Who Are We?

Simon Goldberg was born off a bicycle and has spent the last 24 years of his life trying to get on one.  This task, while it may seem simple, has been extremely difficult for him.  In between brief moments of success, he has suffered years spent playing various musical instruments, studying sociology and Buddhism, and contemplating his profound sense of separation from this beautiful two-wheeled machine.  Before embarking on this adventure, Simon was living in Asheville, NC and is considering a semi-permanent return to his rightful and mobile throne under the influence of his sixth grade locker partner Dan Ettinger.

Dan Ettinger, like Simon, was born and raised in Evanston, IL.  Dan had never ridden a bicycle more than 3 miles until he was told to co-lead a 300 mile trip for Camp Echo (where he spent most of his summers from middle school through college).  He also never fixed a bike until his first day on the job working as a mechanic at Grand Peformance Bicycles in St. Paul, MN.  This was Dan’s first job after graduating from college and his most recent one after working for a great non-profit in Minneapolis for the last two and a half years. 

Their Friendship

Although Dan and Simon were chosen to be locker partners in 6th grade, it took two years for them to become good friends (Simon was considerably cooler than Dan by all 6th grade standards – i.e. whether or not one wore sweatpants with holes in them).  In 8th grade, Dan gained some points by agreeing to go on his first of many adventures with Simon – going “Bottle Capping.” 

Bottle Capping involved going bar to bar in Evanston and Chicago, meeting funny people, and asking bartenders for their cache of old caps.  Although they had many plans for what they’d do with all these caps, only one piece was completed (Click here to see a picture of it proudly displayed in Dan’s current apartment).

And so through adventures like this one, they became the best of friends. 


Professional Bicyclists?

Nope.  Not even close. We started training in Oregon. Simon didn't even have a bicycle before this trip.

If we can do it, you can do it.  Believe it