On December 7th, Kait Boyle visited our shop to share her remarkable story as part of a fundraiser for the Cairn Project. Her triumphant 2018 of bicycle racing was dramatically curtailed by an accident on Christmas Eve. Over the course of 2019 she endured a grueling rehabilitation however was able to fully recover and has recently returned to racing and outdoor adventuring. We captured the full presentation on video for those who weren’t able to attend. Please enjoy.
Our evening with Kait began somewhat bizarrely. While folks were showing up at the shop to see Kait, across the street a giant rally of off-road razors, organized by Goldies a car repair shop, was rallying to parade presents across Tucson to the children’s hospital. There were around 75 razors all decorated in Christmas Lights. Fortunately, the parade was mostly cleared out by the time the majority of our guests arrived.
Kait is a natural story teller. Her compelling story quickly drew everyone in. We recorded her talk and wove in her slides to be able to share it with you.
Kait’s fundraiser for the Cairn Project was called 84 Days Outside. Kait had spent 84 days in doors recovering from her accident. She had received remarkable support from the community and wanted to give back. The Cairn Project supports a variety of organizations that get underprivileged girls into the outdoors. Please considering supporting the Cairn Project by donating here.
The next morning, we all me up for a ride on the AZT. We met at the Loma Alta Trailhead. The sky was spitting just a bit when we arrived, but once we were on the trail it dissipated leaving us with cloud cover and perfect riding temps. We cruised out for about 8 or 9 miles a little past Pistil Hill before turning around.
This was the first time that Kait had been on the AZT since her record breaking run of the AZT 300. She reminisced about experiencing the trail at night and smelling her favorite trailside shrubbery, creosote.
There were around 10 of us on the ride. Even though we were only out for a few hours, I think it is safe to say we all came away feeling like we’d really gotten to know Kait.
Hosting Kait and hearing her share her story was truly inspiring. She filled our cup. On the back of our kickoff event with Lael, we felt extremely encouraged to forge ahead getting our bike shop, brand and community underway motivated by these two amazing women.