He hasn’t been able to play basketball for 28 years because of 37 orthopedic surgeries on his ankles, knees and spine, but Bill Walton still has one way to stay healthy.
Walton loves his bicycle.
“My bike is the most important thing that I have in my life,” Walton said. “My bike is everything I believe in. My bike is my gym, my wheelchair and my church, all in one.”
Listed at 6-11 for his playing career, though his actual height may be closer to 7-2, Walton can’t just stroll into a store and buy any old bike. He has them custom-made by Bill Holland of Holland Cycles in San Diego.
“He’s been building my bikes for decades,” Walton said.
Walton primarily rides road bikes, not mountain bikes, and tries to ride every day when he’s not traveling for business.
“I like smooth roads, and I don’t like to crash,” he said.
That comes from experience, however, as Walton has two nicknames in the cycling community, “Always Lost” and “Crash.”
He hopes to complete the Tour of California at some point.
Every year, he does a big ride from San Francisco to San Diego to raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which buys prosthetics and wheelchairs for athletes and helps them participate in sports.
Walton enjoys riding in Colorado, Death Valley, California, and Utah.
He has a 10-day, 1,000-mile trip planned – but not scheduled, he said – that will begin in Grand Junction and travel south through the San Juan Mountains, hitting Telluride, eventually pass through Durango, before heading to Santa Fe then ending up in Albuquerque.
“One of the many things I love about Colorado is the cycling culture. It’s the closest thing that we have to what they have in Europe in terms of the culture, in terms of how many people ride, the respect that the people have for their bike riders, safety concerns, the variety and quality of the pavement, the commitment of the community to provide safe bike trails, bike paths, education about the safety and health aspects,” Walton said. “Colorado is great. When I was flying in here (Wednesday), I was wishing I had my bike.”
He rode on Chris Carmichael’s training system in the USA Pro Challenge.
“I was gonna do it again this year, and I just got too busy with business, I was too far behind,” Walton said. “I promised Chris I will be back next year, and I will be back.”
In addition to riding, Walton is involved with the cycling community.
He’ll be the keynote speaker at Interbike, the cycling industry’s largest trade show, next week in Las Vegas.
“My bike is everything that I believe in,” Walton said. “My bike represents everything that I believe in – science, technology, teamwork, discipline, repetitive motion and exercise. But what my bike really means – freedom. It allows me to get to places I can’t go by myself.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
