Biking isn’t just a hobby for Mr. Gatewood, it’s a seasonal adventure that peaks when the weather gets warmer, giving him the opportunity to explore new or familiar parts of the city.

“Well, biking usually starts to heat up in the spring, and then summer is when I’ll put in the most time, winter Unfortunately, with Kansas winters, I lose some of that commitment, but soon as spring and summer you go in,” Gatewood said. “I mean, the positive being a teacher is you got three months off in the summer to take these little adventures, and then every day I’ll, you know, pick kind of a different part of the city that I haven’t seen yet, and then just spend some time and spend an hour to usually 15 to 30 mile rides. Is usually the length that I go on on average.”

Gatewood’s passion for pedal goes beyond just riding; having a signature bike makes his hobby even more intriguing. His dedication to the bike has even earned him recognition from the brand.

“I have a bike called a Fuji that I’ve kind of dubbed the red Fuji,” Gatewood said. “And so a lot of times I’ll post those photos, and it caught the attention of the Fuji brand. So I’m actually a brand ambassador for Fuji bikes. And you know, just that bike has been kind of a passport to freedom and fun and experiences and escape. And so, yeah, capturing those photos from the bike, the bike itself, I’ve been riding that bike for this would be 15 years, same frame, thousands of miles traveled, and it’s my go-to.”

Without having a specific biking route, Gatewood lets his mood guide, whether he’s exploring the beauties of the city or enjoying memorable trails.

“The biking route just kind of depends on the mood,” Gatewood said. “But I like on the weekends and the mornings going down through downtown, through the crossroads, down to the city market, into the West Bottoms, trying to get a sample of all the sights and sounds of our city, but outdoors, one of my favorites is in Lee’s Summit, the Rock Island trail. It has a really cool old train tunnel that you go through. It takes you all the way down to Chiefs and Royals stadiums, and it’s an old train track, so it’s nice and smooth.”

Biking mirrors Gatewood’s journey during a school year. The same way the hobby has all kinds of twists and turns, a school year has the same with the need to keep moving forward until you reach the end.

“Well, I think, yeah, in some ways I think so, you know, I like the idea of a journey,” Gatewood said. “I think every school year is a journey. It’s going to take all kinds of twists and turns. You have a general idea of what you want to get done, but you’re going to evolve and adapt as you go. I think the same thing as with a bike, and just like on a bike, you gotta keep turning the pedals, keep the momentum at all costs, because as soon as you stop, it’s hard to get going again. And so I think with the school year, same idea is just, you gotta keep the cadence, stay steady, keep pushing the entire way and get to that, that final destination at the end, at the end of the year.”

All hobbies and adventures come with memorable experiences, and biking has certainly brought Gatewood countless memories, even some that may not be very enjoyable.

“Well, one of my least favorite memories is when I went over the handlebars and trashed my face and body and ended up in the hospital for about a week,” Gatewood said. “But you know, it hasn’t deterred me from getting back on the bike. I think, you know, each ride is unique in itself. One memorable ride I had last summer that really stood out was my bike through an area town called the quindaro Ruins, where they’re excavating old structures from the 1800s where it was a passageway along the Underground Railroad. And it was just a very powerful thing to see history, kind of like literally rising out of the ground as they were excavating these old homes and structures. And so that one was a pretty powerful one, last summer.”