In Memory: Interview with Christine Rappleyea

For context, here’s a little backstory on why we’re posting this interview:

When I first met Christine Rappleyea, she introduced herself as “the girl with stage 4 breast cancer”, but quickly after made herself known as quite possibly the most upbeat, funny and adventurous person anyone could ever meet. She’s been a huge member of our local east coast riding community, a rider, a racer, and a friend to so many.

Over the years, we all watched her fall in love with dirt-biking and it was nothing but inspiring to see her go after that passion, even as she dealt with physical and mental struggles many of us can’t even imagine. In 2023, she attended our Co-Ed Campout in April with partner Ben (who is an amazing member of our Official Trail Support team) and our Off-Road Campout in June 2023 even though she was experiencing greater and greater impact on her health. She just wanted to ride for as long as she could, hoping she could make it through the entirely of the season.

This is why in September of 2023 for our flagship women’s event, we decided to name a trail after Christine. It was a new trail we named Rappleyea’s Run, and to commemorate it we created stickers that folks could place on their bikes after their ride. We announced it just before the event as a surprise for Christine, but also to give her enough time to think about whether she would be able to ride the trail as well, and to let us know so we could help plan accordingly.

Amazingly, she was able to ride the trail herself during the Saturday afternoon group ride, and dozens of friends donning special jerseys that were designed in support of her went along for this ride. And at the end of the event, she asked to take down every arrow and sign herself. And so she did.

I originally wanted to post this blog interview with Christine right before the event so that attendees could get to know a bit about her before attending and riding her trail. But it wasn’t ready. Christine was enjoying an awesome vacation down the shore (I’m so glad that she was), and by the time she was able to send me her text, I was already on-site setting up for the event. I decided to simply make a social media post to surprise her with announcement of the trail.

In event planning, as in life, sometimes all the things you wish you could pull off don’t fall into place and you just move on the best you can. In this case, I’m not stoked that her interview got left behind and that I didn’t post it in October. But, again, we all do the best we can. If I’ve learned anything from Christine it’s that it’s never too late to do anything…

Upon her passing, I think so many of her friends and members of our community would want to read her interview, so I’ve decided to share what she did send us, un-edited.

Interview with Christine Rappleyea

How did you get into riding?

I fell in love with riding dirt before I ever even got to take that quad out of the yard. When I was about 14, my mom’s boyfriend at the time rode 4x4 quads. Once we had actually ridden some trails, it was all I’ve wanted to do every chance I could since. It wasn’t until my 20s (I’m 32 now) that I got into riding dirt bikes. Most of my life, especially in a farm setting, I’ve had this thing where if a guy could do it, I had to learn and make an effort to also be able to do it. I just always wanted to be a woman on a dirt bike.  Anytime I would see a woman on a dirt bike I would get so excited and say “I want to do that too!” Every time we watched supercross, “I want to ride a dirt bike so bad!”  

What was your first bike, and what do you ride now?

My first bike was gifted to me on Valentine’s Day when I was around 22 years old. I had just worked an awful shift waitressing at our local sports bar. I was at home trying to unwind after work and was told, “I know you don’t really wear jewelry so come out to the garage for a minute.” Trying to hide my smile I said, “WHY WHY what is in there, what did you do??” I entered the garage to find a little XR 100. I was beyond excited! From there, I’ve been pretty dirt bike obsessed - four wheelers who?! After that bike, I got a crf150rb in an effort to learn how to ride motocross, since the riders I knew at the time only rode MX. I spent a few years squidding it up on that little snotty bike. It was also a real good self-esteem booster when the little kids were flying past me or jumping, at least what felt like, over me. But kidding aside, I would always think, “Man, I wish I started that young, but you know what - it is never too late.” I started meeting more and more people in the riding community and decided to make a hard lane switch into learning how to ride single track. I was overheating my little rocket ship 150RB and it was not the bike for me to learning single track. I met a few girls that rode klx140g’s and thought, “Soooo now I need that bike.” The KLX was awesome and exactly what I needed at the time to learn how to ride single track, ride rocky terrain, go over logs, learn a practical wheelie, and so on. I eventually outgrew that and, a little shy of a year and a half ago, I got my current and forever bike, a Beta Xtrainer 300 two stroke. Getting this bike opened up an entire new world of dirt bikes…  

What have some of your favorite experiences on the bike been?

This is a very difficult question as I’ve had so many amazing experiences in the woods with friends on two wheels. Some of the stand out experiences I’ve had were with my beta because having a street legal bike allowed me to enter enduro races and dual sport events.  These events have taken me all over PA, NJ, and NY into to forests we do not get access to ride any other times of the year.  Amazing sites and trails. But as amazing as those experiences are, what will always take the cake are the memories I have from stand out moments with friends in the woods. 

One year at Over and Out, my friend and I both failed a hill, fell over, and were sliding backwards on our backs.  Just laughing and saying ouch the whole time. Those experiences where I’m laughing so hard I’m crying and trying not to pee myself on any random trail with friends is the best.  Or all the time I was in the woods with my friend Jess on our KLXs that honestly we should probably have not been left unattended on XD.  

I love that I get to ride regularly with more and more women over the last few years that I’ve met at Over and Out, or somewhere else in the dirt bike community.  I love getting to ride with a girlfriend that lives far away and we mainly stay connected online, then one day we finally get to ride together.  I love always being surprised with how much faster they are than what they lead on.  Most women riders I meet are so humble, then you ride with them and it’s like, “GIRLLLLL you are a BADA$$ give yourself credit.” Lastly, my favorite experiences would have to be learning from various women clinicians at Over and Out.  It is just very different learning from a damn good woman rider than your guy friend getting frustrated with you out on the trail.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new rider, what would it be?

I will try to put this in a nut shell. I believe for a new rider, especially a new woman rider, to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and meet like minded people is so valuable.  Go to an event like Over and Out, and just talk to people, get their information, and stay connected. These contacts can become great resources for you as you’re learning - whether you are able to physically ride together or just talk online.  They will likely be able to connect you with people closer to you that would love to meet up and ride.  This will also open the door for meeting people that can help you learn mechanical things with your bike and help you get it fine tuned to your liking.

Here is the equally important part of this advice - find a crew that has the same mindset as you.  For me, I tend to prefer groups that are willing to help you, but also push you, but also keep you as safe as they can, a crew that supports you on and off the trail, an encouraging and patient group.  Some of my riding friends have become my best friends, and the ones that check in on me most. I’ve ridden with some people that did not care if I could keep up or not. Or if they did care they got mad and frustrated I couldn’t ride faster.  Don’t ride with those people. That opens the door to get hurt and not enjoy dirt bikes. Find a crew that is patient and happy to have you along.

And more important than anything, a good friend of mine I used to ride trails with often once said to me, “Dude, ride your own ride. No one else’s, ride your own ride”. I think that has saved me many times. Do not ride above your head. There is a difference between trying something challenging to you and trying something that is such a huge leap for your skill in that moment that you will most likely get hurt. So, ride your own ride.  Someone else can get your bike through the obstacle. You and only you have to go back to your job Monday.  You and only you have to deal with the sustained injury. 

If you'd like, please tell us about your cancer story.

Hi, I’m Christine Rappleyea, I’m 32 and have been living with stage four breast cancer for the last five years. At this point in my journey it is so hard to summarize. I feel like I’ve been to hell and back a few dozen times. Some days I feel like I live there and can’t ever leave.

When I was 27 I felt a lump in my breast, went to the gyno, got sent for an mri, and elected to have the lump removed. Day of surgery, I learn I had multiple tumors and the surgeon took what she could but didn’t want to deform me, aka there’s still some tumors in there. This whole process was probably a month. Nearly another month of appointments and tests, we find out I am stage four (most advanced stage possible) and find out I have no genetic component (did not carry the brca gene) and that I have a very rare and aggressive subtype, called neuroendocrine breast cancer. A subtype that only occurs 2-5% of breast cancer cases. In the medical world you never want to be unique, that usually equals less research and treatment options. I live in the Lehigh Valley, but for five years have been traveling nearly two hours to my amazing oncologist we found in Philadelphia. 

When I was originally diagnosed, I was arguably in the best physical shape of my life, I had just started a competitive master program I got accepted into, just two years prior bought my first home with a boyfriend at the time. I was finally figuring out what I wanted to do with my life and in life. Then after getting smacked with this diagnosis literally EVERY.SINGLE.THING. changed. I had learned upon initial diagnosis I was stage four because cancer spread to my skeletal system. In my spine, ribs, and a hip. We were able to keep this contained to my skeletal system for a few years, but then it spread to my liver which was also one of the things I dreaded most. I have had three surgeries this past winter trying to get my liver tumors to respond to some treatment.  It wasn’t responding to any chemo we tried so we did this procedure where they inject radiation directly into my liver through an artery in my groin. That was suppose to be my hail mary and buy me a few years, but it did not take. 

The tumors in my liver don’t seem to have batted an eye.  They’ve actually continued to spread and grow. I recently also found out I now have cancer in my vertebra in my neck (it had also been my mid and lower back), more ribs, more in my hips, the tip of my pancreas, a lymph node or few in my chest cavity, and the scariest aside from my liver is that I now have a few tumors on the inside of my skull. The dangerous part with those is that they are pushing into the lining that separates your brain from your skull.  I had these tumors radiated over the summer and will be going for an mri soon to see if it is shrinking the tumors on my skull at all. If cancer cells get into my cerebrospinal fluid I have six months left at best.

Stage four breast cancer is a cancer that you must be on some type of treatment your entire life.  You try one and stay on it until it stops working or the side effects are more than your body can handle and your doctor forces you off them even if you want to keep fighting through it.  When treatments stop working or you’ve gone through them all, there is nothing left anyone can do for you. I’ve always feared that day, as I know it is inevitable. At least I thought it was, only recently am I learning there may be a day they say your liver can no longer tolerate any more medications, I can not administer this chemo to you. I’ve never feared that until recently. This disease keeps me up at night either from pain physically or emotionally or a little of both.

You've always been such an example of positivity and living your life to the fullest. What advice do you have to other girls about facing adversity and living your life?

I tried really hard to answer this question but I couldn’t without being very long winded. So I rephrased it…..

What do you want the take away from all of this to be for not just women rider but really anyone?

I don’t want my death to be for nothing. I want women to not just be “aware” of breast cancer existing, but to be knowledgeable that early detection can and will save your life.  Doing self-breast exams on the first one every month, “feel it on the first”!  But not just that, follow through and be your own advocate if you feel something. Try not to panic. Yes, it is often benign, but also 1 in 8 women in their lifetime in the US are diagnosed with breast cancer in this country. Don’t let a doctor tell you oh it is just a clogged milk duct, or you’re too young, or you don’t have any family history.  Follow through, get that biopsy! Also, tell everyone you know to feel it on the first…of every month!

But beyond the medical side of things; I see so many people, loved ones, friends, strangers; living life unhappy and/or unhealthy.  Spending so much time and energy on emotions or situations that truly don’t matter in the end. I wish that just for a day I could give my loved ones the experience of knowing what it’s like to live like you’re dying.  Just for a day.  So many perspectives change, the meaning for so many things change so drastically.  It doesn’t matter if your house is a little messy, take the weekend to go do something fun with someone you love. Cut the grass after work one night or leave it for the next week, go see that cousin you haven’t seen in a while.

At the end of this wild ride called life, I can promise the only thing that matters is… are you ready for it?? The secret to life?? The only thing that truly and actually matters?? It is love and those people that love you back.