"I knew that if my dad could be in my shoes for one day if all he had to do was struggle on a bike for six hours, but be healthy and fully functional he would be me on that day in a heartbeat, " Taylor Phinney said.
Martha's daughter, who is the only family member to keep a slender tether to AWOL mom, doesn't understand the flight response but fills in her mother's shoes perfectly, taking care of dad and even replacing mom as kindergarten teacher.
He was a dad who whisked the family on summer camping trips to Maine, only splurged on running shoes and created a winter wonderland in their backyard for the neighborhood.