RIDING FOR OVARIAN CANCER:: Mark Shafer Mt. Biking Oregon Timber Trail (OTT) for ovarian cancer awareness

Mark Shafer’s next mountain bike ride is in the name of ovarian cancer awareness.

The retired Merrill Lynch financial advisor of 31 years, who has already hiked over 90 percent of the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail, is ready for the 670-mile Oregon Timber Trail, online at oregontimbertrail.org, that winds north from Oregon’s state line with California near Lakeview up through Central OR. to the Columbia River Gorge at Hood River.

Shafer, a 63-year-old Klamath Falls native, retired in January 2016 with plans to travel before his wife, Kelly, born and raised in Southwest Portland, received an ovarian cancer diagnosis four months later. They canceled their trips to Europe and Yosemite, and Mark was thankful that he suddenly had the time to serve as fulltime caregiver.

 

“Sometimes we choose the paths we take in life, like riding the Oregon Timber Trail,” Mark said. “Sometimes life makes a choice for you like it did for Kelly. If just a few people find my adventure interesting and take a minute to better understand the symptoms of ovarian cancer, then someone in their circle of friends might avoid a late-stage diagnosis of ovarian cancer.”

Mark’s OTT journey, will benefit the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Oregon & Southwest Washington (OCAOSW), online at ovariancancerosw.org, that helped to save Kelly and that she now volunteers for as a mentor and speaker to students in the medical professions thru the Survivors Teaching Students program.

“I was super depressed and my husband did not know what to do,” Kelly said. “He was the best caretaker on the face of the earth, but he didn’t know, really, what I was going through. Mentoring other women with ovarian cancer makes me feel good, because you can have all the support in the world – friends, family – and everyone doesn’t know quite what to say. I think it’s so valuable to have someone on the other end of the phone or across the table at coffee who knows what you’ve been through … My dad was a doctor who’s passed away now, so it’s really neat for me to be up there sharing my story knowing that he’d probably be really proud of me as well.”

“I’m thrilled he has chosen to include an organization that helped me through some of my darkest times, the OCAOSW,” Kelly said. “Their mentorship program and now the Survivors Teaching Students program have been lifesavers for me during and after treatment. Their focus on education about ovarian cancer among medical professionals and the public will help to get more early diagnoses, which is the key to survival.”

Mark will begin the OTT in the Fremont Tier and chase the Willamette, Deschutes and Hood tiers.

“Kelly will drop me off at Cave Lake in California where I will start riding on the Fremont National Recreation Trail in August,” Mark said. “Then, about every 3-4 days, she will meet me where the Oregon Timber Trail crosses various Forest Service roads and other locations like Chemult, Lava Lake and Detroit in Oregon to bring me supplies.”

 

Mark is a graduate of Klamath Union H.S. Class of 1977 and ran prep cross country and track while he played trumpet in the marching and jazz bands, and his father, Lee, was Shasta Way Christian Church’s pastor for 33 years.

Shafer grew up with summertime bike rides around Klamath Lake and to Medford.  He and Kelly hike, mountain bike, snowboard, stand-up paddleboard and cross country ski around Oregon.  They enjoy photography all over the world and spending time with their grandkids.

 

Shafer graduated in business finance from the University of Oregon in 1980 and got into banking at what was then First National Bank in Klamath Falls.

 

Mark and Kelly split their time between Portland and Bend in the Broken Top community.

 

Pine Mountain Sports, online at www.pinemountainsports.com , was where Mark bought his Santa Cruz Tallboy full suspension bike that he will be riding on the Oregon Timber Trail.  “Pine Mountain Sports is a great shop that really cares about the local community. I have scheduled a tune up during my ride in August at their shop.” Mark said.

“I plan to take a day off about halfway through the ride and stay in Bend for a night before continuing the ride that finishes in Hood River,” Mark said. “My ride will be shorter due to about three known wildfire closures shutting down sections of the trail in the last three to four years. I may have to reroute myself if new fires start this summer, but I carry a device called Somewear, online at https://somewearlabs.com/,  that connects my phone to satellites so that I have the ability to send and receive text messages as I ride in some very remote areas.”

“When I was undergoing my treatment for my Stage 3c ovarian cancer, I had lots of support from family and friends, and the biggest support came from Mark,” Kelly said. “He was there on the sleepless nights, next to me for the hospital stays, and at every doctor’s appointment. He cleaned up my messes, listened to my complaints and didn’t ask for anything from anyone. He was my voice when I was too tired to text or didn’t want to see anyone. He was my strength on those many days when I just couldn’t muster the energy to get through another day.”

Mark Shafer can be reached at 503-475-3594. Shafer05@gmail.com @teal-on-2wheels