Remembering Alex

10 years ago today Alex and I set out of our cross country bike trip from New Haven CT to Seattle WA. I don’t think either of us had ridden more than 30 miles on a bike before, but that summer, we clocked over 4,000 miles in 63 days. I remember him riding behind me and whistling as I gasped up enormous hills in NY, fighting off swarms of flies and killer dogs in Wisconsin, and hanging onto his back wheel for dear life as he pulled my dehydrated ass through canyons in South Dakota and up the cascades in Washington. This photo was taken at the top of Powder River Pass - a 26 mile climb between Buffalo and Tensleep, WY and our highest elevation on the trip.

Alex went on to race for the US Development team in Belgium and I went on to design school - but that summer holds some of my most cherished memories with my brother. After years of driving each other crazy, this was the summer that Alex and I became friends, and that is something I will always be thankful for.