Buckley resident Al Knopik one of two honorees for the People’s Coast Classic bike ride

Published 3:03 pm Wednesday, March 2, 2011

“This honor usually goes to someone special, someone who really does something to better the lives of others,” Buckley’s Al Knopik said of his recent selection as one of two honorees for the Arthritis Foundation’s People’s Coast Classic bike ride. “We all have an impact on each others lives, whether we admit it or not.”

“But that still doesn’t make me special,” he continued. “All I do ride a bicycle and enjoy talking. However, in a weird sort of way, I have a special opportunity. I have been given the opportunity to ride my bicycle down the Oregon coast and to talk along the way. I hope to be able to share the stories of others who suffer from effects of arthritis on a daily basis at each of the communities where we stop for the night.”

Knopik will be supporting the Arthritis Foundation by speaking along the route of the second annual People’s Coast Classic and by volunteering to help with the bicycle ride down the Oregon Coast Sept. 11-16 and at the Seattle Bike Expo Saturday and Sunday.

“We couldn’t have picked better honorees for the 2011 Amgen People’s Coast Classic,” said Tai Lee with the Arthritis Foundation-Great West Region. “Both Shelly (Spence, an eastern Oregon native) and Al are very active in taking control of their arthritis through cycling. Beyond that, they give of themselves to the cause.

“Al has seen several forms of arthritis attack his family and has done an incredible job of spreading the word about our mission while fundraising for the inaugural ride. The story of his granddaughter Brooklynn is something that no child or family should have to endure.”

Knopik’s name popped last year after participating in the inaugural People’s Coast Classic. He doesn’t remember a day where he didn’t wake up with the aches and pains of arthritis. Growing up on a farm meant slowing down was never an option. Now 59, Knopik does his 40-mile, round-trip commute three times a week, and hits the gym on the days he doesn’t ride. He finished the 150-mile Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day (RAMROD) last year. Even more impressive, Knopik recently required partial replacements of both knees.

But Knopik doesn’t support the Arthritis Foundation for himself, he’s there for his heroes – his sister, Connie, his wife Barbara, and his granddaughter Brooklynn.

Connie has lived with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis for 35 years. Knopik recalls the days before arthritis when Connie and her husband Joe would dance the night away as others watched in admiration. The couple endured weekly commutes from the Tri-Cities to Spokane for infusion treatments. Despite the inconvenience, treatment has allowed Connie and Joe to start dancing again for the first time in decades.

Barbara lives with multiple forms of arthritis, including severe osteoarthritis that has required her to wear hand and finger splints to prevent them from deforming, and also fibromyalgia, an autoimmune disease. She’s recovering from a second full joint replacement surgery of the knee, having had the other knee replaced in 2005. She also shares her husband’s dedication to self-care and her physician says she is six-weeks ahead of typical recovery.

It’s Knopik’s granddaughter that most moves him to support the cause. Symptoms of juvenile arthritis began appearing when Brooklynn was an infant, but a diagnosis didn’t come until a severe flare-up the day before turning 4 years old. That morning, Brooklynn woke up with a splitting headache. Doctors diagnosed her JA due to the inflammation it caused in her left eye, which had to be removed to prevent spreading of the condition to her other eye. Now 11-year-old, Brooklynn continues to have flare-ups and pain. There are almost 300,000 children in the United States like Brooklynn who live with JA, many of whom have systemic JA that affects other organs besides joints.

For more information, to join the ride or to support the cause, check out Knopik’s team page at http://tapcc.kintera.org/teambrooklynn or his personal page at http://tapcc.kintera.org/alknopik.