Mike Gravel is back in Washington after a 10-month break, heading back to the bike race.
The former pro and current National Park Service employee is returning after spending time in Portland, Oregon, where he took a break from the sport to focus on his new book.
Gravel says the book is about his “own journey, from my childhood to the next chapter” and he hopes it will “bring some balance to my personal journey.”
It’s been a great ride.
It’s been an amazing ride.
I’ve never felt better.
Graffel, 32, won the 2013 Oregon Open at the Oregon Pacific and rode a variety of races, including the Oregon State Championships, the U.S. Open and the Tour of California.
Graves new book, titled “I’m Still Here,” will be released Nov. 21.
The book will focus on a journey that started with Gravel returning to his hometown of Portland, Ore., from a yearlong break after being diagnosed with cancer.
Graven told The Washington Times he has been doing a lot of traveling, and after spending more than a year away from home he decided to make the book about his personal journey.
Gravel’s book will also include insights from former athletes like American record holder Michael Rogers, who finished his pro career in 2006 with a time of 4:32:33.
Rogers won a gold medal in the 2010 Athens Olympics.
In an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, Gravel said he was inspired to write his book after seeing the reactions to his 2013 book “I Am Mike Graffle.”
Gravel told the newspaper he was looking to write about the experience of overcoming cancer and to “reclaim some of the joy and excitement I had for riding my bike and doing the things I do.”
“I think I have found a way to do that, to say, ‘this was something I did for myself, and I am a better person for doing it,'” Gravel added.
