Six years ago, in the damp and dense forests of Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off British Columbia’s west coast, Claire Buchar sat around a campfire with friends. They were on a “soul trip,” as she called it. It was a pilgrimage to get grounded after a busy season of bike-centric travel, juggling events and coaching. She felt like they had escaped to this peaceful place at the perfect time.

Claire absentmindedly picked at her leg, where yet another tiny shard of glass was making its way to the surface—a souvenir from a car accident she had barely survived years earlier. Over the flames, she talked about her desire to return to easy relationships with her bike, life and friends, and she questioned what balance might look like. Occasionally visible in the flickering light was a simple line drawing of a cedar branch tattooed on the inside of her right arm, a reminder of the special connection to nature she shared with her mom and of the tragedies that drove her to become an elite World Cup racer. Under the stars that night and surrounded by familiar spirits, Claire edged closer to a new way of living.

North Vancouver’s Lynn Valley in the ‘80s and ‘90s was a far cry from the multi-million-dollar-home-filled mountain bike focal point it is today. A hub for gang fights, parties and drugs, it was known to be a rough neighborhood that many avoided. Claire and her brother Dan grew up here.

Their dad moved out when Claire was 11 years old, and although she still occasionally saw him and his new partner, she felt abandoned as she struggled to be accepted in his new family dynamic. Their mom, Ivana, stretched herself to get an education while working to make ends meet, often coming up short at the end of the month. In their parents’ absences, Claire and Dan whiled away their days wandering the North Shore’s massive canyons, rock-hopping up rivers, exploring the endless forest and climbing the mountains. Eventually her brother took off for the Whistler ski-bum lifestyle, leaving Claire at home with their mom for her remaining high school years.