By: Ryan Lund

Gary Sauer’s family has shaped his life more than anything. Adopted by his grandparents and growing up with an uncle so close he called him a brother, Sauer’s relation to family is concrete. Now Sauer spends his time on his recently-passed grandfather’s farm to keep it running. When he isn’t working on the land, he is up on the mountains shredding his mountain bike with his seven-year-old son Ryder out on the trails racing. Sauer wasn’t always living the good life of farm, ride, and raise. Sauer’s life changed when he was forced to choose between his son or methamphetamine. Mountain biking would serve as the bridge between a broken life and a full one.

Sauer, now forty years old, was born and raised in Oregon. He spent much of his childhood racing go-carts and motocross. Racing was in the family; Sauer’s uncle Brad was a professional motocross racer and became an idol for Sauer. He was somebody to look up to, somebody to impress. Years were not friendly to the racetrack and it was eventually shut down. Time was equally unfair to Uncle Brad. Meth took over Sauer’s mind and body as he fell in with a destructive social circle and spiraled after he dropped out of high school. By 1995, when he was 18, Sauer was a meth addict. He couldn’t stay out of jail. It wasn’t getting better.

“I had a choice, and I was choosing drugs over my family,” said Sauer. “Eventually, I just got fed up with it man. I went to the mission there in Medford Oregon, and I asked for a bed.” Six days later, Sauer was given a gift. A gift that would change his life: a mountain bike. Shortly after, he was reunited with his son and they began to ride on the local trails of Ashland, Oregon. Sauer’s son Ryder looked at his father, unaware of his troubled past, and presented his father with a challenge that Gary has worked towards since. “Hey dad, you should race mountain bikes.” Sauer then looked down at his son and said, “You know what? I’m going to race this race next year. Just you watch.” And he did.

On August 11, 2017, Sauer will be celebrating his fourth year clean and his eleventh year being true with the law. Mountain biking saved him. Motivated by his son and encouraged by friends, Sauer now rides on the Oregon Enduro Circuit with support from sponsors, as well as his family. “You either go to jail, or you die using drugs. And I’ve already been to jail,” said Sauer. “I need to be there for my son.”

 

Bonus Content: If you’d like to hear the full interview between Gary and I you can find it by clicking this link here.