Karey is an avid cyclist and adventurer and has been so most of her life. While she has taken intermittent breaks from epic adventures because of her schooling and life in general, the great outdoors always seems to beckon her to return. She has made a name for herself in the local bike racing scene where she founded an all women's bike racing team, West Coast Women's Cycling and was acting director until 2018. She also previously served as the women's racing liaison for the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association from 2013 - 2016 and is still an advocate for all things women's cycling and adventuring! Karey has also been involved in a grassroot community organization here in Arizona called Hawes Babes Ride On (HBRO) and has been helping lady riders find groups to ride with and develop their skills, and pours herself into other riders.
Karey is a firm believer that the more epic the adventure, the better, and she looks for this in everything she does. She finds sheer joy in the aftershock of the Type-2-Fun adventure... you know...the kind of adventure where you suffer so much both mentally and physically that you sometimes can't remember why you are doing what you are doing while you are doing it, but then then you finally reach the summit of the climb and experience the exhilarating descent or the magnificent view of the summit and pretty much just wanna cry out of sheer joy and exhaustion all at once. It is those times, Karey believes, that bring us closest to knowing our true selves and finding the answers that we search for in life. She also firmly believes that all of us should be able to enjoy these adventures on whatever scale and encourages everyone, especially the women-folk out there, to get out and follow their adventure dreams!
------
So why this gofundme?
In the past year Karey has focused a lot on developing her skills on her bike. After suffering multiple injuries, she made it an effort to turn back the dial and focus on the fundamentals. She has taken multiple clinics and sessioned for hours out on the trail to become a more complete and better rider. However, there is one tool that she is missing from her belt - a complementing bike! Karey currently rides a 2016 Specialized Rhyme. This bike is so old that they don't even make it anymore. While it is still a great bike and she has done so many things on this bike, Karey and her abilities have simply outgrown this bike, literally and figuratively.
Karey has been trying to save up for a new bike for the better part of over a year. We were actually lined up to get her a brand new Santa Cruz Hightower but later found out that Santa Cruz oversold bikes to the shop we were going to buy and had to cancel our order. And unfortunately, due to the affect COVID had on bike supply, we could not order another one that would not come for at least another 10 months.
With no available times in the near future and other looming responsibilities, Karey opted to use the funds for her bike to take care of sudden things that came up in real life and would continue to ride her current bike.
For everything Karey has done for the community, we are reaching out and raising money to present Karey with a new bike for her birthday. Anything you can contribute would be greatly appreciated it. We will be working with the shop to get Karey updated with the bike that she needs and deserves. This would mean so much to Karey as someone who has given so much to the cycling community and underrepresented communities.
As a way of paying it forward, we will be passing down Karey's current bike to another female rider in need of a new bike and as a means to get more ladies on bikes. Thanks everyone, it means so much to us!