In case you missed it in Saturday’s Intelligencer Journal, there was a feature article on bike-racer-turned-homeless-addict-turned-bike-racer-again Chad Gerlach. He was in town for Saturday’s Race Avenue Criterium and using the Lancaster race as a warm up to Sunday’s Philadelphia International championship race.
At the criterium Saturday, Gerlach, of the Amore Vita Professional Cycling Team, was narrowly edged out of the win of the pro/1/2/3 race by Joey Rosskopf, of Decatur, Ga., riding for the Jittery Joe’s Under-25 Presented by Kudzu.com. On Sunday in Philadelphia, Gerlach finished 86th, 9:35 back from the winner.
The article is here:
In 2002, Chad Gerlach abandoned cycling.
Caught up in a life of crack cocaine and alcohol abuse, Gerlach, a former professional cyclist who used to race against Lance Armstrong, became homeless in his native Sacramento, Calif.
For five years, a disheveled Gerlach, who was once a rising star, seemingly destined for greatness in his sport, was reduced to panhandling for money and drugs.
But now he’s back on his bike, his pedals spinning a story of hope and inspiration.
“It seems a world away to be on the streets,” said Gerlach. “My life completely turned around. It’s a humbling experience.”
Gerlach, who is in Lancaster today competing in the Race Avenue Criterium, is now a member of the Italian squad Amore e Vita. The team name means “love and life,” things for which Gerlach has newfound gratitude after nine months of sobriety.
“Once you lose something and get it back, you can appreciate what you had so much more,” said Gerlach, 35. “I found that not only did I want to race again, I wanted to do well again. Win races, or at least attempt to.”
Gerlach got back into cycling eight months ago and was approached by his friend Roberto Gaggioli, the director of Amore e Vita. The team has a history of giving riders a second chance.
“The last couple of years, they’ve tried to help guys who have addiction problems,” Gerlach said.
However, the gesture doesn’t always work out as intended.
A recovering addict who was signed to the team last year, Valentino Fois, relapsed and died of a drug overdose.
“Obviously you never want to forget you are an addict,” Gerlach said.
Gerlach’s cycling career started at age 15, when his father encouraged him to take up the sport after he served time in a juvenile detention facility for arson charges.
Gerlach quickly became a standout cyclist, winning races and joining the U.S. Postal Service squad in 1996. Lance Armstrong joined the team in 1998 and won his first Tour de France with it in 1999.
However, Gerlach was often called uncoachable, and he sometimes had conflicts with other riders, both teammates and competitors, including Armstrong. Gerlach did not return to the U.S. Postal Service team after 1996.
“That was like 18 years ago,” said Gerlach of his problems with Armstrong in the early 1990s. “We don’t see him here in the U.S. much anymore, but if I saw him, we would get along fine.”
Gerlach was on several other professional teams before quitting racing and falling deep and hard into addiction in 2002.
“When I was younger, in California, we all used to smoke marijuana. That’s the outdoor lifestyle for a lot of young people,” Gerlach said. “I used to smoke, even when I was racing. I always drank. Of course it’s fun for a while.”
His drinking and drug use continued, and Gerlach found himself homeless. He was stabbed twice while living on the streets. Eventually, a friend contacted the television show “Intervention” on A&E, hoping to get him into rehabilitation.
“I thought they were doing a documentary on professionals who were now homeless and addicted to drugs,” Gerlach said.
He said once he realized he was on the show, “I thought about it, and decided I wanted to change my life.”
Gerlach, who will become a father in three months, is proud that his story is an inspiration to others, and is hoping to write a book about his life.
The Race Avenue Criterium course is adjacent to Buchanan Park, and uses portions of Race Avenue, Buchanan Avenue, State Street and West New Street. The course will be closed to vehicular traffic from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
There are races for all ages beginning at 10 a.m., with more than 300 racers expected. Heats start and end on Race Avenue by the park.
Gerlach’s race, which consists of 40 laps around the 0.7-mile course, is expected to begin about 3:15 p.m.
On Sunday, Gerlach plans to participate in the TD Bank International Cycling Championships, a 156-mile race in Philadelphia.
