Profile

About: I’m from the part of Texas where it snows every year and the song “White Christmas” is a reality as often as it is a dream. I’m from the part of Texas where it’s only windy on days that end in ‘y’ and you can tell what direction the wind is blowing from based off of whether or not the whole city smells like cows that day. I’m from the vast plains of the Texas Panhandle. I was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas with my 3 older siblings by my loving parents. Holidays were never quiet in my family—my mom’s parents, 7 siblings, and 30-odd nieces and nephews also all lived in Amarillo, which, for me, meant a hodge-podge of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins running around during our frequent family events. I’m most comfortable when I’m outside or with a good book, and in an ideal world I’d be outside reading good books all day long. I will read anything I can get my hands on from in-flight magazines to the backs of soup cans to my current bedtime read “The Emperor of All Maladies” by Siddhartha Mukherjee. I love Sour Patch Kids candy, cold showers after a long workout, and any activity that allows to me move around, whether that’s running, weight lifting, swimming, rock climbing, yoga, or cycling. I seek adventure. Sometimes that means exploring abandoned helium refineries or running with the bulls during the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona, and sometimes that means introducing myself to new people or taking difficult classes for no other reason than that I want to learn. Regardless of the form it takes, I know that I will find adventure on my way to Alaska this summer.

Why I Ride

I ride because I’m crazy, or at least that’s what people tell me when they hear I’m biking from Texas to Alaska. Maybe they’re not too far off. Maybe you have to be crazy to believe that you, as an individual, can make a difference in the world. If so, I’m crazy, but I come from a family of inspiring, like-minded wild people. Cancer is perhaps the oldest disease, so it should come as no surprise that my family’s history of cancer predates my recollection. My great-grandfather passed away from malignant melanoma, my great-grandmother died of breast cancer. In my lifetime, my Grandpa Biggs, Aunt Elizabeth, and Aunt Evelyn have all ultimately passed away due to cancer. Those may just be names to you, but to me they were so incredibly exceptional. They were family, and they inspired me in every moment. I can still remember watching my grandpa playing Tetris on his Gameboy better than I have or will ever play Tetris, the taste of my Aunt Elizabeth’s pie (my favorite ever), and the kind notes Evelyn would leave me when I dropped by her house to take her kids to swim practice. It’s the small things that linger. I can remember the sounds of voices I’ll never hear again. I can remember their laughter. These people inspired me to believe that I can do something crazy. I can bike over 4000 miles. I can make a difference.