Spoke Bracelet teams up with Tour des Chutes

“You’re a survivor the second you are diagnosed,” said Gary Bonacker, the co-owner of Sunnyside Sports in Bend and founder of the Tour des Chutes. “The only time you’re not a survivor is when you leave this Earth.”

Bonacker underwent surgery for a cancerous brain tumor in late 2003. Less than a year later, he founded the Tour des Chutes. The non-profit raises funds for cancer care and survivorship for children and adults of Central Oregon.

“I cycle now for two reasons,” Bonacker began. “One, I can’t drive. Two, even if I’m going two miles, there’s a freedom that you feel when you’re riding your bike that unless you’ve ridden your bike it’s really hard to describe, but it’s wonderful.”

Cynthia Brown-Grochowski is the artist and owner behind Spoke Bracelets. She takes spokes from bicycles and creates bracelets with beaded jewelry. And she’s created a Tour des Chutes series to help raise money for the foundation.

“Seeing (Bonacker) go through the journey that he went through,” Brown-Grochowski said, “He actually rode the last two Tour des Chutes when he was not well.”

The Tour des Chutes has raised more than $700,000 since its first event.

“It reminds me of what we’re doing, and sometimes I’m doing less and less with the tour, as my health is kind of all over the place,” Bonacker said. “But it just reminds me how important what we’re doing is.”

For more information: http://www.tourdeschutes.org/