Traces of his work are still embedded across the Columbia River Gorge. Forged in fire, they now glisten in the sun at private homes and popular haunts around Hood River, Oregon and White Salmon, Washington. A circular medallion that adorns the oven at Solstice Wood Fire Pizza. A footrail at Double Mountain Brewery. The door handle at Feast Market and Delicatessen, formerly Everybody’s Brewing. A chandelier made of mica and steel. Numerous...

I was raised on the sound of spinning tires and the smell of evergreen. From a very young age, I learned that coming home covered in mud was the sign of a good day, that a few bumps and bruises are just “adventure marks,” and, sometimes, you fall seven times but get up eight. While mountain biking makes up some of my earliest memories, it wasn’t until years later that I fully experienced what this sport could bring me.

Seven years...