After Spending the Last 6 Years on His Bike, This Cancer Survivor Will Go Home for Thanksgiving
Stephen Swift, 57, of Newport, Oregon, has been on the ride of his life-one that has been six years and 24,762 miles in the making.
“I started my trek on May 7, 2012, a year to the date that my wife, Renee, died,” Swift told Bicycling.
Renee and Swift’s daughter, Savannah, were together in a fatal car crash that took Renee’s life in 2011. Savannah survived, but was in a coma for three months.
Then, while his daughter was recovering and Swift was still reeling from the death of his wife, he received another piece of shocking news: Ten months after the accident, Swift was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and given just 18 months to live.
“A few days after my diagnosis, I took a gun and put it into my mouth. I could not handle the stress and pain any longer,” he said. “But I heard Savannah in the hall call me a second before I took my life.”
Still, the darkness he felt filled him and his home.
“Soon after that, I had a meeting with my family and close friends, including my daughters Lacey and Savannah. I asked them, ‘What can I do to get my mind right?’ They all said I should go on a vacation, but it was Savannah who thought about a bike ride,” says Swift.
The only problem? The last time he rode a bike was age 12. At the age of 51, he wondered if he could still ride.
He could. At first, Swift got on his bike and made small trips to nearby towns. Then he made a longer trip to Portland. Finally, he decided to take his journey across the country for cancer awareness-not only because of his own journey, but because he lost his father, sister, and grandfather to it, too.
“I’ve beat cancer twice-bone cancer and pancreatic cancer, and I have been in remission for over four years now. But I took this trip to meet other people going through cancer like me,” Swift said.
It’s been a wild ride. He left his home, and started his journey on a Trek-which was stolen mid-journey, replaced with another Trek, and stolen again. Now, he rides a Giant with a Bob Yak Cargo Trailer. He proudly displays a “Biking Around America for Cancer” sign on the back of it, as well as his father’s American flag.
Last month, he also rode with two breast cancer awareness flags, for his friend and his sister Maureen, both of who died of the condition.
“I get lots of honks and thumbs up. I meet people at different stops, who have had cancer or who have loved ones with cancer,” says Swift. “I try to inspire people to never give up. Never give in. Always go forwards. Just fight. The ride has taught me to understand that it is okay to hurt, to feel sad and feel a little out of place. But it is not okay to give up.”
His journey has helped him compose his thoughts into a book that will publish in February 2019 called A Swift Ride. All of the proceeds will go to Kaiser Permanente Hospital, where Swift and his family all received cancer care.
[Find 52 weeks of tips and motivation, with space to fill in your mileage and favorite routes, with the Bicycling Training Journal.]
Swift is on the final leg of his trip, biking from California up to Oregon. He feels he has accomplished what he set out to do with his bike journey, and has experienced a sense of healing thanks to his bike.
“My family hasn’t celebrated a holiday in seven years since my wife died. They’ve been too painful,” says Swift. “But I want to have Thanksgiving with them this year. We’re gonna start living again.”
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