The Dave Alden Story:
There are two major forces that have shaped my life. One is my love for cycling and the other is my relationship with one special girl. In fact, nearly every important decision I have made for the past 25 years has been affected, one way or another, by these two factors--one brought me around the country, and one brought me back home.

I still remember the day that I saw some new kids in my West Peabody neighborhood doing bike tricks. One of those kids, Mike Lawless is still one of my best friends, but back in 1980, he couldn't have any idea of the impact that he and his tricks would have on me.

I started hanging out with these kids and we were taking wheelies and other tricks to new levels. At the same time, all over the country, the new fad of "freestyle biking" was gaining popularity. Professional riders were soon established, because of their exceptional skills and balance, and teams of pro riders traveled the country doing performances and competitions.

As an awestruck 13-year old, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

My mother, who has always been supportive, bought me a new freestyle bike for Christmas in 1982. I practiced all winter in my garage and couldn't wait for the snow to melt in the spring.

I met other riders and eventually formed my own amateur team, NorthShore Freestyle Team. We did occasional shows for bike shops, fairs, parades, bicycle road races and we opened up for pro teams when they were in the area to perform.

Over the next few years, our team did more and more shows across New England. I had assumed the role of team manger and promoter, and did the best job I could while in school and working a part time job. However, I always thought that if I put more of an effort into my riding, that someday I'd be able to ride full-time as a professional.

In 1989, when I was two years into college, the opportunity arose for me to ride in the daily parade at Walt Disney World. Since my mother wanted us to move to Florida anyway, I didn't even think twice. I auditioned in September, and we moved in October.

I was led to believe that this Disney job was going to be everything had I been dreaming of. It wasn't. Much to my surprise, and chagrin, I learned that I was supposed to work as a "character" for the majority of the day, and ride for 20 minutes in the parade only. I left Disney and got a regular job waiting tables while I continued to get adjusted to my new home.

Eventually I found more riders, started another amateur team and started to book shows. The new team, Maximum Performance Trick Team, performed at more bike shops, fairs, festivals and parades all across Florida. Things were going so well that one of my former New England teammates, David Tufts, decided to move to Orlando to be a part of my new team.

I should also mention that I got into mountain biking, so much so that I began publishing a small regional magazine, crank a.t.b., dedicated to local places to ride, races and riders. I had no writing or publishing experience, but why should that stop me?

Anyway, it was sometime in 1993 when I got a call from pro rider, Dennis Langlais, the manager of Perfection On Wheels, a prominent Californian team with an excellent national reputation. Dennis wanted to know if I wanted to merge our teams together and provide seamless show coverage coast to coast.

I had to say "no."

Why would I turn down something that I had dreamed of attaining for so long? Did I mention that while I was still riding and doing shows locally that I had also gotten a full time job at a graphics company and gotten married?

Fortunately for everyone involved, my marriage only lasted three years, and after an amiable divorce (she got everything) I called Dennis to see if it was too late to work together.

It wasn't too late, and by April 1, 1995, David Tufts and I left our jobs, put all of our possessions in storage and hit the road with our bikes, a sound system and a full schedule of shows covering the eastern half of the United States.

Perfection On Wheels specializes in bicycle safety and anti-drug shows for schools and other educational purposes. Five days a week Dave and I performed in front of captivated audiences of kids who just wanted to see bike tricks, but also got hit with positive messages. It was an opportunity to make a living while doing something that I loved and promoting something that I believed in.

For more than a year, Dave and I traveled from state to state, show to show, living the life of professional stunt cyclists. It was great, but after awhile the full time travel got to me. In 1996, after doing some performances for Olympic celebrations in Atlanta, I moved to San Diego to take a position as national team manager for Perfection On Wheels, while Dave continued to tour in the east, using different riders as needed.

San Diego was simply awesome. I was living in beautiful beachside community, La Jolla, and it was my bike that brought me there. The problem was that I was still traveling extensively and I'd only get to see my beautiful beachside community for a day or two between tours that lasted weeks or months.

I still loved riding but other interests were developing and I couldn't put any effort into them because of all of my traveling. It was also difficult to maintain relationships, friendship or otherwise, when I was always on the road.

Finally, in fall of 1997, two of my other main interests took me in a new direction (writing and mountain biking) and I accepted a position as associate editor for Mountain Biking magazine. Crank a.t.b had paid off for me. I had to move to the Los Angeles area, but I figured that I'd give it a shot.

My year at Mountain Biking magazine can best be summed up by saying it was a great job at a horrible company. I was still getting paid to ride a bike, and then I'd write about my experiences. The travel was moderate, with some trips to cover races and whatnot, and I even took part in a press trip to Europe. I loved it, but the poor management, and financial instability of the company was too much to bear.

With all of the contacts that I had amassed in the bike industry over the years, it wasn't too hard to find another job. This time I got to use some marketing skills that I had developed as I took a job as events and marketing manager for the cycling accessory company, Trico Sports. And since I wasn't working full time for a magazine, I started to seek out freelance work.

Trico Sports was a good company. I did, however, find myself on the road once again. To bring our products to the riders, I set up expo booths at races and events from California to New York. The travel was a bit of burden but I was able to use the time to visit friends in other parts of the country, so I tried to look at it as a paid vacation. It was while I was visiting with one of these friends that the next major life change started.

Let's go back in time for a bit…

When I was in college, on my first day in fact, I met a girl. Jean St. Pierre was smart, funny and beautiful. We had almost identical schedules during the first semester and we became good friends. For the two years that I was at Salem State, our schedules frequently coincided and we spent a lot more time together. We were just friends, but we were still very close.

When I moved to Florida, Jean and I still communicated pretty regularly, mostly letters but with the occasional phone call. The letters were great because the envelope was used as medium for art, be it drawings or collages, and there were usually funny things stuck inside the envelope as well, anything from hundreds of tiny plastic ants to airplane vomit bags. It showed creativity and a bit of wackiness.

After reading one of Jean's letters, I clearly remember telling Dave Tufts, while we were outside my house in Florida, that if anything happened to my marriage, Jean was THE woman for me. I got divorced in 1994 and the courtship was on.

Looking back, I feel bad for some of my friends. Anyone who was stuck on the road with me was subjected to long speeches with the single leitmotif that Jean is the "one."

In any event, for six years we talked to each other, mailed to each other and otherwise kept in touch. We even took several trips together, from California's Death Valley to New York's Adirondak mountains, as we share a common passion for outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, backpacking and cycling.

We were always just friends and that was fine because I believe that life is all about timing, and the timing wasn't right, yet. There were other relationships along the way, but I always knew that Jean was the one.

Eventually, and much to the relief of all of my friends, Jean shared my point of view. She could only resist my charms for so long (6 years…), and we became an "item." But one of us had to make a choice. I lived in Los Angeles, and she lived in Salem. Who would move? She had just bought a house, she had a secure job and she had friends and family nearby. I had a tiny one-bedroom apartment, an okay job and not much else in LA (don't believe what you see on TV about Los Angeles. It is a nasty, dirty, crowded, polluted place to live). My family was on the east coast too, so...

I hired a mover, quit my job, and flew back to Massachusetts, ten years to the day from when I had first moved away.

My life with Jean is everything that I could have hoped for. We have a house, two dogs, but most importantly, we have fun.

Since moving back to Massachusetts, I've been working on my freelance writing, and I started doing more stunt riding again. Jean and I took vacations to the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Everglades National Park in Florida and the Great Smoky Mountain National Forest in North Carolina. That was travel for fun, but for the first few months of 2000 I did shows for Perfection On Wheels again, from Maine to Virginia, and all the way out to Pittsburgh. In July I found myself on another national tour for one of the country's top stunt teams, Team GT.

Then one day I was in a hotel in Montana and I had to ask myself why I was doing this again. Why am I on the road, living out of bags and hotels, when the life that I want is waiting for me at home?

On that note, I returned from that trip and decided, again, that I needed to stop the shows and the traveling and focus on new goals.

Now, I'm re-enrolled in college, to finally finish my degree and I've switched majors from graphic design to journalism. I'm working as a writer in Tufts Health Plan's external communications department. I'm working on our house and making it the home Jean and I want. I'm focusing more on mountain biking and road riding, in addition to broadening my athletic pursuits to include trail running, kayaking and cross country skiing, all sports the Jean participates in too.

But most importantly, Jean and I are planning our future and setting goals that we will accomplish together.

Cycling has taken me all over the country, to other parts of the world even, but Jean St. Pierre brought me back to Massachusetts, back home.

ADDENDUM:
Finished my degree in journalism from Salem State College, then immediately enrolled in a master's degree program at the University of New England for its physician assistant program. I've been a PA for a few years now, working in emergency medicine and internal medicine. I love it. Of course, I still love Jean and we ride as often as we can; road or off-road, from Germany to Utah... yep, the years have gone by, but my life is still all about Jean and bikes. I wouldn't have it any other way.