that threatened to destroy what little hope his family had
left.^3 That was around the time he discovered the story of
Matt King, an IBM engineer and world-renowned tandem
cyclist who happened to be blind.^4
That fall, Eric took his son to meet Matt King at a nearby
cycling event, where Garrett got the chance to sit on a
tandem bicycle and squeeze the handlebar with his hands,
feeling the pedals beneath his feet. That was the day the
“light bulb” came on for Garrett. After that, he was
determined to ride again—which, unbeknownst to him or
his dad, was the beginning of a process that would not only
change their lives but the lives of countless others.
A few months later, Garrett told his mom he wanted to
try riding his bike. She wasn’t so sure, but he insisted. By
then some of his sight had returned, and he was able to
walk, albeit just a little. With his mother’s help, Garrett
mounted the old bike and began pedaling. At first she ran
with him as he pedaled clumsily, helping him balance. But
soon his legs took him faster than she could run, and he
escaped her grasp, if only for a moment to experience the
freedom he had known before the cancer had taken control
of his body. That same day, his dad brought home a brand-
new tandem bicycle so the two of them could ride together.
Six months later, on June 24, 2001, after a year of
radiation and chemotherapy, six-year-old Garrett crossed the
finish line of his first-ever triathlon. His dad ran behind him,
pushing his wheelchair. It was one year to the day after that