Eric Geyer, Cycling Enthusiast

Eric Geyer doesn’t go into details about his feet. He tells me it isn’t physically possible for him to run and that he has nerve problems with his feet. He told me that he grew up cycling, so it was a natural progression to buy a bike with the bonus money from his first real job and take up cycling. But it is at the mere mention of cycling that his love for the sport comes through.

For Geyer, riding isn’t just about fitness. Indeed, fitness seems to be a side effect of the sport that he has come to love.

“First, I am a bike geek,” he proudly tells me, “I enjoy the equipment. I enjoy learning about it and talking about it.”

This is apparent in his collection of bikes. He owns eight and confesses that maybe it is one too many. But the seven that he does ride all have a purpose.  He has racing bikes and touring bikes of different levels and though I am sure he has bikes for other purposes, he heads off once again in a tangent when he starts discussing touring.

Geyer doesn’t race. He doesn’t ride because he wants to compete. He rides because he enjoys the experience. His list of reasons to ride far exceeds the number of bikes he has collected over the years. But that doesn’t mean he is a plodder. He takes the sport seriously and works hard to accomplish what he has.

“Eric has overcome major problems with his feet since birth. I am amazed he can walk, let alone ride as long and hard as he does,” said Mark Facciani, who often rides with Geyer.

Geyer has to ride long and hard to train for touring. On the short end, tours take five days to complete and riders cover hundreds of miles. Touring has taken Geyer all over the country.

“My favorite so far was actually the most poorly organized tour I have done,” he said.

Geyer and several friends went to Utah to ride Legacy Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Utah, which is billed as world’s most scenic ride. 

“The problem was it was so poorly organized we didn’t see half of what we were supposed to see,” Geyer said, “But in the end it didn’t matter. Our group met up with two other riders in the group and we broke off and did our own thing. That had to have been the most creative group of riders I have ever ridden with.”

As I spoke with Geyer I began to understand the draw to the sport.  Sure, he can stay fit with all of the miles he puts in and yes, he enjoys the scenery and the travel, but the real draw for him is the social aspect; the friends he brings with him and the friends he meets along the way.

“I love being around other enthusiasts,” he said. “Touring allows me to go fast when I want to and hang back and talk with people when I don’t. It gives me a great chance to forge relationships.”

When Geyer bought his first bike at 23 years old, he could not have foreseen where it would have taken him. When he signed up for his first MS150 ride, he admits to having not a clue as to what he was doing. But he learned. He met people along the way, gleaned information and became an enthusiast for a sport that is showing him the world.

This summer Geyer will be heading down to Bike Virginia and then up to New York for the Bon Ton Roulet, a seven day tour of the Finger Lakes. But the ride he is looking forward to the most this year is a tour through Croatia in the fall.