Help Erik Keep Biking with His Kids

We made it, everyone! Thanks to this wonderful community of generous people, Erik will get his electric mountain bike this weekend! I wish you all could have been there to see his happiness upon receiving his wonderful gift. We'll share pictures with you all just as soon as we have the bike. Lots of love and thanks to you all!

Nicole, Jackson, and Sasha

Here's the GoFundMe:

This GoFundMe is hard to create. And, as a matter of fact, for those who know us well, it may be hard to read. But I, and we, can do hard things. It feels good to do hard things, and we must. But those of you who know anything about Multiple Sclerosis know that for some people with the disease, doing most things... is hard.

Hi! I'm Nicole. Together with my two kiddos, Jackson and Sasha, I am creating this GoFundMe for Erik, the greatest guy in our lives. The guy who led me up a mountain and introduced me to all things adventure. The guy who planned to lead his kids up mountains, to send the hardest climbs, to hike, to bike, to swim, to canoe, to camp in the great outdoors. When we had kids, we promised ourselves we'd keep doing all the things we'd grown to love doing together.

And for a while, we did. And slowly but surely, thanks to the progression of Erik's MS, which he was diagnosed with 2 months before our second child was born, the things we love became really hard to do. I remember how, on our honeymoon in Costa Rica, Erik gave me a piggyback ride for a whole mile. A whole mile! With me on his back! And now, 12 years later, a leisurely stroll around our neighborhood is a challenge.

My friends, it sucks. I won't go into a big sob story about it. Instead, I'll say this: I don't know how much longer Erik has to mountain bike with his kids. Jackson and Sasha are 10 and 8, and we LOVE biking. It's getting harder, though, and Erik can't keep up. Eventually he won't be able to bike the trails with his children at all. So here's my ask:

Would you please consider donating whatever feels right for you so that we can surprise Erik with an electric-assisted mountain bike? His birthday is in September, and I wanted it to be a birthday gift, but I realized we can't wait until September. School will be out in June, and I don't know how many summers he has left to bike. The MS is progressing steadily. Time is of the essence.

To give you a feel of what life USED to be like before MS, as well as how much fun we STILL HAVE HAD being active with our kids, I've included lots of pictures. Erik is a great guy, and so, so deserving of this gift! Please keep this GoFundMe a secret! Thanks for your support!!

(When Erik is no longer able to use a two-wheeled e-bike, we will trade it toward the next bike he can ride. When he can no longer ride at all, we'll donate whatever we have to someone else with MS).

Lotsa love,

Nicole, Jackson, and Sasha