My Story

My Fitness Journey began in 2019 , at age 49 , with a mountain bike ride in Colorado! Growing up and living in Northeast Kansas, I wasn’t introduced to skiing until age 19 on a spring break trip with some friends. Instantly hooked I and my family made one , sometimes two trips a year to the Colorado front range to ski. Four or five days of skiing per year wasn’t enough so in 2016, my wife and I made the move to Durango Colorado. Our 2 Daughters and one Son-In Law soon followed.

 For the next 3 seasons , I skied weighing over 200 pounds and out of shape! I realized if I wanted to improve my skiing skills and feel better doing it , I was going to have to get into shape. This led to Mountain Biking. In July of 2019 , my daughter as my guide,I rode my very first official Mountain bike ride up Keystone Gulch road. Riding up that old forest service road at 205 pounds and out of shape was difficult! I can’t remember how many times I had to stop to catch my breath! This in turn led to riding a peloton bike a few days a week at the Gym at work.

 Fast forward to the fall of 2022 when I bought a Trek One series road bike. I rode a few times that Fall and loved it! This led me to signing up for the IronHorse Bicycle Classic In 2023. This is a race against the Durango Narrow Gauge Railroad train from Durango Co. to Silverton Co. The road race is 47miles long with around 5700 feet of elevation gain and takes you over two mountain passes that top out above 10,000 feet! Challenging to say the least. I trained religiously that spring and ended up beating the train by roughly 45 minutes! Most do not beat the Train on their first attempt , especially someone who has only road cycled for less than a year!

 After the Iron Horse, I began to look for my next challenge.Pikes Peak! I had ridden a motorcycle up that road in 2007. Now in 2023 , I would ride a bicycle! I trained very specifically for this ride putting many laps in on Coal bank pass riding in my harder gears in order to simulate the up to 18%grade on parts of this climb which ranks as the 4th hardest climb in North America! In training for this ride , I rode my very first century ride from Durango Colorado to South Fork Colorado. This ride would take me over Wolf Creek Pass , a 10 mile unrelenting climb with grades up to 7%and 8%. Great training for Pikes Peak! On a warm Friday morning six weeks away from my Pikes Peak ride , I left Durango. My youngest daughter rode with me from Durango to Pagosa Springs , helping to pull me along. From Pagosa Springs to South Fork , it would be just me ! I would ride over Wolf Creek pass solo just as I would Pikes Peak. Made it to South Fork late in the afternoon with sore legs and questioning whether not I had bit off more than I could chew with pikes peak! Six weeks later as soon as the gates were opened, I left the entryway to pikes peak highway and started my accent. Surprisingly I rode from the entryway all the way to the brake check station. Stopping there for a 20 minute break to refuel and rehydrate , I told my wife that I would probably need many stops as from here to the top would be higher in elevation than anything I have ever ridden. 12,600 feet was the highest I had ever been on a bike and that was a mountain bike at Arapahoe Basin! Once again, to my surprise , I was able to ride from the brake check station all the way to the summit 14,115’! The feeling I had standing on the summit of that mountain was priceless! So what’s next?

 In January of 2024 I decided to do something big! Something that would challenge me in a way I have never been challenged! I also wanted to do this for someone other than myself. Back in our original hometown of Wamego Kansas , was a young lady named Bri Hoffman. My wife Kim and I had known Bri’s Mom and Dad for many years and we also new of Bri’s debilitating medical condition, Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction (CIPO). A rare condition in which the digestive tract is basically paralyzed.Bri’s day to day life is extremely difficult and the cost of all the medications and supplies Bri needs is very expensive! So my goal was not only to raise money for her medical expenses but also to raise awareness of her condition. My plan, ride my bike from Durango Colorado to Wamego Kansas. 760 miles in 7 days! 760 For Bri was born! So roughly five months later and many hours of training,June 26, 2024 , I Left Durango. Day 1 would be my longest ride of the journey. 147 miles up and over Wolf Creek Pass all the way to Alamosa. I would ride 4 consecutive 100+ mile days. The actual total was 776 miles with 19,444’ of elevation gain with 50 hours and 40 minutes of saddle time. Two and a half days in a brutal Kansas headwind and a day of rain were part of the journey as well. Arriving in Wamego Kansas with a police escort on July 2 and getting to see Bri face to face was one of the most incredible feelings of my life! This event and all the positive things that happened along this journey made me decide to shift my focus in life to helping others. Last winter , I became a part time Ski Instructor. Teaching kids to ski was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done! Skiing literally changed the trajectory of my life and I wanted to help do the same for others. I worked hard in the winter of 2024/2025 and earned my PSIA Level 1 certification.

All of this is what has inspired me to start You Can Too Fitness. I want to help you change your life thru Fitness! I believe , if I can do it , you can too! Let me help you!

 Thanks for reading! Now let me help you change the trajectory of your life!

Bill Ayres. NASM Certified Personnel Trainer.

 PSIA Certified Ski Instructor.

Founder, You Can Too Fitness