A 25-year-old Sacramento man pedaled into Memphis recently, completing a remarkable 2,800-mile bike tour from La Jolla.
What makes Kyle Bryant's ride so amazing is that he suffers from a debilitating inherited disease — Friedreich's Ataxia — that damages his nervous system and causes loss of muscle control.
The ride was also noteworthy because he raised $47,000 and lots of awareness by doing the ride, and two major ataxia support organizations kicked in $30,000 each toward a $100,000 grant for ataxia research that will be awarded in his name.
Trike
To stay upright on the trip, Kyle pedaled a three-wheeled recumbent. He was accompanied by his father who rode along with him and his mother in a van.
Kyle kept a blog of his adventures — Ride Ataxia — that reads like many other bike tour blogs. He suffered flats, headwinds and hours of climbing (Freeways Up and Down):
“The road was not straight so we could only see the hill directly in front of us, but when we made it around each bend, we only found another hill in front of us…for 3.5 hours! We stopped for lunch at 230 and we stopped for way too long. My knee became really stiff during our brake. I rode for another 2 miles and had to call it a day because my knee was screaming.”
He also met lots of interesting folks, like the “Bottomless bookseller” in Quartzsite, Arizona:
“He was wearing a blue fleece jacket, a cowboy hat, some moccasin type boots and a small bag which contained his family jewels. My mother had already met him so she introduced me as her son that is riding across the country…”
The Sacramento Bee reported that Kyle suffered pain on his trip, especially his left knee which became so stiff and inflamed that he considered ending his dream bike tour. A bike shop in Texas, however, was able to adjust the crank arm to lessen the strain on that knee.
Research grant
But the effort he put in and the pain he rode through was all worthwhile. He made it to Memphis for the National Ataxia Foundation, where it was announced the NAF and Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance had created the $100,000 Kyle Bryant Fund for preclinical research.
Kyle's story was an inspiration to people at the conference, where there was a new spirit that wasn't discernible earlier. He wrote:
“There is an optimism in our community of Ataxians. Many people think that we can actually beat this thing. There is a lot of promising research going on and the main thing that the researchers and scientists need to push their treatments through is MORE MONEY.”
Applications for the Kyle Bryant grant are due and May, and it will be awarded in June. Maybe Kyle will begin planning another bike tour by then.
You can read more about Kyle's ride and watch a video at the FARA website.
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