For Yes We Can Cycling, the finish line in Steamboat Springs marked more than the end of a grueling ride. On June 28, 22 riders tackled the 108-mile SBT GRVL course, climbing more than 8,000 feet, much of it across gravel in punishing heat. Their bigger achievement came off the bike: raising more than $690,000 this year and pushing the organization’s total beyond $3.1 million since 2021.
Founder Brad Serot never imagined the effort would grow this large. Yes We Can began with six friends during a difficult chapter for his family, inspired by his daughter Ava and their experience navigating cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
“Ava is the reason Yes We Can exists,” Serot says. “Having a child with disabilities changes your perspective on what matters and also opens your eyes to the challenges so many families face every day.”
Funds support the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley and the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, helping provide therapy, adaptive equipment, education, research and family support.
The miles themselves are intentionally difficult. Serot says that makes the finish especially meaningful. Riders arrive exhausted and dirty, then see teammates and families waiting and remember why they signed up.
That sense of community extends close to home. Velosmith Bicycling Studio in Wilmette helped the team prepare for Steamboat, while North Shore and Chicago-area riders, donors, sponsors and volunteers have helped expand the mission far beyond cycling.
For Serot, that collective effort feels particularly meaningful during a season centered on gratitude.
“I started this because of Ava, but thousands of people have helped turn it into something much bigger than our family,” he says. “Yes We Can belongs to all of them now.”
And its name carries the lesson Ava taught her family: disability does not define what someone can accomplish.
To learn more or support Yes We Can Cycling, visit YesWeCanCycling.org.