The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Bike Guy’ wins support after cancer diagnosis
After giving away 1,200+ bicycles, engineer is taking part in charity ride
CLINTON — “The Bike Guy,” who has spent years fixing and giving away bikes to people who need them, is asking for help raising money for cancer research while also undergoing treatment for the blood cancer he recently learned he has.
Paul Egan, a retired engineer, is well-known throughout the area for his volunteer work in the community. During his time working with Families Helping Families, a nonprofit in Clinton, he has restored and given away 1,200 bicycles and done hundreds of free repairs.
But when Egan was diagnosed with blood cancer, he said he was surprised by the amount of community support he received. Now, he is participating with his family and friends in Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center’s Closer to Free bike ride — which donates 100 percent of funds raised to cancer research and care at the facilities.
With the race scheduled to be held virtually Sept. 11, Egan and his wife, Liz Egan, have already raised approximately $23,000 through their individual fundraising pages and Paul’s team — The Bike Guys Boosters.
How it started
Paul Egan said he has been restoring bicycles to make them usable
again since 2006, noting he always wanted to do volunteer work when he retired. He said he was also volunteering at the Valley Shore YMCA gardens, which donates the food its grows to St. Mark’s Food Pantry in New Britain.
“It started small, and then I connected Miner Vincent of Families Helping Families,” he said. “I had about 12 bikes or so that I was ready to give away.”
Paul Egan said Vincent was impressed with his side project, so he offered the nonprofit’s financial support to keep it going. That helped him fix bikes with newer parts instead of through patchwork, helmets to people who need them, and tools to help him in his work.
“It’s been an incredible partnership,” he said.
While he is not a bike fanatic, Egan said it’s a hobby he enjoys. Fixing bikes is something he found he could do for fun, while also using his mechanical skills.
“I learned an awful lot about it,” he said. “I’m working with tools. I’m in my garage. I’m listening to NPR radio. It’s like, ‘Wow.’ I’m meeting great people.
It’s just been really cool.”
Up until the pandemic, Egan said he was giving away 130 to 150 bikes a year. They are either donated to him or he finds them. He has also been able to give bikes to entire families.
“Nothing makes me happier than people coming up (to his house) and getting five bicycles,” he said, adding the work has been fulfilling. “They can go to Hammonasset (State Park) and just ride together.”
When COVID-19 quarantines and social distancing went into effect, Egan said, he decided to stop volunteering at the YMCA to put more effort into restorations.
“I gave 525 bikes away in 2020 alone,” he said. “I’ve done 200 bikes this year, but I’ve kind of scaled back quite a bit because of my diagnosis.”
The diagnosis
Egan said he was training for a multi-state bike trip in May when he began to notice he was struggling to exercise at the level he was previously logging. The trip, he said, led to more of the same.
“I could only ride about 10 miles an hour,” he said. “When I was bike commuting, I used to go 15.”
When he returned from the trip, he tried to jog on a treadmill and quickly found himself gasping for air. He found that whenever his heart rate went up to a certain level, he got winded.
After a visit to the doctor and some blood work, Egan said his doctor called and said he needed to go to the emergency room for at least a night. After getting transferred to Smilow, he was diagnosed with blood cancer.
“Myelodysplastic syndrome — it’s similar to leukemia,” he said. “A lot of people think it leads to leukemia.”
Egan started chemotherapy in June, and is now finishing up his third round. He is also getting blood transfusions.
Egan said he thinks donating blood is crucially important. To that end, First Church in Clinton is having a blood drive in his name Sept. 11. “That’s a way you can give back to your community, because you never know” if the situation will happen to someone else, he said.
Egan said things are going well now, and he is holding his own.
Preparing for ride day
So far, Egan said, the team has 16 members and has raised approximately $16,000. He and his wife also have individual pages for fundraising, which have already netted more than $7,500 combined.
Egan said the main event is set to be virtual, but he and his team are planning on meeting at Ethel Peters Recreation Complex that day to do the ride together. “We’re going to have our own set of five-, 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-mile loops,” he said.
Egan does not know if he’ll do 40 miles, so he will have to assess what he can do.
Throughout his journey, Egan said he has been inspired by community support. People who he has giving bikes to over the years are coming “out of the woodwork” and donating, he said.
One of Egan’s favorite movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“I feel like George Bailey at the end of the movie. People are just coming and donating to the ride. The outpouring is amazing. It’s been emotionally overwhelming for me at times.”