Surprise ride: Valley boy’s dream becomes a reality

WASILLA — Austin Ervin was grinning ear to ear as he rode off with his mother, Tina, and Michael Lindbeck on his flame kissed motorcycle Saturday.

The trio circled the Denali Harley Davidson parking lot and roared down Hyer Road for Austin’s surprise ride, one his dreams.

“That’s what I like about motorcyclers, they’re always willing to help out” Andy Romano said.

Austin, 10, nearly died on March 22, 2013, after a Ford Taurus lost control and collided with a Toyota Prius and family friends. Austin sustained an atlanto-occipital dislocation, or “internal decapitation,” a rare injury where the skull and spine separate.

“Such as what happens to hanging victims,” Tina said. “Surviving such an injury is so rare that a Wikipedia page about the injury includes a list of notable known survivors.”

Austin survived the crash and emergency surgery that followed. After months of rehabilitation and numerous surgeries, he was stabilized. To this day, he is still unable to move his arms or legs and he cannot breathe without a ventilator. He still smiles, especially when he’s going fast.

“He wanted to go faster!” Tina said.

Austin is notorious for pushing his wheelchair’s speedometer. Fred Beck, Denali Harley Davidson manager said that Austin’s chair gets around 10 mph.

“I’ve seen him rev that thing up,” Beck laughed.

Denali Harley Davidson Sales Representative, Greg Papineau stopped mid-conversation and said to his friends, “Hey! You see that? Smiles already! That’s what it’s all about right?”

“Bikers may have a tough reputation, but they all have big hearts- always making a difference and helping out in our communities,” Tina said.

The Midnight Son Riders is a local chapter under the Christian Motorcycle Association. Michael “Santa” Lake brought up the idea for the surprise ride at a Midnight Sun Riders meeting. Lake, Romano, Lindbeck and the other MSR riders coordinated the surprise ride with Alaska Harley Davidson owner, Dia Matteson and Denali Harley Davidson store manager, Fred Beck.

They coordinated the ride with the store’s annual group ride from Anchorage, to Willow and back. There was live music and free food, all to raise funds for the Downtown Soup Kitchen Hope Center, an organization that offers not only meals, shelter, laundry services, but also vocational training to homeless and low-income individuals in Anchorage.

“We give hand ups, not handouts,” Sarah Coe, Marketing Director for Alaska Harley Davidson.

Each year, Alaska Harley Davidson selects a nonprofit for the annual ride and subsequent barbeque/banquet. Hope was this year’s choice and received over $23,000 in donations. Coe insures that each year, Alaska Harley Davidson has a primo bike for the raffle. This year’s bike was valued over $12,000.

“I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without Hope Center,” one of the first graduates, Daja Scroggs said.

Austin zipped around the big, open parking lot. He slowed to a mozy as he looked at the mortorycles glistening in the bright sunny sky. He said that he wanted to see all of them before he left. Once everyone was ready, Austin boarded his custom made, black and red “Spidey Bus” decked out with images of the friendly neighborhood web slinger. Tina said that’s what inspired their organization’s motto, “webbing out communities together.”

“We made it through everything. It’s a blessing,” Tina said.

After her son’s accident, Tina founded Austin’s Compassion Exchange, non-profit organization that provides medical supplies and countless verities of other supplies free of charge. Tina took Lake to her storage lot off Hyer Road. There were several conex filled to the brim with wheelchairs, crutches and other medical supplies. She showed Lake her massive shed filled with medical supplies, walkers, boots, rows of boxed and mounds of bags. ACE holds annual yard sales to raise funds.

“We have everything,” Tins said. “We help a lot of people.”

That fateful car crash changed everything. Tina has tried to make Austin’s life as fulfilling as possible She said that “He’s been through a lot.”

“You both have,” Lake said.

ACE accepts: new and used equipment in good, working condition and a variety of medical supplies and other assorted dry goods. For more information or to volunteer, call Tina at 907-232-4848 or email her at tina@acelendingcloset.org. They also have a website: www.acelendingcloset.com