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Burke Moran, Chris Seab and Rob Guba at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Image by Nathan Tidwell

Childhood Friends Ride to Support One of Their Own

March 14, 2025 | Rob Guba, Burke Moran and Chris Seab grew up together in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When Seab was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in May 2024, Guba and Moran decided to do something.

That something is a project called Wheeling for Healing, a cross-country e-bike ride to raise money not only in support of their friend but also for others affected by multiple myeloma.

Guba, Moran and Moran’s father-in-law, Mike Jastram, began the trip in San Diego on Jan. 31 and finished in Jacksonville, Florida, on Feb. 23.

One would drive the group’s camper, while other two would ride bikes.

“We learned a lot,” said Guba, who lives in Baton Rouge and is a technology entrepreneur. “We learned about bikes, about people, about the land.”

“We were pushing so hard for so long, and then it was over. It was anticlimactic when we finished,” said Moran, who lives in Bozeman, Montana, and owns the Finally Restaurant Group with his wife, Melissa. “We were happy it was done. We have so many memories.”

The effort resulted in $30,000 for myeloma research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

“We are grateful for this donation,” said UAMS Myeloma Center clinical director Frits van Rhee, M.D., Ph.D. “It’s helpful for our patients to know that others are supporting them.”

On the return trip, Guba and Moran stopped at UAMS to visit Seab, his wife Liz, and their son John.

“It was great seeing these guys,” said Chris Seab, who recently underwent a stem cell transplant as part of a treatment plan managed by Maurizio Zangari, M.D.

Guba and Moran both have experience riding bikes, but neither have attempted anything like this.

“When I lived in New Orleans, I rode my bike a lot,” said Guba.

“I ride about 20 miles a day in Bozeman,” Moran said.

The ride was conducted on electric bikes, which have a battery-powered motor.

“People think it’s easy with electric bikes, but you’re still pedaling,” Guba said.

The trip was not without challenges.

“Nothing ever went as planned,” said Moran.

Mechanical issues with the bikes required a stay of several days in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The abnormally cold mid-February temperatures in the southern part of the United States made the trek more difficult. A problem with one of the bikes forced the group to drive from East Texas to Baton Rouge for repairs before the completing the ride to Jacksonville.

Guba and Moran talked about the mental and physical aspects of this trial.

“Once you get going, you find yourself looking at the road in front of you,” said Guba. “One hour turned into four or five.”

“Some days there would be 100 miles of just riding and seeing the Arizona or New Mexico desert. You’d see a mountain and just hope you can make it and there would be a town nearby,” Moran said.

Guba said Jastram was a big inspiration.

“Mike was great to have along — he can really cover a lot of ground.”

The trip was documented on the Wheeling for Healing Facebook page.

“Rob anointed me the social media person,” said Moran. “I would try to make the posts interesting enough for people to read. One goal we had was trying to keep people interested enough to follow us.”

The team made a point of talking with people about cancer during their stops.

“I had never heard of multiple myeloma until Chris was diagnosed,” Moran said. “Everyone has a story about cancer, and they want to talk about it. We ran into so many people who are thankful to UAMS for saving their lives.”

“It was surprising to learn how many people have multiple myeloma,” Guba said.

Chris Seab’s myeloma journey began in a familiar manner — with an injury.

“I hurt my back skiing near the end of March 2024, and it never got better. I thought it was a simple pull, but it got progressively worse,” he said.

Liz Seab said they received strong recommendations to come to UAMS.

“Once we found about Chris’ myeloma, we heard from many people that UAMS was the place to go,” she said.

Chris Seab has high praise for Zangari and the health care team at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

“He’s pretty straight to the point, he guides us, and we have trust in him. Everyone with the Stem Cell Transplant Unit and Infusion B has been great to us.”

Liz Seab noted UAMS’ efficiency.

“Everyone here coordinates, which is huge for us coming from out of state and never having been here before. A volunteer showed us where to go for all of our appointments. It took some of the stress away,” she said.

“We called in June and had an appointment within 10 days.”

“I was surprised at how quickly they had a treatment plan lined up,” Chris Seab added.

Guba and Moran plan to do a cross-county ride again, now that they know it can be done.

“Next year we hope to get corporate sponsors,” said Guba.

“We found out that the human body can do a lot,” said Moran.