The Traverse City Trails Fest and How Gwen Got Her Groove Back
This story originally appeared in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
The Traverse City Trails Festival is this Saturday, and one of my favorite young people is ready to crush it. And by crushing it, I mean Gwen, a recent graduate of Central High School, will be crossing the finish line at Ranch Rudolph with a big smile. She will be smiling because she’ll be doing what she loves — riding singletrack in our beautiful Pere Marquette forest.
Gwen might only be eighteen years old, but she is wise. She’s come a long way since I met her as a young girl.
We first rode bikes together when Gwen was in the fourth grade. She and her dad, John, and brother, Henry, started showing up for weekly Sunday morning mountain bike rides that my wife Johanna and I started. Gwen was — and still is — sweet, smiley, and always in a good mood — I don’t remember Gwen ever complaining. You could tell she loved to ride bikes too. Gwen and I became friends.
Over the years, Gwen, through grit, toughness, and a positive attitude, has developed into a talented mountain biker. She’s super strong on the climbs, smooth in the turns, and confident through the sand. You know what I mean if you’ve ever tried to hold her wheel through the unmarked Vasa singletrack. Gwen has gotten so good that she’ll be racing on Lindendonwood University’s, a D1 school in Missouri, cycling team this fall. I couldn’t be more proud of her.
However, her growth on and off the bike has not come without a few bumps on the trail.
Last spring, “all of a sudden my lungs seized up, and I couldn’t breathe anymore,” Gwen told me. Tests confirmed asthma, and she was prescribed medication. Unfortunately, that didn’t fix her ability to push herself like she used to. Gwen continued to struggle on the bike and DNF’d — did not finish — at a fall race in Cannonsburg and was not as competitive as she had hoped in last year’s Iceman.
“I was afraid to go all out. I was afraid of not being good enough — of not being at the same level I used to be.” Gwen admits to losing motivation to ride. Bikes were no longer fun.
Gwen excels at everything she does. When I attended her graduation party last month, I’d never seen so many awards and trophies — biking, nordic skiing, music, robotics, academics. Gwen is a very accomplished young woman. She’s smart, dedicated, and a hard worker. So not being about to perform at the level she’s used to this past year has been very difficult. “It’s been a mental struggle.”
I’m happy to report that Gwen has got her groove back, thanks to local coach Laurie Brockmiller. Gwen is learning to manage her asthma better and is back to riding four days a week. She’s learning more about training principles and heart rate zones. Gwen is learning self-awareness and how better to understand her emotions, thoughts, and values. She’s learning that it’s perfectly okay that she isn’t as fast as she used to be. She’s learning that it’s “okay to go a little slower and to ride just for fun.”
I’m a big believer in the power of caring adults on our kids’ emotional and mental well-being — adults like Lauri and Gwen’s other coaches, including Heath Day and Dan Ellis.
Listening to Gwen tell her story, you can tell she has been supported and cared for by not only her parents but by other quality adults in her life. I’m very proud of this community.
Gwen recently sent me a card that read, “You started a fire in me to pursue biking. That helped me keep it burning, and I’ve met so many amazing people.”
I can’t wait to watch Gwen crush the Traverse City Trails Fest Saturday — to watch her smile and ride bikes her way. No pressure. Just for the fun of it.
