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The restorative benefits of biking, hiking, and riding in nature. Natures healing powers!
Ian Mackay joins us today and shares his remarkable story of learning to overcome extreme adversity by reconnecting with nature and finding solace and strength there. But more than that, he is the founder of amazing events where others can join in on adventures of discovery, overcoming disabilities to live large and on purpose. Listen in today as we all learn about how to overcome challenges and thrive. Thanks Ian!
To reach ASP: www.adventuresportspodcast.com
To Support We See Hope: https://charity.pledgeit.org/climbingforchange/@CurtLinville
ASP Discord Link: https://discord.gg/eTW3NEf2
You're listening to the Adventure Sports Podcast. We talk with adventurers from around
the globe to bring you the inspiration and motivation you need to get started in the
outdoors or to keep you moving if you're already there. Now here's your host, Kurt Lindville.
Hello, hello, hello, happy Monday. Today's show is amazing. The guest is Ian McKay and
I call him Ian McKay. His name is spelled M-A-C-K-A-Y, but it is Mackay, not McKay. My
bad, sorry Ian. But Ian really helps us to understand the healing power of connecting
with nature, the incredible importance of community, and how to live a life, a fulfilling
powerful life by overcoming adversity. Ian is one of those truly beautiful human beings
who stands out as an example to the rest of us about how to live a powerfully good life
no matter what. Ian, thank you so much for sharing with us and also thank you for the
invitation to be a part of what you have going on. So awesome, everybody listen in. This
is going to be remarkable. Hello friends, welcome to the adventure sports podcast. Today
I have Ian McKay with us and Ian was paralyzed from the neck down as a young man. He has been
leaving the charge to help people get back out into the outdoors even with the disabilities
that they can be facing and Ian is facing some challenging ones and he's here to recount
his story. He has a book that was co-written with Karen Polinsky and the name of the book
is Ian's ride, a long distance journey to joy. This is going to be a great episode. Ian, welcome
to the program. Hey, thanks Curtis, really glad to be here. So Ian, where are you first of all
right now? Where are we talking? Yeah, so I'm in Port Angeles, Washington, so that's up on the
Olympic Peninsula pretty much as far northwest as you can get in the Continental U.S. I did drive
through there once. A ferry dropped me off from Victoria. Yeah, so I went through your town one
time years ago, years ago. That's a very special place on earth. It is a really cool spot. What's
really wonderful about it is the Olympic mountains provide this great rain shadow so that we're,
the total rainfall similar to Santa Barbara, California here in Washington. Wow.
Have some very dry, dry days, so that the beauty of watching them. Well, in the Olympic
Peninsula is known for being one of the wettest places in the United States and you're saying you
actually have good weather anyway. We do, right? So you got out in forks, you got the way west end,
forks from the twilight, the twilight name, but yeah, that's super wet. I mean, they measure
my feet rather than my inches, but you know, just on the east side of this Olympic mountains,
you do get this nice little rain shadow and it's, yeah, we're fortunate to have it.
Man, I got to say because I'm not going to post video, Ian, I'm just doing audio right now.
So our listeners can't see your beautiful dreadlocks, man. They are awesome.
Yeah, 22 years I've had them now. I think there's six feet and four inches long. I got to
tuck them under my, under my butter, I ended up running them over in the chair.
Dude, it's a silly problem to have, but hey, can you still warm up here?
Well, they're, they look so good. I just think it's, it's really, really fun. So tell us your
story. I already alluded to it in the intro a little bit. I was 26, Curtis. I was 26 when
it happened. I was going to college at UC Santa Cruz and kind of my background, I was studying a
lot of biology. My, my goal was to maybe teach at community college level and take people out,
maybe on field biology trips and teach them about nature and natural history and just all the,
I don't know, wonders of the outdoors. It was a place that really lit me up and I love to be
in that space and wanted to take others out there too. Anyway, I was going to, going to college at
UC Santa Cruz and it was, it was what June 4th in 2008 and I was riding my bike home from,
from school. UC Santa Cruz is up on his hill and there's this awesome bike path that comes down
right into the town of Santa Cruz and as you're going down this, this hill, this bike path,
you're looking out into the Monterey Bay which is just, just beautiful but every day I go down
this hill, you try to go like a little bit faster each, each day and so that day I was going,
I think 38 miles per hour. I hit some sand in the path, went headfirst into a tree and yeah,
I broke my neck. I don't know, I'm really losing conscious. I remember looking up, I think the
bows of the tree and you know, realizing I couldn't move and I couldn't anything below my,
my shoulders and I couldn't feel really anything below my, my shoulders and so there was a girl
walking up the path and I said, hey, you know, call an ambulance and she, she got some help. They
arrived and then he took me to, I'm Santa Clara Valley Medical Center by Life Light and I spent
the next kind of three months there learning how to live as a paralyzed man. It's interesting
what they do because what happens often with the spinal cord injury is the initial impact,
you know, it's at one level and your ability is determined by that level but the swelling often
can make it keep going up, right? So what was happening for me was this around the C2, C3 vertebrae
is where kind of the crack, where the broken vertebrae was and so I get there and they say, okay,
can you feel this and you know, and they're taking a safety pin and they're actually poking me
in the chest and they're starting kind of down with my belly button and poking and keep going
up and up and when I say yes, then they take a sharpie and they make a line right there on my chest
and I, you know, when I wait another hour, they come in and they do it again and they keep doing
this and that's why I just keep a thing up and so that means they really have to get in there and
do surgery and, uh, and stabilize things and so, um, so they did, it turned out the swelling
brought it up to where I was requiring a ventilator with first year of my injury, I was on a
ventilator and yeah, Curtis, I mean, you know, you're sitting there, you're 26 years old,
you know, you're in college, you're, you're thinking about all these plans, all these, all this
future that you imagine, you picture yourself, then you're thinking, well, how the hell am I going to
do any of that? If I can't move or feel or what can I do if I'm paralyzed from the neck down and
you know, there's all these realizations that are coming in but you're also just trying to
figure out this new body and this new life, the navigating this hospital, these nurses,
these therapists, I was very fortunate to have both my parents kind of drop everything and,
and be there for me and, you know, and kind of guide me through this, this devastating time,
well, who knew what the future would hold? Anyway, I can no longer live with my roommates at college,
you know, as a vet and dependent high quad and so my parents were just moving up to Port Angeles,
Washington, so I went there with them and yeah, and so I've been living here since 2008 and
yeah, those first few years, they were, they were just depressing, you know, I mean, I'd left this
really active life where I was, you know, riding my bike all the time and I was going out into the
woods, I was, you know, mushroom hunting or I was, you know, just doing new projects for, for school
out on the woods and I was just where I kind of found my joy and my solace and I felt like
that had been really taken from me. Instead I was sitting in front of the television watching a
lot of Andy Griffith's show and I was Lucy, you know, they're great, great television but, you know,
it's not a life and so I think with finally, first, I mean, I'm super fortunate that there's great
friends and family and community around me and they, those friends just kept coming up from college
and flying up to Port Angeles and, you know, they would try to lift me up and eventually I got
like a bird feeder that we were able to stick on the window and you're starting to be able to see
the birds and learning the bird to this new area and, you know, it started to get me a little more
interesting, maybe I could have somewhat of a life outdoors and after about a year after I was
injured, I was able to get off that ventilator which was a, which was a really big thing and,
eventually I started kind of going outside a little bit with, at least with a caregiver,
with a family member and getting to explore, I lived only a third of a mile from the Olympic
Discovery Trail and it's a trail that is part of the Great American Rail Trail that connects,
you know, the Pacific Ocean with Washington, D.C. And so I started to go out there a little bit
but I couldn't really explore because I was kind of always stuck with a caregiver, a family member,
I didn't have much independence and eventually I met another high quad. His name was Todd,
Ray's Todd Stubbelfeld, he's affectionately known as the Quadfather and he, you know, he was also
like living this really independent life, he was living on Bainbridge Island and taking a ferry
to Seattle every day and working in a, in the tech space and he was, he was doing it all on his
own and he was happy and he had a home, he had a relationship and all of a sudden I'm like,
what the hell am I doing? Just sitting there and kind of wallowing and he was, he was really living
and he was really really interested at that time about getting, getting a phone, getting
some way to use mobile technology, hands free because it just wasn't really available at that time
and so he, we found out it was probably 2011 or so 2010 that iOS 7, Apple's iOS 7 had just released
this new feature called Switch Control which allows you to kind of interact with the phone,
hands free with just some switches and it turns out that I could kind of use this and I could
start going out, you know, and using a phone reliably and doing these kind of longer rides on this
trail alone and be able to just call for help when I, you know, I trouble breathing, I did regain
the ability to breathe but I didn't regain the ability to cough. I've been rambling on here,
Curtis, I've been rambling, you're doing great. I'm loving this progression, I mean just let me
recap a little bit. Yeah, you're getting your life back in small steps but in ways that must have
felt huge to you. Yeah, and just being out there and starting to see on the plant,
the Pacific Northwest and how they were different than, you know, the Central California,
Thana and Flora, you know, I mean, it was, it was cool, I was. I was certainly kind of
experienced things that I had loved before my injury and I kind of thought that were lost.
But once I had this phone and I was able to start pushing my limit, I was able to see how far
this wheelchair battery would let me go. You know, and so then I'm doing, you know, 15, 20, 30
miles a day out on this trail and, you know, seeing them putting 5,000 miles a year on this trail and
I decided that one thing I really kind of got involved in right before my injury was bike touring.
And one of my professors really loved riding his bike kind of across states and he, I got to be
road crew. I drove a Volkswagen Westphalia and, you know, camper van and I would kind of deliver the
beer to the campsite every day and we get to talk but I never got to kind of be on the road with
them on a bike. And so something I really wanted to do and I said, well, hey, maybe I kind of relive
that experience and just do it in my chair. And so I called up this professor that kind of introduced
me to bike touring and he said, hey, I want to do a bike tour, but it's a wheelchair tour and I'm
going to design it. We're leaving Port Enders. We're going to take that ferry up to Victoria.
There you go. Yep. And then take another ferry over to Anacortis on the mainland and then make
it all the way down to Portland. We did that in 2016 and it was 10 days that the beauty of my design
of that ride was that every, at the end of each day, our route finished at a brewery where we got
to, you know, kick back and kind of talk about the day. But so many other wheelchair users kind of
were joining me and you know, they were fascinated with what I was doing and they kind of wanted to
be part of it. And then, you know, media got involved. And what I'm doing was other riding my chair
with my friends and drinking beer at the end of the day. And you know, it just became this bigger thing
where, you know, we're kind of demonstrating what's possible and we're being come more advocates
and we're talking, you know, to mayors all of the sudden along the way. We met them at a brewery
with mayor of Tuck Willan and you know, various people in the, in the state congress. At the end
of the ride, I was invited down to, um, to Olympia to the, the capital, I got to meet our governor
and talk to him about the importance of, you know, developing trails that are, you know, connect
communities and allow people to enjoy this amount of recreation generally on bikes, but hey,
I can use that same infrastructure to have a lot of fun in the chair. No, but since then, I've
done a lot of great things that have written across, um, Washington, North and South and the
East to West have done, um, Northern California. I rode from Washington, D.C. to Columbus, Ohio
in 2022. Oh, wow. In 24, I did, um, I did Missouri on the Katie Trail. I even got a Guinness World
record in 2022, um, for the furthest distance traveled in 24 hours in a mouth controlled power wheelchair.
And I did 184 miles in 24, 24 hours. Well, that's pretty good range. It was absolutely miserable,
but yeah, it was, uh, it was, it was impressive, you know, showing what was, what was possible.
I love the way your opening doors for people who probably didn't know that it was possible,
but you're showing that it is. Well, yeah, and I think, I think we're often so only limited by
our imagination. And, um, you know, if you, uh, kind of develop a great community around you and
you put the effort and energy and time into, um, completing a goal, then go after it. You know,
go do it. Why, why not? Go live. And don't let something like a, you know, simple spinal cord
injury being paralyzed from the neck down, you know, slowly does life is short. Well, what did it
feel like recall for us the first day that you went outside and, and you were actually out
in nature and you're seeing the beautiful, you know, the beautiful vegetation and stuff that
you have on the Olympic Peninsula. It's like, whoa, what was that like? Yeah. Well, I mean,
to be completely honest, the first couple of times just going out in the yard, it was,
it was bumpy. It wasn't comfortable. It didn't really really feel that great. And, you know,
I didn't understand how I was going to be able to be out there. But when I finally first went out
kind of on, on the trail in a smooth section where I was able to kind of be immersed in,
in nature and in the outdoors. And it was, it was along a river. It was the Morse Creek
trails that it was called. And anyway, you're, you're going through there and there's, you know,
these mossy trails and there's ferns and there's, there's, there's just, um, there's just these,
you know, squirrels running back and back and forth. You have deer all over the place. And, um,
you know, I'm sitting there and I was able to hear the water kind of flowing by. And I don't
know, it did. It brought me back and it made me realize that, um, I don't know, that world,
that experience wasn't lost to me. It was just, uh, I needed to kind of go at it in a different
way. I needed to experience it in a slightly different way, but it was still there. And it
has been hard in some ways, you know, and studying, um, you know, when I, when I was doing plant biology
and such, you know, you're, you're out there and you're, you know, you're, you're feeling
things, you're feeling the textures of plants, you're, you're smelling, you're trusting to leave.
You know, and it's, those things aren't quite as available unless I'm going to be, um,
instructing someone to do them for me. And, you know, but I think again, you just have to change the,
the way you look at it and how you interact with them with the world.
Well, good on you for doing it, you know? Hey, so I'm so glad that you started
getting out and connecting with nature and then you started doing these extended rides and all
that kind of stuff. I mean, that's, that's exciting enough, but you're also kind of leading the
charge by example. You're showing other people what can be done. Yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, after
that big 2016 ride, we, um, started a nonprofit, um, Ian's ride. We've done some really cool stuff.
You can check it out at eonsride.com. But, um, we now offer, geez, what, six, seven rides a year,
you know, for the community. And we've run them with full support. And so we have people, um,
able-bodied folks on bikes out there ready to, um, push chairs if they, you know, we're in a
battery or just run another energy and we have, um, shuttles and ramp vans ready to pick wheel
chairs up, you know, wherever, um, they made, they mean you'd that, that support. And, um, our,
our flagship one is called Sea to Sound. And it's a three day adventure along the entire
length of the Olympic Discovery Trail, about 75 miles. We do about 20, 25 miles a day. And, um,
yeah, it's, it's really special to kind of, well, I always say I do it kind of selfishly,
because I'm always out there alone. Otherwise, it's nice to bring my community out. But, um,
I don't know, to see people kind of light up and realize what they can do, and that they can still
experience these things. And, um, you know, and it's events like these that, when they're fully
supported, they're, they're eager to, uh, push their limits and see what happened. If they run
out of battery, they run out of battery. You know, get you to, uh, get you to a car, at least know
what you can do. And now that support often you, you can't, you know, say, okay, let's, I don't want
to run out of battery. And I might only go a third of what I can do just because, uh, I'm nervous.
I don't want to be stuck here. It's totally understandable. But, um, yeah, it's, it's a really cool thing.
We, we do aid stations every five miles. And at those points, you know, we do have like bailout
points for, um, for chair users. We bring a bunch of the community on bikes out there, because I
think it's just important to, um, to involve, you know, the general community with the disabled
folks and, I don't know, kind of normalizes it all. And, uh, and, you know, it's really helpful to
have them either help push a chair up a hill or to, uh, I don't know, pick up a cell phone
when it drops on the ground. Just to help out. And, uh, it makes me feel good, right? I think we
all want to feel needed and it's nice when, uh, you know, we can't help. And I'll ask them
would have an experience. It'll be memorable and life changing in some, in some ways. A really
neat thing we do is I, I invite dignitaries with what I call them out to, um, spend five miles
in a power wheelchair, um, just to kind of have that experience. And so they're, you know,
I've had congressman from, uh, from Washington state, all the mayors and the county commissioners.
Um, we also, this past year had, uh, the COO of invacare. We flew out from, uh, from Ohio.
Invacare is one of the, um, main manufacturers of, of power wheelchairs. And, you know,
for them to kind of see how their product is allowing people to go live a full, adventurous life.
How they need to be able to provide equipment so people can enjoy this and not be limited by,
you know, by their equipment. I think that's been powerful and to have a little bit of influence
in the, um, I don't know, in the world of manufacturing power wheelchairs and ensuring that they
are, you know, making wheelchairs for lifestyles and not insurance companies and that do, you know,
just being, being thoughtful about how their equipment is what can be a limit to our ability to
well, that was one of the questions I was going to ask is do you need a specialized chair
to do these trail rides? Yeah. I mean, mine is standard insurance. We'll cover it right out of the,
or at the hospital or something. I mean, the one thing I've done is developed a battery that, uh,
that, you know, allows me to standard battery out of the hospital is probably about 12 miles.
And I can probably get 90 and 90. Nice. The big lithium battery and, you know, and luckily talking
to these companies, you know, this, in the next iteration of chairs, they are going to be offering
these lithium batteries. They're, I'm going to aluminum frames rather than steel frames to kind
of offer more range of the weight, you know, the weight decreases and, you know, just great that
they're now, you know, considering these things and kind of designing equipment that, uh, enables us
rather. What about the suspension on the chair? Do they have to do something to make it a little
bit better in the bumps? Yeah. Well, um, I think some things, you just got to suck it up.
I've only seen so decent. I've never seen the great, great suspension on the power wheel chairs,
but, you know, I, yeah, it's good for the body when you can't, when you can't go out running around,
it's good to be bounced around out there on the dirt trails. You know, I met a man at outdoor
retailer, actually, and he was on a chair. I'll try to describe it. Maybe you can tell us what
it is or more about it, but it set taller. And so when, when I was walking, we were talking face-to-face
because the chair was tall and it had some sort of a gyroscope that kept it upright and,
and I was asking him about it and he said he really liked it because, um, it gave him a little
bit more versatility and it could also go up and down steps and I asked him about that and he
goes, oh, it'll do it, but I'm terrified because I do not like that part. So,
yeah, I don't know what that was. Yeah, yeah, so, um, what is that called? It's called the, uh,
it's called the i-bot. What is it called? It's like, I think I have one of the first iterations,
but yeah, they're kind of neat, the stair climbing chairs. I'm with the guy, though, I'm not sure.
I've, uh, gravity's, gravity's had its work on me once, once enough, and I'm not sure I need to,
I need to mess with that anymore, um, but the elevate thing you're talking about is being kind of
eye-level. Almost all chairs now have that and that's, uh, that's a handy thing just for dignity
and other things, just sitting in a bar, right? I mean, it's nice to be able to elevate up so that
you're, yeah, the normal, normal height and there's so many other instances which is nice to be
able to, to change your, change your height. I love to go out and pick cherries on my tree and be able
to elevate right up to the level and, uh, nice. Well, how high can you get? Yeah, so I can get
not quite to six foot, but I can get five 10 or so. Right on. That's awesome. So Ian, when you,
going ahead, wouldn't I drive, wouldn't I drive much of that height? I can't get up there. Nice.
When you first started going on your solo trail rides, um, how scary was it? Yeah, and so you are,
you're kind of relying on this device. You're relying on this, on this, um, you know, piece of
equipment, this technology and, uh, you're putting a lot of faith in it. Um, so it was, it was really
scary. Fortunately, um, you know, I mentioned that friend, the quad father taught he, um, after,
after we, um, found this new feature on iPhones that allowed us to use switch control, we made a
video kind of showing what it allowed us to do and how it opened up the world to us. And,
and we kind of shared that with the world. Apple actually saw that and Apple invited us down
and, uh, to Cupertino where we, um, kind of got to consult with them and really discuss what was
working great and what wasn't working. So, so great. And that kind of developed this relationship.
And I've been consulting, well, the nonprofit has been consulting with Apple for 10 years now.
Nice. And, um, and so being able to have the ear to the company that's kind of providing you,
this, this independent has been pretty crucial for me, because if I do have any problems that come
up, um, you know, and they're consistent, I can quickly, or I can just reach out to them and say,
okay, guys, we got to take care of this. And, you know, this is, uh, you know, a danger for, for me.
And, you know, they're, they're very receptive. And they, um, yeah, it's been a really cool
relationship. And so, yeah, it's been nerve-wracking in the beginning, I think getting out, but I think
having, having the ear to that company has been, has been really, really important. And, um,
it's been able to kind of fine tune and, you know, improve that experience for me. But everyone
else that uses that same technology is that they can have that same independence. And, uh, but I
think, you know, I mentioned I got off that ventilator after that first year. And I did, you know,
regain the ability to breathe, but I can't cough. So, right. And so if I kind of get some congestion
going, um, you know, I'm in trouble. And so then I have to call for help. And we have a machine
called a, a cough assist, just pumps them on. I have a trink of a whole tube through my,
and through my neck, and I sleep on an ventilator, but I just use that machine to kind of replicate a
cough, and then I'm able to kind of cough up whatever's bugging me. And then back I go, they know,
I mean, I've been out there a lot, right? So 5,000 miles a year is kind of what I've averaged
last few years. And, you know, there's 14 miles a day and doing that, a northern latitude like
this isn't, isn't easy. It's a lot of rain. And there are very few people with disabilities
or otherwise able bodied who get that mileage in on any sport in a year. That's impressive.
Well, I, you know, I'm a striker too. So, uh, I, I go out every day, right? I hadn't. So about,
uh, I don't know, six months now, six months ago, I didn't have a stroke and kind of a big
massive seizure. And, um, and that put me in an ICU for 12 days. But before that stroke, I had, uh,
nine years and nine months of not missing a day outside. Nine years and nine months. Yeah,
getting at least a mile. No, I haven't missed a day since I haven't got back. But, um, but yeah,
it was a bummer not to make that 10-year mark. Well, it's a bummer to have a stroke, too, he had.
That is. It is. Yeah. And I'll tell you guys, losing your, your body is difficult. And, you know,
it's hard to recover from, but, you know, losing your brain. Unfortunately, much of it's all kind of
came back. But that's a whole other ball of wax. I mean, it, it, you know, I, I didn't, I have a book
out, um, you know, that world record. Um, I have a documentary kind of talking about about that.
I didn't know I had any of this. You know, I didn't, I didn't know me, right? When I was first
coming out of this difficult, difficult, difficult thing to go through. But, uh, you know, I think we all,
it got through our, the through our challenges. It's just kind of how we here come out of them and
attitude. I think it's so. Oh, man, you just, you said it right there. Attitude is so important.
I don't in any way want to make what you've gone through seem small. No way. But I would like to
point out that everybody has challenges in life. Maybe they're not as extreme as yours. But their
attitude is what gets them past it, right? What can you tell us about that? What did you learn about
how to have the right attitude? I think, you know, you, uh, you, you get stuck on your back for, for
so long, right? I mean, it was probably six months after that injury that I, I didn't, um, do much
of anything. And you start thinking, okay, either, either I wallow in this and, um, really be angry
with everyone around me, or I start thinking, okay, how do I have a life ahead? What do I need to do
that? Like, one big, big thing is, is having a community, having people around you. And, um,
you know, I've, I've been in a position where I'm, um, you know, I need everything, right? I,
I need someone to help, but it's my nose or I need someone to, um, defeat me or to, you know, wash
my, wash my face, whatever. And, um, in the beginning, it was difficult, right, having to ask for help.
I think that we're, we're all, we pride ourselves and our, our independence, we pride ourselves on
what we, what we do and when all of a sudden, that's been taken away from us, you know, our identity
is questioned. Oh, yeah. Um, you know, I think, um, at, at that point, it, again, this could be
something severe, like a spinal cord injury, but it also could be, you know, a divorce, right,
or a loss of someone in a, in a family, I mean, all those things can really, really knock you,
knock you back, but I, I think you have to say, all right, um, I, I have a future and how do I,
how do I make it real? What, what, what I, what I'd always hoped for and, um, I think involving
those around you and, and just trying to say positive and, uh, yeah, and, you know, and have
others, you know, have others, keep you accountable. Make sure you're, you're stating your goals
and you're saying, all right, here's what I'm going to do and don't let me slack off. Yeah, but,
you know, I think none of us, I think we're stronger together and to, um, the more we can involve
those around us, our loved ones, our friends, just our community, um, I think the more successful
we'll be in general. Yeah, I don't know. I've kind of maybe dodged that question and moved on to
the, the community aspect. Well, that's part of it, right? It is. I mean, that's the least what
lifts me up. That's what keeps my attitude positive is, um, you know, people are doing so much for me
all the time. No, if I can give back at all, then, it's awesome. It sure makes me feel good and makes
me want to continue that positive positive attitude going forward. You know, I don't want to try to
speak for anybody, but I have studied the stages of grief. And when you suffer a loss, you go through
them all. You just have to be so patient with yourself, you know, but I, for anyone that's in the
midst of that, you do come out the other side, you know? Yeah, and I think, I think, you know,
there's always cliches, you know, you're high on the prize or, or whatever. I mean, visualize what
the heck you want your life to look like and try to make that happen. But I think sitting around
wine and bitching and complaining isn't going to get you anywhere. At least it certainly didn't get
me anywhere those first few years. And it was kind of meeting someone, right? It was meeting someone
else that, um, who was successful and who was living a really, really happy and good life. And,
you know, despite the challenges that have been thrown his way, they made me realize that
there was so much more I could be doing. Right. Ah, that's, that's so encouraging.
Tell us more about the ride if people want to, if people want to take part in that.
So, see you sound. It always happens. The, um, it's pretty much the last weekend in August,
but it's always the weekend before labored. And I guess there's three days. It's a Friday,
Saturday, Sunday. And, um, for able-bodied folks, we really, um, love, love for you to sign up
and participate. I mean, be, uh, go to eonsride.com, you know, sign up for our newsletter so you can
see when this is happening. And, and yeah, come join us. I mean, it's a pretty incredible community.
We have, um, both with the disabled folks and just the, um, the, the, the population of folks here
on the Olympic Peninsula that come and join us in further. I mean, we have volunteers that are,
that are coming from Chicago, that are coming from Vegas that are, uh, we've won from Florida,
are each year we, we have a, um, a logo because we have, you know, race medals or finisher medals.
You know, and all sorts of fun swag. But, uh, we have our logo designed by someone's
a disability last year. It was a mouth painter. You know, someone that designed, uh, our logo with,
with our, with their mouth. That's great. Yeah. And, and anyway, I don't know, we, we just
want to make it fun. We even last year we had a, uh, a silly new edition we brought called, uh,
a wheelchair rodeo where we had the, uh, folks and chairs, you know, we started out with, uh,
the silly was precision parking. And so it was like a race to see who could go down there,
going to park and then get back. It was such a dumb thing that I really got really competitive
with it. Like, okay, all right. Let's do this. Exactly. And, you know, then we have, we have a
barrel racing. You know, barrel racing was one of those, that was fun. But, yeah, I mean, I,
I think the nature, you know, I mean, seeing the, the, just the natural beauty of, of the
leaping peninsula is something, but it really is the people, the people that come out are,
are something. And yeah, if, if you're looking to, uh, to explore this beautiful area and do,
with some, some fun people and, um, you don't mind riding it six, seven miles per hour for a few
days. Yeah. We'd love to have you come join us. Uh, that sounds awesome, actually. What,
what a great thing to do. So you, uh, do you call that a puffer tube that you used? Yeah, great.
Um, so I drive with what called the Sippin Puff, um, you know, Sippin Puff drive with my,
my power wheel chair. And so it's basically just a, a straw tube that goes up to my, to my lips.
And, um, how, how it works is if you, if you puff into it, kind of, kind of hard. I mean,
it just kind of gets things, um, just the electronics engaged. If you puff a second time,
you start moving forward. Um, to turn left or right, it's actually a light puff for a light sip.
So it's actually a mountain of pressure air pressure. Okay. Yeah.
To draw that effect, you know, direction. Yeah. Really the best thing about it is I can,
I can hitch my nose with that. So I got to ask, I got to ask the question with it with the
rodeo bit, right? Precision parking and everyone's got to be laughing, hooting and hollering.
So how do you control your chair if you're, if you're laughing and all that?
Very carefully. Yeah. You're trying to, uh, hey, trust me. There's a competitive moment there,
right? You know, laughing at that point. No, I, yeah. It's, uh, you do your best. And, uh,
sip and puff might not be the best for some of those events, but, uh, hey, it's fun to participate.
You know, well, that's fantastic. I love it. I just love it that you're not letting this
massive life challenge stop you from experiencing life in a big, big way.
Well, I think all of us, um, you know, all of us go through challenges and we all, I think, um,
you know, come through. I've just done it in a public and visible way, I think, and, uh,
I think we all have amazing stories to tell. They just, um, you know, might be amazing in
different ways. I, I just go out and go long distances in my, my chair and I'm fortunate to be
involved with a, you know, major tech company and be able to consult with them. And, you know,
one of the best, the biggest things I do is that, you know, our, our nonprofit is kind of three
tiers. It is that we're accessible outdoors aspect. And it's also the technology. But the third
is community, right? And I keep talking about over and over. But, you know, I'm, I'm hosting, um,
one to two support groups a week. And, you know, we're, we're talking with people all over,
all over the country. And I don't think I would be where I am today without, you know, talk
with others and be able to kind of have share those resources and learn from, from shared experiences
and challenges and, you know, and, and ways to, to get past some of these things or just knowing
what equipment's available. Because, you know, you only know what you know and without talking
with people that have tried these things out. There's no other way to talk with them. So,
so yeah, the support group stuff. And, you know, I mean, all of a sudden, there's just the
difficult aspects of it, right? I mean, saying, okay, you know, how are relationships? So often,
people have to get divorced. Um, once they have a spinal vertebrae or something, because
they really need to get on state benefits and the pooled assets of a married couple like that.
Oh, that's rough. They may stay together, but just having to get divorced just so that,
you know, they can be qualified. That's crazy. Or benefits is frustrating. And, you know,
and so many other things. I mean, your dignity can be lost. And how, you know, you may not have the,
the time alone that you, do you once stayed? Your independence has been affected. And, you know,
there's some little mind stuff and some emotional stuff that they can really kick your butt. And,
you know, I'm, I'm about 18 years out now. And, but man, talking to some of those folks,
bringing right back into that hospital and there's vulnerabilities and, you know, that loss of
a future. Not knowing what the heck that's going to hold. Sure. Sure. Let's talk about your book
a little bit here. Karen Polinsky was your, was your, your writer? Yeah. It's not so much a ghost
now. She's at front and center. She was awesome Curtis. Yeah, but go ahead. What was that?
Well, I just, I guess, tell us what the book is about. So people will know if they're like,
oh, I want to hear more about this. What is it? For sure. So, you know, this,
this book is, is much about the story I've told you, right? I mean, it tells about the journey
from that bike accident to, um, to the world record. And, um, and all the vulnerabilities and,
and rough times that were, were in between there. And we, there's so many great successes in my
story and they're, they're wonderful. But, you know, you can't really appreciate those without having
to really go through those difficult times for us. So, and we really kind of dive into that. And,
just how something like a spinal cord injury can affect, um, um, relationships in a family,
right? And dynamics there when, um, you know, people are having to spend so much time maybe on
your care and not, um, focusing on other relationships in their, in their life. Anyway, it,
it, it talks about all, all of that, but it, you know, it just, I think it explores the importance of,
um, of, uh, you know, having people around, getting the importance of being able to ask for help.
And, um, I think it really shows that nature is the best medicine that I love it. Yeah. Yeah.
So the whole story with, um, with Karen Polinsky was, you know, about five or six years ago,
my grandmother, you know, really loved her. So, and she is a hard driver. My grandma until she,
she came over and she, um, said that she wanted to have a meeting with my mom and I. And my mom,
when I was in the hospital, she started a caring bridge. It's just kind of like a little blog
for people, often in a hospital. And, uh, kind of told the story every day. It's kind of how,
how things were going in the hospital. And so we had this written account of, of that. And,
and so my grandma wanted to include that and everything I'd done since and put it into a book and
she found a ghostwriter and he can't see no to grandma. And so, I didn't, I did not know like how
much work it would be. Um, and also, you have this complete stranger who you're having to really
do this, uh, kind of deep dive into really intimate moments of your of your life. And, uh, yeah,
it was, it was, it was challenging. It was, it was quite an experience, but the hardest part
was just kind of editing. Um, she's a little more, um, creative fufu. She's like, you know, I'm a
little more, you know, analytical really, really want to be very, very, uh, honest and straightforward
of the story. And whatever we met in the middle there to make a good, uh,
trying to make a nice narrative on it. You know, I kind of enjoyed this. There's some pictures
in the middle. Uh, yeah. And I'm looking at one of the pictures right now of you laying
in the grass and your dreadlocks are spread out like the rays of the sun around. I did.
Kind of cracks me up. That was funny. That was on a 20th anniversary of having the dreads that I,
but I did that. Yeah, that was, that was fun. I did that with my fiance and my mom. I guess
that was another thing is, you know, I had that stroke. Um, and I was in the ICU right when I was
supposed to be, uh, we missed, uh, you know, we had to delay our wedding because I was in the hospital.
Oh, dude. Man, what advice do you have for people who just, they need to, they need to be able to,
to make something out of their lives, no matter what 100%. Let's see. Well, um, first,
I mean, I think it's important to, uh, to find that thing that drives you to you love and,
and hold on to a tight chase it and, you know, see how far, far it'll go. I think that's, uh,
that's an important one. But I also think it's important not to do it alone, right? I mean,
there's so many other people that also have ambitions and, you know, meet up with them,
connect with them and we're stronger together to do it with, with someone else. But then also,
God, get outside, right? I mean, nature is the best medicine in my opinion. And there's something
about it that can, um, rejuvenate us. And, uh, I, I find myself refreshed and, uh, you know,
I want to really contemplate what I want in life out there. I just, uh, yeah, that's where I,
where my, where, where everything we're fresh is for. That's, you know, I, I'm seeing in the book
here and you already talked about it, but going at least a mile every day and how many days you did
that in a row, years, you did that. So the reason that, that's crazy. The reason I'm bringing it up is
that I'm sure they're days that you just didn't want to. Right. You got, again, northern latitudes.
We have just snow having to have a carryover. I'm feeling I'm really just shoveling me out just
to let me get to a van so that I can get out to maybe a ploughed road and you know, actually get
miles and that's a difficult COVID, right? I mean, going out when you're just so sick. So sick.
You just feel miserable and you just want to sit inside and it just looks so cold out there,
but it's going to go and you always feel better. I think we come back and, uh,
Well, the question I guess is that you had committed to doing it and always doing it
that kept you from not doing it. I know that sounds overly simple, but it's real. What is it about
the goal or, or, you know what I mean? Yeah, why, why, why do we do these things and, uh, yeah,
and how, hey, I think, you know, you set your mind to something and you have something like a
streak going, you still want it to end, you know, and it, it was probably like day seven in the
ICU before I realized that I even lost, lost my, lost my streak. But, um, no, I, I, you know,
it's more about just setting your mind to something and I think that, um, you know, it's just that
mindset that, uh, you know, it keeps you going. I want you to start. That's one of the important
things, right? Start and then just don't let it stop. Keep doing it and build from that. You know,
see what else good. I talked to a runner who was, she was doing a great job, very successful
runner. But one thing that she did is she had kind of like her go back at the front door. Okay.
Everything she needed was in one place. The shoes that, you know, and it was like, I don't decide
whether I'm going or not. I know I'm going. I'm just going. And I don't have, I don't have the
hassle of trying to find things and, and oh, I guess I'll just have to do it later. You know,
it was just like, no, you don't decide whether the weather is good or not. You're going out. That's
what you're going. And then one of the hard things for me is so, um, a high level quadriplegic
can't, um, regulate their temperature, right? So I can't sweat or shiver, you know, if I'm hot or
if I'm, if I'm cold. And so clothing is really important. You know, in that morning when you're
deciding what to wear and you're having to really layer up, but then recognizing maybe you have a
long drive later that day or you have a talk inside. Oh wow. And you're like burning up, but whatever
you have to get a deal with it because you can't go outside if you don't.
So yeah, I mean, I'm fortunate to have a sponsorship kind of a relationship with
Arcterics. That's where I feel a lot of good gear. Like you see warm out there. Yeah, no doubt, man.
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long waits at the airport, all that kind of stuff. And then when you finally arrive at your
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that I do when I hop scotch around the planet on a plane. That's one of the reasons why I love the
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time offer that's outdoorsy.com promo code ASP. You're an inspiration obviously. I'm sure people
tell you that all the time, but it's true Ian. And I'm thankful. I'm thankful that there are people
like you in this world who show the rest of us what's possible. Yeah, I think so many of us will
put in a situation would be amazed. It will get accomplished. And yeah, I'm just happy to be in
this situation, but I get to meet so many other people. It really impressed me and inspire me.
Hey, that's what it's all about, right? Is pushing each other and seeing all it's possible.
Yeah. Hey, will you tell us a story? I know that you have a lot of stories from all of these
rides that you did for years and years and years. Tell us a story, two stories. The first story would
be something surprising that happened that impacted you in a big way, right? And then the second
story is a time that something went really wrong and impacted me. In fact, doing another way.
Yeah. All right. Well, I think I think that 2022 ride. So I was taken from Washington, D.C.
up to Cumberland, Maryland is the C&O trail. It's an old towpath, right? And so it was built by
mules that would be pulling barges along the Potomac River. And here I am in a power wheelchair,
you know, on this dirt trail that was forged by mules in centuries ago. And you know,
what I didn't realize was there was sections of that trail where there was probably like a 20 mile
either direction before there was a bailout point. Okay. In a power wheelchair,
when they think you go wrong and I'm 600 pounds and I got my two guys with me as my crew,
but pushing me out of something like that is it would take a day or two. Anyway, I think I learned
first, you know, the reward I got from that was huge. I still dream of that ride. It was the
most beautiful ride ever, but the risk we were taking and was was serious. But I think it showed
the importance of taking risks. That reward never would have happened if I would have been willing
to go out there and do it. I mean, even you're taking that chance, something could go wrong.
Even a tree down would bring your stalls out there with us just to get us through. But yeah,
I think that was just a big one. I think recognizing that, you know, I could do a lot more than I
had that I thought I could and kind of believe in yourself. I had to believe in my equipment as
well there. Yeah, I think that was really important because it made me realize, go for it. Why not?
Yeah, see what happens. You'll be surprised it was possible. And then we moved forward two years
to my 2024 ride and I was riding on the Katie Trail and apparently they along this path they were,
there was a culvert, right? And so they had dug a hole and a trench along the trail across the trail
and they put a pipe in it and they'd backfilled it. But they hadn't backfilled it and compacted it
down very well and it rained a lot the night before. And I was going full speed and my friend,
actually, it was with me, he'd stopped right after it because he was ahead and he was, you know,
saying something. I just thought he was like, okay, you better go fast over this section,
get stuck. And instead I hit this and I just flipped the chair and then ended up on my,
ended up on my side. And I think I learned from that, it's really listening to my people.
But no, I flipped the chair a few times and whenever I've done that, I think I've learned the
importance of having quality equipment and also an ambassador and if I'm told them within the
care that you have to mix my chair and yeah, being able to have some influence there on
design and quality is going to be important. Yeah, I think having good equipment,
listening to your people and realizing what's really, that we can do a lot more than we think.
I can't imagine hitting that that ravine. What was in your head? Oh man,
well, it was funny. Luckily, my guy was right there standing right there because he's like
pointing out his own driving up to it. Anyway, I went straight at it and I wouldn't
went right onto my face. But he, right when I got to that tipping point, just pushed me over,
so I ended on my, on my side. But there's a picture where I'm just, I'm just cracking up,
and I'm just laughing. You know, there's plenty of downsides to not be able to move or feel
believe in me, but there's some good sides, not be able to feel the way you're going to do it.
I had eight years earlier. I was riding home from downtown Port Angeles on a concert and it was dark
and I was going down a hill and my chair wouldn't tilt and ended up flipping it and I was alone
and my phones kind of were up against the dirt and didn't have any reception. I couldn't call
for help. And so I was sitting there for about an hour until a couple. A guy, a man and a woman
came along and they were able to go back and get someone else to write me and to get me back up
on my wheels. And then I had him kind of straighten me out in my chair so I could drive home
and the woman said, oh, do you want me to straighten out your foot? I couldn't see my foot.
And she did. And there is a way that I can feel and it's called what it is. It's the blood pressure.
You know, your blood pressure can kind of kind of change. And so when you have really bad pain,
you can get something called autonomic dysreflexia and it's just this spike in blood pressure.
And for me, that feels like this headache. And so she moved that foot and I got him this headache
as it might be wrong. It turns out I didn't break my leg. Oh, no. I spent a week before I
went into the hospital. But what are they going to say? Do they just tell me to stay off?
And you've got a great attitude about it. That's crazy. So if people want to be a part of your
sea to sound, ride, or they want to be part of your nonprofit, they want to read your book.
I mean, how did it get in touch?
All right. So, you know, eonsride.com. I mean, we always have whatever's going on next there.
I'm again, our newsletter is a great thing. You can go at the bottom of that page and
sign up. But another thing you could maybe join us, depending on where you are in the country, is
every two years. I do these, these long rides, these cross-state rides. In this next one,
I'm going to be doing in 2026. It'll be in probably late September or early October. And it's
going to be the Erie Canal Trail. And I'll be riding across New York from Albany to Buffalo.
It's about 350 miles or so. And yeah, it should be. It should be a lot of fun. So, you know,
follow us. You'll erupt to and come join us out there on the Erie Canal Trail.
That's awesome. Do you know the song about the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo?
Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I'm not going to sing it, but...
Come on Curtis.
Now we'll be singing that along.
That's fantastic. And so, you said September?
Yeah, probably late September going into the world's price spent a couple of weeks,
10 days to be exact.
Fantastic. Right on. Well, Ian, thank you for sharing your story with us. And thank you for your
time today. You know, like I said, you're an inspiration. But I love what you said two or three times
here that, you know, nature is the best medicine. I love it. I love the example and I love that,
you know, the fact that you found a way to make that work for you.
No, hashtag, get outside. I think that's where we all are better people.
Oh, absolutely. Well, thank you very much. Everyone out there, thank you for listening in today.
And get Ian's book, participate, get involved. I just think it's fantastic. Ian's right is the name
of the book. And until the next show, do get out there and have some fun.
Thanks, Curtis. Yeah, you bet, man.



