Lewis Santos or Rapa Lui, as he is known by his cycling community, is a cyclist and has the experience of 35 years of fire service, 27 of which with the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting on Guam, where he is from. The island is a tiny spec of land in the middle of the Pacific. By plane, the territory is 7 hours west of Hawaii, 4 hours South of Tokyo, and 4 hours east of the Philippines.
Living on this paradisiacal island, Lewis always loved the outdoors. He was an avid windsurfer for quite a while, and when there was no wind, he would go mountain biking. For him, the thrill of the speed on the downhill is like being on a plane when windsurfing.
His cycling journey started in the early ’90s. That’s when he got his first high-end mountain bike, a Specialized Stumpjumper M2 that cost him $1500. Through cycling, he discovered a great way to enjoy a day with his friends, get away and be on the trail in the absolute silence of nature.
“A good ride is like pushing the restart button.”
Lewis likes the time away cycling gives from the stresses of life. It revives him mentally and gives him the physical challenge he needs to help maintain his fitness. But more than that, cycling is about camaraderie. For Lewis, getting together with his friends makes cycling more fun. There is an excellent community for cycling in Guam, and he is proud to be a part of the community.
His biggest motivation is to stay active and healthy. According to Lewis, cycling helps keep him from acting his age. After all, there’s nothing like going fast, hitting jumps, and making new trails no matter your age! To keep going his biggest supporters are his wife Michelle and his kids. Michelle was the person who got Lewis into cycling, and some of their first dates were on the trails!
Every year, Lewis's goal is to cycle more than he did the year before. December is a special time for him. It's when he checks his Strava to see his year in review. This month, Lewis can’t wait to see more mileage when compared to previous years!
Besides celebrating his accomplishments, Lewis always keeps in mind one of the biggest lessons he learned from cycling: “Never say I can’t. All you have to do is keep trying until you can.”
Lewis's Choices
To continue to cycle as much as he can, Lewis needs high-quality, performance-based cycling apparel. OCG will help him get kitted out, so he can achieve his goal and feel comfortable and protected throughout his journey!
