Geek's New Wheels - offroad!

Six years. I'm coming on six years of life on wheels and for the first time, I've come to ask for your help.  Sit back and let me explain and perhaps you can help make a dream come true. I mean that quite literally, as I've been dreaming about getting back on a bike over those six years.

If you are coming to this as a stranger who wants to help, or an old friend who doesn't know my story, take a moment and a read of how I became a geekonwheels:

How a geek ended up on wheels - Part One  and Part Two

I came up with the name geek on wheels late one night years back. It just seemed to make sense, given the chair and that I truly am a geek. This trick was, I had been a geek on wheels long before the chair. Granted it was on two wheels instead of four. Mountain biking. It wasn't a sport to me, so much as it was a passion. It's a love that I finally have back in my sights...granted it would be on three wheels instead of two. That goal is what I am asking for your help with. 

In 2015, I gave up my Giant mountain bike to my little brother. I wrote about that experience here: Another era passes - my Giant passes to good hands.
I won't rehash all of that, just give it a read to get an idea how hard it was to give up that bike, even with the full knowledge that I would never ride it again. I also don't want to give you any ideas that I was some kind of mountain biking hero. Let's be honest. I sucked! I could barely jump logs, had to walk the steepest hills and there was a reason that my riding mates would yell out "Jason duck!" on a regular basis! (I see you ready to tell the story of my concussion in the Don Valley Andrea...save that story for later). It didn't matter how good or bad I was, I wasn't doing it to compete. I was doing it to share some time with friends and for the sheer pleasure of a good and muddy ride. Ok...I've rehashed it a bit.

Long before I had given up my Giant, I had been looking into replacements and options that could get me back out riding in some way. As recently as 2014, I posted a video and wrote a blog about trying out a road handbike outside Lyndhurst for the first time: A Geek Rides Again. Getting back to biking, to the joy I took from being out in the country, on roads, exploring busy city and isolated wilderness has been on my mind for a long time. It's something that my family and my wife, Shannon, have pushed me on many times. And I kept holding off. Why?

Two reasons really. One was simple...I wasn't ready. I didn't think I was physically ready to do it and mentally I wasn't there either. Even as I type this now, it's intimidating to think about getting back to it, but after a lot of long chats with my wife, I'm ready. I need this. Oh and the second reason? The cost. Seriously...the cost.

So, we have decided this spring is the time. I've found the bike I want and we're going to visit the manufacturer with the goal being to order the bike and have it in my grasp before summer starts. We are going to visit Lasher Sports in Las Vegas! You can take a look at Lasher Sports here and check out there amazing product line. From magnesium framed chairs (freaking magnesium!) to beach chairs to their bikes, they are designed with an active life in mind. I've already been in contact with their owner, Bill Lasher, to arrange a tour and we're hoping to order the bike and figure out delivery while we are there.

So what am I looking for? Specifically this: The Lasher ATH . It is a full on, off road mountain bike, designed with off the shelf mountain bike components for easy maintenance and a custom frame with high ground clearance to help ride over the roughest terrain. 

Here's where you come in and where I am hoping you can assist me by spreading word of this campaign far and wide. This isn't easy for me, as I always promised myself that Shannon and I would handle everything we could with my disability...but this something more. It's a real dream of mine to get back to and I need your help. I've started a GoFundMe campaign in the hopes that friends, family and even strangers might help a paraplegic get back to his passion. I'm looking to raise about $3000 to assist with the cost of the bike, which is about half the total cost. All funds donated will go the bike and any upgrades to make riding it better. (ie. backback mount). If somehow we get more than that, well...cross fingers...it all goes to that bike and perhaps, just maybe the upgraded full suspension version. 

In return for help with this, I am pledging to share the adventures, the stories, the rides, the videos, everything with you all. To show the world that you don't need a set of working legs to ride. I pledge to take part in the Ride for Heart down the DVP, and as many other events as I can. I want to show you all what I can do with this. What you can do when your life changes. Hell I hope to ride with as many of you as I can once I have it.

If you can help at all, please take a moment and give me a hand. If you can't, no worries at all, just please pass this on with my story and perhaps a note to any you think might be able to help.  Just a quick note, that GoFundMe does take a 7.9% fee for their service on each donation.  You can check out their FAQ for full details. 

Thanks for taking the time to read and share my tale and any help you might be able to give. I hope I can share how much it means to all of us involved.