About Me

Profile

About: Hi! My name is David Beckman and I’m a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering. I’ve lived in The Woodlands, TX (north of Houston) my entire life. I’ve been a fan of UT since our football team won the Rose Bowl in 2005 and still support them today despite the toll it takes on my health. I’m also a fan of national parks, museums, and any Houston sports team. Thanks for checking out my profile!

Why I Ride

There are a lot of reasons why I ride, but the main person I ride for is my grandmother (Gram). The two things that I remember most about her are that she was very strong-willed (you might even say a little stubborn) and she loved to tell stories. In August 2005, Gram’s house was flooded by Hurricane Katrina; weeks later when the water drained away, almost everything inside was destroyed. To her though, it wasn’t a question of if she’d be moving back in, but when. When my family went to help clean up, my job was to distract Gram while my parents moved a lifetime’s worth of memories into a huge pile of trash on the lawn. Safe to say, I had the best job. Gram spent the whole time telling stories, mostly about my grandfather or about her house, where she had lived for decades and raised my mom and aunt and uncles. Two years later, when she moved back in, it was almost like nothing had happened.

Gram was diagnosed with colon cancer in April 2014. The disease took an immense toll on her health and energy, but she was determined to stay as engaged as possible and to spend time with her family. She also wanted to live her life as normally as possible, and to her that meant living in that same house. She somehow did all those things and more. When she was first diagnosed, Gram was given six months to live. She stubbornly fought for 18, telling stories the whole time. I ride so I can try to tell hers.