Cycling Pair Support Police, Firefighters in Cross-country Ride

The world looks a lot different from a bicycle seat. Time moves slower. Details are clearer. The sunshine is sharper and optimism is a little easier to accept. Cross-country tours also offer the opportunity to meet people in ways a person may never have without the ride.

Wednesday evening, two bicyclists arrived in Sidney. Each had a trailer and packs, and countless signatures of law enforcement and firefighters and miles of stories.

They are on a journey from Ogden, Utah to Kentucky. Their mission has several parts: to recognize law enforcement and firefighters across the region, be an example of not surrendering to the obstacles of life and in support of low and no cost addiction recovery. Along the way, they get to meet people of all walks of life and varied perspectives.

One of the benefits, call an added blessing, of the ride is proving health obstacles do not have to stop enjoying life.

Bob Quick is not just a bicyclist. He is a survivor. Some would say an anomaly with the never-say-quit attitude following all of the major medical procedures he has undergone. He is determined to keep going until he has, as the sports analogy says, "leaves it all on the field."

"I've been dead twice," he says. "I just had my last heart surgery."

His last procedure was completed just days before his current adventure. He and riding parter Rusty Healey are crossing the midwest, making a special effort to meet with police and fire departments of every town they stop in. It is an effort to say "thank you for your service." At each stop, Quick seeks the chief of each department to sign his bike, which will later be donated to in honor of firefighters and police officers.

Quick is a man who has faced the kind of obstacles many people would be content with a slower pace, not quick. In September 2004, an hereditary heart problem resulted in a massive heart attack. He says on his blog site "if they would have given up, I wouldn't be here today." To date, he has had 19 stints and 27 heart surgeries.

"Nobody has ever tried what I do," Quick said Thursday at Grandma Jo's in Sidney. "I'm not going to let a disease control my life. I refuse to."

His motto is "Never Quit."

He died in 2013 and was brought back, with a pacemaker installed soon after, restarting his exercise routine the following week. He says the response of paramedic Jeremy Barker contributed to his surviving. Barker has since developed a business called Murphy Door, a major sponsor of Quick's ride this year. Quick and Healey are riding from the Murphy Door facility in Ogden to the Murphy Door location in Lexington, Kentucky. To Quick, the motivation is easy: when something happens, who do you call? He has met officers in every community the two have visited since leaving Ogden.

"I haven't found a bad one yet," he said.

He and Healey have an extensive history cycling. However, the challenges of a coronary artery disease makes the ride even more monumental.

"This really intensifies it," he said.

Quick stresses possessions are not as important as experiences and memories.

This trip started in 2013 when he started calling people and companies for sponsorships for a ride to thank law enforcement and firefighters. The excitement grew from a flicker in Quick's eyes to a flame of support.

"Everybody was onboard," he said.

He admits this may be his last ride of this distance. About one-third of his heart is dead, according to Quick.

"I have no choice but keep going, ride myself to death or talk someone into open heart surgery," he said.

The ride is about 1,800 miles long, varying according to variations that may happen along the planned route; agencies or hotels a little off of the plan, or specific attractions, including agencies that may require a tangent. With all said, Quick and Healey average 30 to 50 miles per day through the wind, mid-day heat, hills and sore muscles.

In addition to Quick's riding to recognize law enforcement and firefighters, Healey is a board member of Alano Club Inc., a social recovery club for members in recovery. The organization is a 501c3 nonprofit.

Healey and Quick met through their shared interest in cycling. This is his second tour with Quick.