A Cancelled Bikepacking Trip -

grass. I was devastated. If a horse bucks you off… My wife watched and encouraged me to be patient. I threw my leg over again with the same result. My worst fears were realized. I tried a third time and continued forward. I was ecstatic. It felt more of an accomplishment than my master’s degree. I continued to pedal in the long grass and was so happy that I could do it and had a smile like a kid at Christmas. It was a feeling of victory and success. I did have some vision problems with perception, but I felt balanced and made many tracks in the grass while getting my bearings. The long grass was a safe place to land but also exhausting.

I had been in a hospital for nearly 2 weeks and not much activity besides therapy for the past 2 months. I moved over to the basketball courts and rode back and forth trying to get my bearings. When I approached an immovable object, my brain wanted to move away from it rather than ride alongside it. After doing many short practice rides over a period of weeks in safe non-traffic areas, I decided to venture out around the neighborhood. I’d ride for 1-2 hours just focusing on balance and managing the obstacles (parked cars, raised curbs) as I encountered them. I found that turning tight corners to be the most challenging for my balance.

I eventually decided to get back to commuting. My route includes riding to the train station and then from the station to work. This was another first, getting on the train and the obstacles involved. It was scary but I continued to do it. I found that I was much more balanced on my bike than walking. I returned to work 3 months after the stroke. I looked forward each day to riding to or from work. It was so enjoyable and helped me feel a bit more normal.

I work with a guy who is into bikepacking, and we started talking about putting together a manageable ride to test my ability. His wife had a traumatic brain injury 24 years earlier, so he understood some of the challenges I was facing. After a couple of months of discussion, we found a short bikepacking ride in nearby Moab, Utah.

I am new to bikepacking but have bike toured all over the west- you offer on your various repair services?

JW: All of our bikes come with a 5 year fully transferable warranty on the repair area, including 1 inch in any direction. We record the serial number of every bike we repair, and the warranty applies to anyone who owns that bike. In 2 years and in the roughly 250 repairs completed, we have never had a single warranty claim.

SLS: What do you see for the future of EBC? Are there any plans to invest in tooling to build your own frames and/or components from design up?

JW: Creating new carbon fiber ern US so am comfortable with carrying my gear on the bike. The weather had been unseasonably wet and cold, but we were committed and had sufficient gear, so we headed out. I had 2 rear panniers, a frame bag and handlebar bag. Bikepacking is much lighter than touring and I need to think lighter. This was planned for a three-day ride. The first day had much more Hike-abike than we anticipated. When we approached early afternoon on the first day, I found myself tired from so much exertion we decided to set up camp and rest. bikes is not something we are interested in due to the environmental cost. Our mission is rooted in reducing waste, and until carbon fiber can be properly recycled, creating more of it is a non-starter for us.

My riding partner was very understanding, and we set up and discussed the plan for the next 2 days. I’m not even sure of the first day’s mileage but I felt good about my efforts. He noticed how unstable I get when I am tired. He did remark that he observed that I could ride a bike better than I could walk.

The next morning, we headed back to the vehicle to look for a ride with less elevation gain. We found a gravel road that led to a rock that resembled Nefertiti along the Green River, so we parked and rode the round trip 20 miles and headed home. I felt great and although we didn’t complete the ride as planned, I met the objective of putting in some loaded miles on a bikepacking route and testing my ability. I had no regrets about modifying it. I felt accomplished in my performance. It was not easy, but it was much more enjoyable “hard” than going to therapy and tongue exercises.

My cerebellum stroke happened on June 17, 2022, and now it’s December. I face peaks and valleys daily. I continue to improve and have a positive outlook for the Idaho Hot Springs route with Lou next September.

It occurred to me that this story is for everyone as we all can face challenges that disrupt life including hobbies and passions. I was devastated the first 2 attempts to ride the bike in the grass. If I hadn’t tried that third time, where would I be today? My doctors diagnosed my stroke as “mild”, but a mild stroke is still significant to me.

I am thankful for my recovery and the support of my family, friends, coworkers and especially my wife Kendra. I have a hopeful outlook for my bike touring/bikepacking future. It will still take hard work and doing the scary things, including new first’s, to get back to where I was, if that is even possible.

In the immediate future, we are focusing on improving our finishing and paint methods. We are extremely comfortable with the strength of our repairs and the efficiency of our process, but our paint matching is currently a “five-foot match”; meaning you can’t notice the repair outside of five feet. But we hope to improve this to the point where our repairs are not noticeable at all.

The long-term goal is to repair as many bikes as possible, so we can reduce as much waste as possible. In order to do this on an industrial scale, we have to attract OEs to start repairing warrantied frames instead of replacing them. But first, we have to get our repairs to the point where the repair looks factory fresh, which truly is an art form.

I joined my physical therapist Quinn on a ride on our day off. It was great to ride the paved bike path in the canyon.

I know that COVID gets blamed for many things in positive patients. I asked the doctors taking care of me about its contribution to my stroke, but none would state that this was a COVID problem. I did have a clotting disorder already and during testing they found an Atrial Septal Defect in my heart that allowed the clot to pass through the blood/brain barrier.

When I talked to the cardiologist, he advised that there would be no attempt to repair my heart defect. First because the risk was too high for such a small defect and second because I have toured so much and challenged my heart climbing over Bald Mountain Pass and Boulder Mountain on my tours, he encouraged me to continue to ride my bike which was music to my ears. All doctors and therapists advised that my activity before the stroke would contribute to the speed of recovery and the overall recovery itself.

I eat just about what I want now. I can eat popcorn and bread which were a big no when this first happened. I need to have water close in case I choke. That is a rare occurrence now.

I get tired at the end of the day which results in balance problems. I can walk into a grocery store and feel mostly normal but once in there all the stimulation I get from the colors of the products and the obstacles of shelving, people with carts and displays, I lean on the cart because it does something to my brain which gives me balance problems. I am on thinners (Eliquis) for the rest of my life. It won’t keep me from pedaling as I believe there are equal dangers as a motorist during rush hour. I was riding to work until it got cold. Now I ride a stationary at work for an hour or so to build my strength back until it warms up. I still pull out the bike on weekends for short rides. I thought about what it might be for someone facing other health challenges. Don’t lose hope. There are some things that I may never do again and some I will continue to do, even with limited ability.

A good friend in rehab told me that he “would do everything they ask me to do because they’ve given me this opportunity.” I told myself that I would do the same. Happy and safe pedaling.

East Bench Composites is located at 2374 Harrison Blvd., in Ogden, Utah. They can be contacted through their website at https://www.eastbenchcomposites.com or by phone at 385-240-5265.