The Story Behind The Sticker

 

Cycling to me is more than a hobby, it’s my lifestyle. I live to endure and enjoy through the good and the bad of the sport. For me cycling also makes my life so much happier. It helps prove to myself that I can achieve great things, and has introduced me to some of the best people on this planet. The comradery of our sport is awesome, from your weekend warrior to you everyday racer. We all can share our improvements together and encourage one another. It seems every race I go to I meet someone new. From all these people a cycling family is formed consisting of teammates, friends, and their families.  This cycling family is always there for you. 

 

My cycling family helped me through the biggest loss of my life, which was just this last fall in november of 2016.  My wife and I were 24 weeks into an our 2nd pregnancy when we received some life changing news. We walked in for a normal checkup, and a few hours later ended up at UC Davis going through multiple tests. Later that week we found out our baby suffered from Renal Agenesis and the effects of Potters Syndrome.  After a lot of tests, the doctors came to us with the worst news we could have received, which was we were never going to be able to bring this baby home and there could be complications that would not allow us to have another child. For the next few days, as we got ready to deliver the baby early, I stopped riding.  Through it all our cycling family reached out to us, and encouraged us through this horrible life change. 

The Sticker : Photo by Alex Chiu

Through all this my wife continued to support me and pushed me to keep riding. She, my family, and my friends helped me stay on track for the upcoming season. This is when cycling really changed from a hobby to lifestyle for me. This event emphasized how important life is and how precious every day is. Losing my daughter was the hardest thing I have been though, but it also changed who I am for the better. It helped me appreciate every ride and every ride partner I get to enjoy the outdoors with. It also gave me a reality check of what other people have experienced and gone through. Witnessing everything my wife went through showed me that no pain is too much to push through on the bike. It really changed my outlook on life and training.  It has helped me push no matter what the situation. 

No matter the pain I face I know others have Conquered greater : Photo by Magnus Gille

 

What was amazing were the people who reached out to us and went out of their way to comfort us. It showed me that the friends we make in this sport are like a big family. Cycling gave me a place to go and release my anger and stress from this situation.  It gave me something to keep my life focused and moving forward through this loss. Before all this I had no idea what it was like to lose a baby to a terminal health issue, and my heart reaches out to every mother and father that has had to experience something similar or worse. 

For me and my wife we felt that it was very important to talk about our loss as we found so many families have experienced similar losses.  It’s like a hidden scar that no one talks about or recognizes. To us it’s important to never forget this experience.  You might notice that I sport a certain sticker on my bikes and on my helmets. It is a sticker of a baby Phoenix that represents our little baby girl, Phoenix Marie Bauer. It is there to remind myself, and others that like her, we may rise-up and overcome any obstacle or hardship we may endure. Hopefully that way the next young family that is faced with a similar situation can use our experience to help them continue to move forward in life. 

 

I am so thankful to have found this sport of cycling, and the so many great people that make this sport so fun! I have had a lot of fellow riders and racers ask me about my sticker and most feel bad for bringing it up.  But, I always tell them that’s the reason I wear it.  It is there to bring awareness to similar moms and dads out there, and to remember my little angle. My wife is an amazing person, and she never gives up at what she wants.  I am happy to announce that now, a year later, we are expecting our third child this winter. We have already made it through the checkups that exposed the problems with our last pregnancy and are looking forward to a future with this sweet addition to our family.  I can not thank my team Williams Cycling & teammates enough for all the support through this last season 

Happy pedaling! Timmy Bauer 

Our first announcement picture of baby #3 July of 2017 

This post is dedicated to my wife and our daughter in heaven Phoenix Marie Bauer 11/15/16