{"id":2447375,"date":"2019-08-09T21:04:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-10T03:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/breckenridges-nathan-de-graaf-to-race-breck-epic-in-honor-of-late-friend-eric-dube\/"},"modified":"2019-08-09T21:04:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-10T03:04:00","slug":"breckenridges-de-graaf-to-race-breck-epic-in-honor-of-late-friend-eric-dube","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/breckenridges-de-graaf-to-race-breck-epic-in-honor-of-late-friend-eric-dube\/","title":{"rendered":"Breckenridge\u2019s De Graaf to race Breck Epic in honor of late friend Eric Dube"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.6060606060606\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-311010-909\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy Nathan De Graaf | Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy Nathan De Graaf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2.jpg\" alt=\"Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy Nathan De Graaf | Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy Nathan De Graaf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy Nathan De Graaf | Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy Nathan De Graaf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-2.jpg\" alt=\"Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy Nathan De Graaf | Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy Nathan De Graaf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Breck-Epic-SDN-081019-2-3.jpg\" alt=\"Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/breckenridges-nathan-de-graaf-to-race-breck-epic-in-honor-of-late-friend-eric-dube\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/breckenridges-nathan-de-graaf-to-race-breck-epic-in-honor-of-late-friend-eric-dube\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It was two years ago when Eric Dube and Nathan De Graaf watched with interest as Breck Epic mountain bikers rode each morning past the duo\u2019s office at Howard Head Sports Medicine. At the corner of Park and Main streets in Breckenridge, the two avid mountain bikers and physical therapists pondered the possibilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019d watch these riders go by and look at each other, \u2018Do you think you can do that?\u2019 De Graaf said. \u201cOver a week of seeing these riders ride by every morning and having the same conversation every day, it became more like, \u2018What if we did it together someday? That\u2019d be really fun. Let\u2019s talk about it in five, 10 years.\u2019 That\u2019s kind of where we left it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cSomeday\u201d never came for the two good friends after Dube died in November 2017 from an undiagnosed heart condition during a weekend mountain bike trip near Moab, Utah. He was 30 years old.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Dube\u2019s sudden death was jarring for De Graaf, who regarded Dube as the brother he never had. But he had an idea to honor Dube: ride in the six-day, 220-plus-mile, 40,000-elevation gain Breck Epic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">De Graaf, 35, will ride Sunday through Friday in honor of his late friend. Through it all, he\u2019ll wear the \u201c#SendItForEric\u201d cycling jersey he and Dube\u2019s fellow friends made last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">When De Graaf takes to the first stage of the multiday event Sunday, the 36.4-mile Pennsylvania Creek, he knows the memories will come flooding back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe closer I get to Sunday, the more I realize there are some very deep emotions in there about this whole thing, and they are all kind of coming to the surface,\u201d De Graaf said. \u201cI guess it was always just hard for me to grapple with \u2018someday\u2019 wasn\u2019t going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">To Dube\u2019s community of Breckenridge friends, he was an energizing, positive influence. He was fun to chase around on group rides, De Graaf said, and you knew the ride was over when the muscular 6-foot-3, 200-pound Dube gave you a big bear hug goodbye.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">De Graaf first met Dube while working late one night at the Breckenridge Recreation Center. De Graaf picked up his head when Dube waved and said, \u201cHi, I\u2019m Eric. I\u2019m a physical therapist, too.\u201d The two soon became friends, bonding over the fact they graduated from physical therapy school the same year. Soon enough, they\u2019d work together at Howard Head and fall in love with the sport of mountain biking, taking to Breckenridge\u2019s network of trails.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With their friends, they lived for the competitive yet communal fun of racing in the Summit Mountain Challenge. Just weeks before he died, Dube won the season title in his age division at the 2017 race series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">During their friendship, De Graaf learned more about what made Eric Dube Eric Dube. That included Dube\u2019s annual party celebrating bike riding and barbecuing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHe called it his \u2018Babes, Bros, Beers and Bikes Barbecue,\u2019\u201d De Graaf said. \u201cBasically every \u2018B\u2019 word he could think of he threw it in the name and invited everybody to show up and have this awesome party.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">De Graaf and other friends of Dube honored him with a memorial \u201cB\u201d barbecue last year. Friends and family also honored Dube via a Summit Foundation fundraiser trail workday that built a bridge at McCullough Gulch in his memory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Then there was Dube\u2019s friend Greg Sagan \u2014 the Breckenridge housemate of Dube\u2019s brother, Ryan \u2014 who won his own sport division at the Summit Mountain Challenge racing in honor of Dube.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Throughout the race series, De Graaf, Sagan and several others wore the #SendItForEric jerseys, race tops that featured Dube\u2019s bike art on the front and a silhouetted picture of Dube on the back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Next week, De Graaf is especially looking forward to Thursday\u2019s fifth stage, which takes riders up and over Wheeler Pass. It was after the 2017 Breck Epic, when Dube decided one random day to ride the same route as the race\u2019s 24-mile, 5,227-elevation-gain Wheeler stage. De Graaf can still vividly remember how elated Dube was after finishing the route, thrilled by the treacherous Miner\u2019s Creek descent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">On Thursday, De Graaf will experience it for himself. When he does, he won\u2019t forget Dube\u2019s core outlook on mountain biking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe ride bikes,\u201d De Graaf said, echoing Dube, \u201cto have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:aolivero@summitdaily.com\">aolivero@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/breckenridges-nathan-de-graaf-to-race-breck-epic-in-honor-of-late-friend-eric-dube\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.Courtesy Nathan De Graaf Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend Eric Dube.Courtesy Nathan De Graaf Nathan De Graaf plans to ride the Breck Epic in honor of his late friend [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2447375","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 18:39:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447375\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}