Honoring our Veterans: Daniel’s Story

Daniel Rogers joined us for the first time at SBT GRVL this year, and before he made his trip to Steamboat he shared with us a very personal message around his journey and how gravel riding had put him on a new path in life and was a catalyst for positive change following his service in the United States Marine Corps and subsequent personal challenges. We found his story so inspiring that we wanted to share it with you this Veterans Day as we acknowledge all those who have served and continue to inspire. Please read, learn, and give Dan a virtual “thank you” and pat on the back when you see him on the starting line next year.

In 2007, just before my junior year of high school, I decided I wanted to serve my country in the United States Marine Corps. I called my grandpa who was a Marine and asked for his advice. He offered to run a “mini-bootcamp” to prepare me for the Marine Corps. At the time, I was out of shape, had long curly hair, and spent most of my day hiding in my room playing video games. When I told my parents, I was met with skepticism. But in the summer of 2008, I flew from South Florida to Coram, Montana, a small town outside of West Glacier. I spent my summer days working for my grandpa as a farm hand and my summer evenings walking the hills around his property learning about his life and listening to his stories about the Marine Corps. I lost 50 pounds and convinced my parents that I was serious about joining the Marine Corps. I shipped out to bootcamp the following summer and eventually went on to serve an honorable 5 years. I deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from July 2013 to January 2014, and separated in July 2014.

After separating from the Marine Corps, I moved to Missoula, Montana to attend the University of Montana. I spent my first year combating loneliness, depression, and undiagnosed PTSD through weight lifting and heavy drinking. After re-injuring an already injured shoulder and being told to layoff weightlifting until surgery, I spiraled out of control and attempted suicide on September 25th, 2015. I was saved by my best friend who called to check in with me and talked me down. After I had mostly healed from my surgery, one of my professors suggested I try mountain biking, so I went out and bought a Diamondback Recoil. I started with fire roads and light double track, and fell in love with biking. I bought a road bike to go with the mountain bike, but eventually got bored and decided to sell it and bought a hardtail for adventure biking. Unfortunately, in 2017,  I was struck by a car while biking to work. While I suffered some facial damage and bruising across my body, the bike was totaled. After healing from the accident, I stumbled across a 1974 Schwinn Continental with gravel tires. That bike would be my entry into gravel riding. I spent the next year and some change riding it everywhere I could and on every surface. My wife and I eventually moved to Northern California in 2018 where I upgraded to a  Salsa Vaya that I still ride today. I did a couple of events while living there, my favorite being the Usul Hopper along the Lost Coast.

In April 2022, my grandma passed away unexpectedly and my grandpa’s health started to decline. My wife and I decided to move back home to Missoula so that our son could grow up around family. It was around that time that I discovered J.R. Cohen, an ambassador for SBT GRVL, whose story resonated with me. I started following him and eventually won entry into SBT GRVL 2023 through him. During this time I was still struggling with alcoholism, and decided to slow down my drinking in order to train for the race. In December 2022, my grandpa’s health declined even more and was hospitalized just before Christmas. On the night my grandpa passed away, I was at the edge of a cliff at the moment, and I think my wife knew. Knowing how much work I had already put in, my wife asked if I wanted to drink a lot knowing I was training for a race. Something clicked inside of me and I decided to go sober. I had initially wanted to stay sober until I finished SBT GRVL, but as time went on, I realized how much of a problem my drinking had become over the years and decided to remain sober indefinitely. I raced in SBT GRVL ‘23 on the Red Course and dedicated the race to my grandpa. Being out there (not to sound cheesy) was spiritual and healing.

Riding a bike, especially on gravel, is a very human and mentally therapeutic activity to me. What I love about gravel is you don’t have to drop thousands of dollars on a fancy suspension frame or carbon fiber road bike. You can slap some parts on an old mountain bike, hit a gravel road and go for as long as you want. What I love about gravel events, especially SBT GRVL, is the level of acceptance into riders of all shapes, sizes, and abilities. The person that is DFL is celebrated as much as the first place winner, and I think that is what makes these events worth going to. I plan on riding the Black Course in SBT GRVL ‘24 to test myself physically and mentally.