My family remembers my grandma Robin Capitani, who passed in 2015 from leukemia, and my cousin Wyatt Pope, who passed in 2022 from a really rare cancer diagnosis after battling it for 7 years.

People who knew her often say I carry her around with me, that I look just like her and feel just as deeply- she was incredibly sentimental and very talented at making people feel invited, welcomed, and loved. I think of her every single morning as I put on her signature scent, Chanel No. 5 (she was a woman of exquisite taste)

My cousin Wyatt will forever be the strongest, bravest kid I've ever known- he went through the unthinkable, coming up against slim odds and managing to still be a fantastic, spunky, sweet, and funny brother, son, and friend.

Feeling helpless and like a bystander in the process of losing people I love catapulted me into my commitment to ride across the continent to raise money for the fight against what took them, and to do it smiling, feeling grateful that I can.