Colby Pearce turned to bicycling for survival, not success.
He received his first bike at age 8 to pedal away from the death of his mother and his first racing model five years later when his dad suddenly died. For most of his childhood, he relied on a bike to flee from his world -- or, sometimes, to lash out at it.
Colorado native Colby Pearce, 32, will represent U.S. in track cycling at Athens Games. As a child, his bike "was the only reliable thing I had."
(Casey Gibson -- Usa Cycling)
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| _____ Countdown to Athens _____
• The Olympics are less than a week away and organizers are pulling the pieces together for the Aug. 13 opening.
_____ From The Post _____
• Dana Vollmer will be one of those tales of courage that come up during the Olympics.
• Michael Wilbon: In Athens, the new can't hold a torch to the ancient.
• Lauryn Williams is far more interested in chasing goals she can see rather than those she can imagine.
• Notebook: Jerome Young reportedly tested positive for the banned drug EPO at a meet last month.
_____ Live Online _____
• Tony Azevedo, the top scorer on the U.S. Men's Water Polo team, took questions July 28.
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• Photos: Swimming trials.
• Photos: Track and field trials.
_____ Swimming's Wonder Boy _____
• Phelps's main training partners and buddies reflect on blown chances. (July 27)
• Coach Bob Bowman has been the guiding force for Phelps. (July 4)
• Gallery: Coach shows the way to Athens.
• Numerous endorsements already have made Phelps a millionaire. (June 1)
• Gallery: The road to the Games are paved with gold.
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• Gallery: Phelps making a splash.
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"Basically, it was the only reliable thing I had," said Pearce, 32, from Boulder, Colo. "And I don't know what I would have done without it."
That his bike will take him all the way to the 2004 Olympics in Athens is little more than a happy coincidence. Sure, he'll compete in the points race, a part of the track cycling competition. But so what? He's used his bike for so many more important things before.
He escaped with the bike.
At 13, Pearce came home from school and learned his dad had died of heart failure. When relatives told Pearce what had happened he said, "Oh, okay," and went into the kitchen for a snack. Tragedy seemed familiar, since his mom had died of Hodgkin's disease five years earlier.
This time, he picked up the phone and called his best friend, Joel Harris, who was vacationing in Arizona.
"My dad died today," Pearce said. "So I don't really know where I'm going to live or anything like that."
His stepmother, Linda Flack, took him in, but Pearce lived mostly on his bike. He would ride his beginner racing bike to school and back, trying to get lost on the way so he could steal more time alone.
"It was like cheap therapy," Pearce said. "Those were the best times, just me and my bike for hours and hours. That's when I thought about the hardships, I guess, when I tried to figure things out. That's how I got away."
He rebelled with the bike.
When Flack made him angry, he'd come home from school and take his bike apart on the living room floor. Oil dripped on the off-white carpet. Dirt smudged against the couch. Even when Flack threatened to take away his bike, he continued the trick. It was his favorite slap back at a cruel world.
People worried about him then, so defiant and angry that he respected no one. His grades slid. He ditched school. He drank too much beer at parties.
"He was dangerously close of going the total wrong direction in his life," Harris said. "I mean, he got to the edge of the cliff and almost fell off."
