9-year-old boy with terminal illness rides motorcycle across United States

SAN ANTONIO – A 9-year-old boy rode back to San Antonio in style after traveling across the United States on his motorcycle.

Gaven Quirarte just returned from his “Goat US Tour”, which stands for ‘Greatest of All Time Tour’, to 23 states in 13 days.

Gaven is a child of few words, but he did say his trip was “cool.”

“It’s an emotional roller coaster,” said Jessica Quirarte, Gaven’s mother.

Gavin is for the most part an average 9 year old. He loves riding his bike and his friends. Gavin also has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

“Duchenne is deadly,” his mother said. “There is no cure.”

It affects his ability to walk and there is a good chance that he will need a wheelchair in the near future.

That’s why his mother, father, friends and even his physiotherapist do everything they can to make Gaven laugh.

“His love of riding, I think it’s just something that gives him a sense of freedom,” Jessica said. “It allows him to go out on the road and not have to think about DMD.”

Members of the motorcycle group ‘Mile Monsters Inc.’ saw Gaven’s passion and decided to take him on incredible adventures.

“I just think it’s incredible how he has a whole community behind him,” said Kassandra Banda, Gaven’s physical therapist. “I think as a physical therapist, it’s a dream to see your patient have all that support.”

This isn’t even the first time he’s brought the motorcycle community together. In 2023, Gaven rode 4,000 miles on a motorcycle and visited 40 Harley-Davidson locations in Texas.

Now he has a map of his achievements on two wheels and hopes to stop more often in the future.

“I’m really proud of him and very happy that he got to experience this,” Banda said.

“We’re going to let him live the best of his life for as long as we can, and if he’s happiest on the back of a Harley, we’ll let him ride,” said his mother Jessica.