The expression "You can't keep a good man down" has never been more appropriate than as applied to Mike Simonson. In 1998, then a 26-year-old Mike was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Mike's situation soon turned critical, but a miracle drug came on the scene and saved his life. Three years later he was cancer free. Usually, surviving cancer would be the happy ending to the story. But unfortunately, because of the steroids used during chemotherapy, Mike needed a double hip replacement. And that wasn't the worst of it: Two years after beating the cancer Mike developed radiation myelitis, a side effect from his treatments that caused incomplete lower-body paralysis. While Mike has a minor amount of sensation and muscle movement in his legs, he needs a wheelchair to get around.
Mike never threw in the towel, though-he simply ploughed ahead. With a career as a real estate development project manager and a happy marriage, he still holds out hope for a treatment that'll allow him to walk again. So why is all this in Cruiser? First, Mike is a lifelong rider, starting on mini bikes around age four. Second, Mike's father, Jim, built him the immaculate motorcycle and side-car pictured so Mike could continue riding and-to excuse the clinch enjoy the freedom of the open road.
Ordinarily we wouldn't cover a side-car rig, but there's nothing ordinary about this one. The motorcycle is a '72 Harley Davidson Electra Glide. The side-car is truly a rarity, made of fibreglass in 1969 by H-D for the Toronto, Canada, police department. Can you get something like this rig at any dealership? Not a chance.
The moral of the story? Mike wants everyone to know and understand that no matter how bleak things seem at the time, one has to continue moving forward. Moreover, if you put your mind to it, whatever the circumstances, you can achieve your goals. Don't mistake that for some trite little feel-good greeting card saying. Mike Simonson is living proof that everything is possible.
