The Happiness of Pursuit by Davis Phinney

Introduction
For two decades, Davis Phinney was one of Americas most successful cyclists. He won two
stages at the Tour de France and an Olympic medal. But after years of feeling off, he was
diagnosed with early-onset Parkinsons. The body that had been his ally was now something
else: a prison.
The Happiness of Pursuit is the story of how Davis sought to overcome his Parkinsons by
reaching back to what had made him so successful on the bike and adjusting his perspective on
what counted as a win. The news of his diagnosis began a dark period for this vibrant athlete, but
there was also light: his son Taylors own bike-racing career was taking off. Determined to beat
the Body Snatcher, Davis underwent a procedure called deep brain stimulation. Although not
cured, his symptoms abated enough for him to see Taylor compete in the Beijing Olympics.
Davis Phinney had won another stage. But the joy, he discovered, was in the pursuit.
With humor and grace, Phinney weaves the narrative of his battle with Parkinsons with tales
from his cycling career and from his sons emerging career. The Happiness of Pursuit is a
remarkable story of fathers and sons and bikes, of victories large and small.

Discussion Guide
1. Cycling has a way of humbling its participants, as Tom and I were reminded each night
during nationals week in Milwaukee (p. 39).
What are some of the ways cycling humbled Davis Phinney? In what ways was Davis humbled
by Parkinsons? Are there similarities? Why are these important lessons?
2. Our 85 squad . . . included Eric Gomer Heiden, Ron Wookie Kiefel, Chris The
Kid Carmichael, Tom Plowboy Schuler, Jeff Brad-Dog Bradley, and yours truly,
Davis Thor Phinney. . . (p. 81).
Why does every rider on the team have a nickname? What do nicknames provide us, especially
in such a close-knit group? Who do you have nicknames for?
3. Patience does not come naturally to a sprinter, and was definitely not a strong suit of
mine early in my career. Once I hooked up with 7-Eleven, I had to become a bit less self-
absorbed. I was forced, at times, to defer gratification. I learnedor started to learnthe
importance of being patient. It was not a lesson that took root, right away (p. 51).
It became apparent that I needed to adjust my tactics. I was still a sprinter in the marrow
of my bones: this waiting around for good news did not serve me or the members of my so-
called Tribe of fellow PD sufferers. It was too passive (p. 133).
How was this lesson in patience important for Davis? How did he use it in other areas of his life?
What are some other characteristics of being a sprinter, and how did these affect how Davis
confronted Parkinsons?
4. I found out what many have before me: that to be obsessively and entirely focusing on
the goal (the gold), I forgot to celebrate the process. While I wouldve found them
irrelevant as an eager, impatient 25-year-old, such concepts as being present and paying
attention to the now are vital to me today, as I work to live well with a chronic disease.
Losing the Olympics taught me that singular, maniacal focus on any one goal is, in the end,
unhealthy. The joy, it turns out, is in the journey (p. 65).
Throughout The Happiness of Pursuit, we see Davis learn and appreciate this lesson. Talk about
the different ways he integrates the lesson into his daily life, and what you learned from that.
How does this also help you understand the meaning behind the title? Do you have a particularly
meaningful journey in your life? What was more important to youthe journey or the arrival?
What does the difference mean to you?
5. At the age of twenty-eight, I became good friends with my father (p. 67).
My fathers transformation altered not only the way we communicated, but also the way I
viewed the world and my place in it (p. 73).
Look at the trajectory of Davis relationship with his father. What did it take for them to become
friends? What did his father ultimately teach him about cycling, about living with a chronic
disease, and about life? Do you think of Davis experience with his father as fairly typical of his
generation?
6. Even though Im now off meds, and leery of their often-profound side effects, I havent
always been, and agree there are times when pills can be a godsend. But Im a big
proponent of a positive attitude and the benefits of exerciseeven if that exercise is only
putting on a jacket and going around the block (p. 78).
Whether to medicate or not is a question many of us face when confronted with an illness or
disease. What are your experiences or opinions on the subject? How important do you think
exercise is to a healing regimen? Talk about some of the ways exercise has improved your
mental and physical health.
7. The nature of Parkinsons is that the lights dont go out all at once. Its more of a
gathering darkness that we must mindfully and methodically strive and rage against. Life
becomes a constant, conscious effort to get out from under a cloud (p. 80).
What did you learn about Parkinsons reading this book? Were there things that you learned
about living with a chronic disease that were surprising to you? How did your perception of
people living with chronic disease change?
8. What I do, once Im settled on the plane, is look my row-mate in the eye, explain that I
have Parkinsons and tell them that I might do some tremoring over the course of the
journey, and that I hope it wont bother him. That invariably leads to a conversation about
the disease, giving me an opportunity to raise PD awarenessand often, to make the
acquaintance of a kind of interesting person with whom I otherwise might not have
spoken (p. 91).
Why does this seem like such a novel thing to do? Davis has reached a place of acceptance, but
also of generosity. Do you think you and the people in your life could reach this same place,
whether youre dealing with Parkinsons, cancer, or some other extreme hardship that prevents
you from comfortably conversing and being around others?
9. I didnt take a ride, the morning I invented the Town Bike Criterium, so much as the
ride took me. I didnt know exactly why I was doing it, until it occurred to me that I was
having funwhich was the whole purpose of riding a bike, until I started racing a bike (p.
131).
Competition can often have this effectmaking something that was once fun into a chore. But
what are the benefits of competition? And what are some ways to counterbalance it, especially as
a parent? Look specifically at how Davis and his wife, Connie, introduced cycling to their son,
Taylor.
10. Were at our best when the drive to succeed comes from within. Theres a difference
between scheduled activities our kids are driven to (think minivan), and activities theyre
driven to do on their own (think passion) (p. 153).
Can you think of an example of how this is true in your own life? As more and more kids at
increasingly younger ages become overscheduled with play dates, music lessons, athletic teams,
and other classes, how do you think this affects how they discover their passions? How did you
discover your own passion?
11. The rediscovery of that ease, the casting off of my armor with the simple flip of a
switchI counted this as one of the miracles of my life, a notch below the sight of my
children coming into the world. Sure, I was far from back to normal, but I was so vastly
improved (p. 185).
Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy is used to reduce tremors and other symptoms of
Parkinsons disease, and like medications it can have side effects. What made it the right
decision for Davis? How do we decide when its worthwhile to learn more about a procedure like
Medtronic DBS Therapy? How do we remove barriers that may prevent us from researching
something like this earlier on?
12. I also reflected on how Lancequite unintentionallyhad changed the dynamic
between my son and me. Is it possible to be grateful to, and feel threatened by, the same
person at the same time? (p. 196).
Daviss relationship with his son is quite different from his relationship with his father. Look at
the specific challenges he faces being a parent with Parkinsons and the parent of an elite athlete,
but also the universal challenges. What do you think Davis learned from his father that informed
his own parenting choices?

Tips to Further Enhance Your Discussion
1. Visit the Davis Phinney Foundation, which can be found online at
www.DavisPhinneyFoundation.org, and the online support group Damon Phinney started
Cyclists Combating Cancer at RidetoLive.organd look at the similarities and differences
between them. How do you think their missions might have been influenced by each other?
Discuss the benefits these organizations bring to their specific communities.
2. To this day, Ive embraced the smile as a potent, life-giving, energy-renewal resource,
the more incandescent and genuine the better. The act of smiling has become the first-
choice drug in my mental medicinal cabinet (p. 73).
For a designated period of timeone day, one week, one monthconsciously try to smile more
and note down the results: how does it make you feel? How does it change your approach to
difficult situations? What other supplies are in your mental medicine cabinet?
3. It was there, with the camera at first and then without it, I realized I could transform
the tenor of a day by going through it with my eyes, and mind, wide open: by consciously
taking note of, and appreciating, the small victories and minor grace notes available to all
of us (p. 121).
Pick one day to make a list of all the major and minor victories that occur. What small thing
makes you smile? What did you overcome? Who did you interact with that left you feeling good
about yourself? Write them all down and share them with someone close to you.
4. From the time they were tiny, our kids were out skiing, pedaling, whooping it up on the
trampoline in movement ( p. 153).
Give your kids the greatest giftyour time and freedom to play. In fact, freedom to play with
you is the best gift of all. When you playwithout fear of failure and without a prescribed
scheduleyou find the joy in the game or the activity. Variety is key; trying new activities,
creating new games, or polishing up existing skills are great ways to use free time. Keep it loose,
mostly unstructured, and fun. Everyone thrives on attainable goals, so set a few goals along the
way as benchmarks. Prepare to be amazed. (And turn off your cell phone!)

Words of Wisdom
You go into every race with the understanding that you fail far more often than not. But you
dont let the defeats grind you down. And if you keep your head in the game, if you dont let the
losses eat you alive, you end up learning from them. And eventually you learn enough to reach
the line first, and throw your hands in the air (p. 119).
I approached life with Parkinsons the way Id approached it as a sprinter. I weathered the bad
days, tolerated them, hunkered down and got through them in the knowledge that were was a
good day out there, a day with my name on it (p. 119).
By savoring and stockpiling and connecting these moments, Im cobbling together my own cure
for an incurable disease. Some such moments are fleeting, which is why Ive trained myself to be
on the lookout for them. Others are so charged with significance, so life-changing, that theyre
impossible to miss (p. 22).

Visit the Davis Phinney Foundation at www.davisphinneyfoundation.org for additional
information on how to help people with Parkinsons disease live well today.

2011 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Discussion questions written by Hannah Harlow.