much planning had gone into this trip, yet for some reason that all went out the window as soon as the landing gear touched pavement.
Even though this chaotic scene felt like the beginning, this journey began nearly six years ago in an emergency room in Boulder, Colorado.
I was 15 when we got the news that my Uncle Gary was diagnosed with late stage colon cancer. Shortly after the diagnosis, he began treatment and quickly became too sick to live on his own, so he moved in with my parents and I. He spent the next four years in and out of the hospital, undergoing surgeries and recieving chemotherapy, all the while trying his hardest to work enough hours to keep his insurance.
It was a really rough ride for all of us, but inbetween all of the stuggle and darkness we were still able to find the light in the moments we spent together. Uncle Gary loved telling stories, mostly about his adventures from his college days, and I loved listening to them. Through them I not only got to know the man he was before he became my uncle, but I was inspired to find my own sense of adventure.
Unfortunately, in the fall of 2022 after a long four years, Uncle Gary lost his battle against cancer. Outside of his legacy as a wonderful father, brother, uncle, and son, one of the things that he left behind was his cherished mountain bike. So the goal was this: restore my uncle’s bike and take it on a bikepacking expedition through the Pacific Northwest in his honor.
With its vintage steel frame painted black and neon orange, 26-inch wheels, brass plated leather saddle, 3x7 drivetrain, and top spec components from nearly three and a half decades ago, this bike was sure to turn some heads.
Kept under a blanket of dust and cobwebs in my grandmother’s garage, this rolling piece of mountain bike history had remained in relatively good shape, but if I was going to be riding this thing all the way from Seattle to Portland, there was lots of work that needed to be done.
If you want to find out more about this journey, check out the short film that I made documenting the whole thing here.
If you would like to read a more detailed account of the expedition and see some behind the scenes of how I restored the bike and made custom bikepacking bags check out the CYCLES home page here.
