Adaptive bike could give paralyzed Longmont man part of his life back

Oct. 23—One of Jay Davis' earliest memories is of being 3 years old and learning to ride his bike in a church parking lot across from his home in Arizona.

For most of his 31 years, Davis' life has revolved around cycling. His family moved to Estes Park when he was a kid, and at 12, he got a job printing T-shirts at a tourist shop so that he could start saving the $2,000 he needed for a mountain bike.

When he moved to Longmont roughly five years ago, he would ride to his aerospace engineering job in the city, often taking a long route home. When he wasn't using his bike to commute, he raced cyclocross and explored the nation looking for the next mountain to traverse on his bike.

"There hasn't been a phase in my life where bikes weren't a major player," Davis said. "Riding bikes for me, it was a cure all for everything — exercise, fresh air, sunshine can fix mental health issues. It made sure I stayed in shape and was healthy. It gave me adventures every single day of my life, whether it was a ride to work or somewhere deep in the back country."

Davis' ability to cycle changed abruptly 3 1/2 years ago.

When he was 16, Davis began learning how to fly airplanes at Vance Brand Airport. After flying planes for 12 years, and earning a commercial license, he decided to buy his own plane — a Thorp T-18. He had test flown the plane and had it inspected by a mechanic, but during a flight on Feb. 16, 2018, something went wrong.

On that date, Davis was flying his new plane with the guidance of flight instructor Billy Mitchell. The Thorp T-18 was a model of plane he didn't normally fly, so he had brought Mitchell along to help him learn how to transition his skills for flying that model of plane.

"On our last landing, we were about done for the day, the plane started to depart the runway off to the right and I couldn't really control it," Davis said. "I found out later, after the fact, that one of the rudder cables had broken — the cables that are used to steer the plane when it's on the ground."

When the plane went off the runway, the wheels dug into the ground, flipping the machine end over end. Two of Davis' vertebra were dislocated in the crash. The Times-Call reported that Mitchell was hospitalized with less serious injuries and later released.

The spinal cord injury left Davis paralyzed from the chest down. Since then, he said he's struggled, knowing he wouldn't be able to ride his bike again — but an adaptive trike could give him the freedom to ride once more.

Davis' friend Quinn Brett, of Estes Park, loaned him her Bowhead Reach — a three-wheeled adaptive electric mountain bike created by sports and recreation business Bowhead Corp. It wasn't the first time Davis had ridden an adaptive mobility bike, but it was the best design he had experienced yet.

The trike is designed so that its front wheels can articulate. Riders are able to lean into corners, just like a regular bike, and tackle more challenging terrain. It can also be ridden on more varieties of trail, because it is about half the width of other adaptive bikes and doesn't require a 3- or 4-foot-wide path.

Riding the Bowhead Reach for the first time on a trail in the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area in August, Davis found himself ahead of the friends he had been with, carving down a fire access road by himself.

"It was the first time I had actually felt like I was really riding a bike again. That's saying something," Davis said. "This was the closet feeling of that freedom of just the wind in your face that I hadn't felt in almost four years."

Brett, who has since loaned Davis her trike on several occasions, echoed this. Brett was paralyzed in a rock climbing accident in 2017. She bought a Bowhead Reach in 2019 and now has two different styles.

"It's freedom to play outside again," Brett said.

For Davis, having a Bowhead Reach would mean being able to go on hikes again with his wife, Rachel, and their dog, Charlie. It would mean riding with his friends and seeing parts of the world that inspired him to love the outdoors in the first place.

"It's hard when you have paralysis or another disability, because nature wasn't meant for wheelchairs, but nature really was meant for everyone, not just able-bodied people," Davis said. "With a little bit of adaptive equipment, it can go a long ways."

Two weeks ago, Davis got some good news. He was awarded a $5,000 grant from the High Fives Foundation, a California-based nonprofit that provides resources to injured athletes and veterans so that they can be active again. Davis wants to put the grant, which must be used by the end of the year, toward a Bowhead Reach.

Landon McGauley, High Fives Foundation athlete team manager, said the trikes start at $15,000 and can go up in price to about $24,000.

"Unfortunately, with anything adaptive, it's a lot of money," McGauley said in a phone interview from his remote work space in Canada. "We cover as much as we can. There's so much need out there that we try and help as many as we can."

McGauley himself survived a traumatic injury, breaking his back mountain biking in 2010. He has also found a sense of freedom with the Bowhead Reach.

"It's pretty wild engineering," McGauley said. "I was a really avid mountain biker before I got hurt. The bikes that they did have, (after I got hurt), I just didn't enjoy riding. They weren't what I thought of as mountain biking. The (Bowhead Reach) came out and opened up all the doors again."

McGauley said he now can ride a bike with friends and visit trails he used to travel before his injury.

The nonprofit gives out four different grants throughout the year to people recovering from traumatic injuries. When Davis applied, McGauley said, he "seemed like an amazing fit for the foundation."

"He's an active guy and he just wanted to be able to get back to the mountains," McGauley said. "That's why we were able to give him a grant. This bike will allow him to get so many places his wheelchair could never take him."

There are trails just outside of Estes Park that Davis rode as a kid that he never thought he would see again. Now, he has a spark of hope that he will get to visit them.

Davis created a Go Fund Me to raise money to pay for a Bowhead Reach. The grant, he said, will cover about a third of the cost of the trike. His Go Fund Me, as of Friday, had raised $4,910. Any extra money raised, Davis said, he will donate back to the High Fives Foundation.

Already, Davis is thinking of where he could take his first ride. About three miles off of the Picture Rock Trail in Lyons is a picnic table, where Davis has always marveled at the view.

"I can't wait to take it back up there and see that again," Davis said. "I just want to get back outside and enjoy nature. I would love to help anybody else who can't do the same thing."

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How to help

Donate to Davis' Go Fund Me by visiting bit.ly/3C8wOOi.