12/10/2020
Seasons Greetings to the GBB Community from Evan:
I have had an introspective fall since the Growling Beaver. Undertrained heading into this year’s ride, I managed to aggravate an underlying condition. I am now recovering from surgery to repair a spinal compression that left me quite lame over the past several weeks. Time I should have spent riding was spent reading and thinking.
While awaiting surgery, I also learned that a friend and member of the GBB community, John Offutt, died suddenly in a cycling accident, a tragic reminder of life’s fragility. Our thoughts are with his family this holiday season. Miraculously, another GBB friend. John Ruffolo, is back on his bike trainer. A wonderfully generous fixture with Les Domestiques cycling club, John escaped death and paralysis following a summer accident. There will be champagne along the Champs d’Elysées when John swings a leg over for his first outdoor ride in 2021.
I was preoccupied with these two accidents as I read Michael J Fox’s latest book, No Time Like the Future. In it, he confronts a collision between his outward optimism and an increasing personal melancholy. It made me think of the stark difference between the Evan I offer to you during the Growling Beaver and the near constant, lingering fear that I have about the future. Parkinson’s is like the incessant ticking of a clock in your head: you can’t escape the weight of time.
But as Mike Fox says, it’s “the gift that keeps taking.” Through his eponymous foundation, Fox has become the magnetic North for a cure. And while our $2 million in fundraising is dwarfed by his staggering C$845 million, I am no less grateful than he is for the gift of my condition. Along with Davis Phinney as well, we have accepted our fears and judoed them into something good. We all hold both fear and optimism in our minds simultaneously.
Some things just bring out the best in us. The Growling Beaver holds that magic. Happily, as a result of our relationship with Parkinson Canada, the GBB will benefit from the sustained energy of their support. We also remain devoted supporters of the Davis Phinney Foundation for US supporters.
It has been a long year for all of us, yet the holiday season also has a way of inspiring goodness. The spirit of the season, our landscapes washed in the white of snow, and the natural warmth of family and friends combine in a welcome sense of peace and goodwill. I hope you all feel that, along with my immeasurable gratitude for being part of our GBB circle of kindness and generosity
On behalf of all of my dear friends on the Organizing Committee, I wish you all a peaceful and healthy holiday season.
Evan
