Your Story; Gordon
In late January, 2011, during my US west-coast cycle-tour, I made my way east from California through Arizona and New Mexico. Riding along the Interstate, I pulled over at one of those ubiquitous rest-stops which offer little more than a bit of shade from the sun. At this particular rest-stop, however, I would find much more than simply respite from the sun’s heat. There, asleep on a bench with his Specialized Hard-rock mountain-bike beside him, was Gordon. Making my way to one of the other tables in the shade, I began to eat some lunch. Gordon woke and walked over to chat.
The man who approached was dishevelled, clearly homeless. His teeth were black and rotting; his hands and fingernails equally as foul; his clothes soiled like none I’d ever seen. He could have been 40 years old, he could have been twice that. Introducing himself he smiled cautiously. We shook hands and he told me his story.
On a day like every other Gordon was a kid without a care in the world. As he did every weekday, he rode his bike to his best friend’s house to collect him for the ride to school. Walking into his friend’s house, Gordon’s entire life was about to change dramatically. The night before his friend’s father–who had recently returned from serving in Vietnam–had massacred the entire family. Mom and three children shot to death, father having taken his own life; there was blood everywhere. Gordon, age 13, was the first to discover this gruesome scene. “It really messed me up; I’ve been riding my bike around the country ever since.”
Since that grizzly discovery Gordon has been alone, chased across the country by those demons. He rides his bike back and forth along the Interstate highways. Avoiding the California coast and the big cities, he simply rides and rides and rides. Few take the time to talk with this shell of a man, even the bike shops are reluctant to order him parts for his bike, his only salvation.
Before we parted ways, I gave Gordon most of my coffee; he puts the grinds in his water-bottle, using the sun to warm the water; instant hot coffee. Meeting Gordon I was reminded of the devastating affects of mental illness gone unchecked. I was also reminded that while I ride for pleasure and discovery, others ride out of fear and to forget. Gordon and his story, I will always remember.
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