Dear DIRT community:
I wanted to express my deep appreciation for the DIRT community’s assistance with my nerve graft surgery bill. In a lapse of judgment, I had a chainsaw accident that affected my dominant hand. I am a math and sciences teacher at a high school for at-risk youth and struggled to pay the half down required for this surgery.
My wife and I have lived in the foothills of N. Colorado for 22 years. My wife is a chainsaw artist, but covid decimated her small business, and it has not yet recovered. We have three boys, my oldest, Jordan, made the dean’s list in his first year at the School of Mines. Calvin will be a high school senior in the IB program this coming year and is interested in computer science. Landan will start 9th grade and is a master thespian and chef.
Raising a family 45 minutes from town allowed us to perhaps shield our boys from external influences in their earlier years. They spent their time outside playing in the creek, throwing rocks, shooting arrows and .22s, camping and cutting and hauling wood.
Life tends to throw out curveballs. In 2005, my hearing-impaired wife stepped on a rattlesnake in our front yard and had a helicopter ride to the hospital, where she spent two nights in ICU and eight more days when her platelet count went to zero.
Starting in 2009-2012, we experienced three major wildfires, and many neighbors lost their homes. We helped neighbors with cleanup, meals, and rebuilding. A severe storm flooded our house in 2013, and it took me three years to rebuild it with neighbors and community help. The boys learned demo and carpentry skills at relatively young ages.
Then came COVID and the most significant fire, Cameron Peak, in 2020. It spared our house by about 600 feet, but the front yard flooded last July again. Are we stubborn? Perhaps, but my point is that community is vital because it creates bonds, strength, and resilience among people.
I started cycling in 2018, my cousin told me about zwift, and I bought a fluid two trainer off craigslist, some sensors from wahoo, and was virtually riding on zpower. I soon discovered that my data was likely no good and found a used set of wheels with a PowerTap G3.
I did a real-life crit at CSU and lost the peloton on the very last lap. I learned that I am more of a time trialist than a sprinter. I wore a groove through the metal cylinder on my fluid two, and my wife let me buy a Kickr v5. I like coming home from work and hopping on the trainer with minimal preparation.
I joined the DIRT community in November 2021, riding the WTRL Thursday TTTs, and season 2 of ZRL. I had no idea how extensive the DIRT community was until I joined on discord.
I have made many friends and would like to promote the DIRTDadFund for other members who need some help when life throws you a curveball.
Sincerely,
Kirk Hawks
To learn more about the great work we are able to do thanks to to the generosity of the DIRT family check out the DIRT Dad Fund page of The ZOM. For great DIRT Dad Fund merchandise and to make a donation follow this link.
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
