Mike Across America

The 2009 RAAM started on June 17. I’ve been following it on the RAAM website - raceacrossamerica.org - and I’m totally amazed! The rider I’ve been following all year - Scott Luikart - had to drop out after 392 miles!! He suffered a calf muscle injury that kept him from being able to pedal his bike. This has got to be such a disappointment for him. After all the months and months of training/planning/fund raising/etc. to have a “freak” injury take you out - just like that. I really feel for the guy as I put myself in his place and I just feel really sad. Scott’s only 1 of 7 riders who have had to stop the race for one reason or another so far. The race is not even half over yet!  This race is not something to be “trifled” with. All those who  start are as prepared as possible and yet only 50-60% of the starters finish it. This makes me more determined than ever to train harder and smarter to be as prepared as possible. Because anything less then your absolute best will not do. But isn’t life that way. We all get pretty complacent from time to time and then when some problem comes up - are we as prepared as we should be? Be ready in all your commitments - your best is all you have.

My son  Ben, Josh Dachtler and I traveled to Dickinson, ND for a H.S. graduation on May 29. We used to live in Dickinson (1989-1997) and its where I started my cycling career. Teddy Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND is just 40 miles from Dickinson and is an excellent cycling location. From the park entrance in Medora you can ride into the park 8 miles do a beatiful 23 mile loop and then ride the 8 miles back out to Medora. During this 39 mile ride you are constantly climbing or decending. On Saturday, May 30, Brian Beattie from Bismarck, ND drove over and he and traveled to Medora and rode into the park - did 2 loops and rode out. After restocking ourselved with food and drink, we rode back into the park did another loop and rode back out. All toll we rode  over 95 miles with over 6,000 feet of ascent in 5 hours and 13 minutes. The next day my good friend Craig Pool from Belfield, ND met met me in Medora  and we drove into the park and rode two loops (44 miles) . I restocked on food and drink and road another loop and out to Medora as Craig drove my car out to his car in Medora.  I reloaded with food and drink and rode another 23 flat miles along W. River Road to get in 100 miles in 5 hour 35 minutes with over 5,000 feet of ascent. So my two day total was 192 miles with over 11,000 feet of climbing. I did’nt have any physical (or emotional) problems and I’m looking forward to my next training experiment of two 200 mile days back to back over the 4th of July weekend. Stay tuned.

My RAAM is still over one year away, but now is the time to “experiment” with my training to see what I will need to do next year. This past Memorial Day weekend I rode 100 miles on Friday, 140 miles on Saturday, 80 miles on Sunday and 140 on Monday - 460 miles in 4 days. I wanted to see  if any potential issues arose. I’m happy to report that there weren’t any! No saddle, feet, hand, neck or back problems. Of course these daily totals are nothing like what I’ll face doing RAAM. During RAAM I’m facing 250-300 miles per day for 10-11 days. So this will necessitate experiment #2 - more miles per day. I’m thinking 4th of July weekend 150-200 miles per day and see what happens. Lucky for me I really like riding my bike and I have a very understanding (I hope) wife. I’m up to 2904 out-door miles for the year. Stay tuned!!

The greatest cyclist ever - Eddy Merckx - was once asked the “secret” to becoming a great cyclist. His response “ride lots”! As you can imagine the “secret” doesn’t just apply to cycling. Hard work is the key to success in just about everything in life. Of course hard work also has to be joined with “smart work” for the best chance of positive outcomes. The balance between training and recovery is delicate. Too much work and too little recovery leads to over-training. Instead of getting better - you get worse! Too little training and too much recovery leads to sub-optimum results. Hum….which side do you think most athletes lean to? Ya, the typical endurance athlete is probably going to push the limits and hope for the best. After 38 years of doing this, you would think I’d have the training/recovery thing figured out - wouldn’t you? We will see. Just to bring you up to date - In January I rode outside 1 day. In February I got outside 6 days. March - 16 days. April - 18 days. So far in May - 9 days. So 50 days of outside riding - 2248 miles.  I also have 45 hours of indoor riding during this time. I figure each hour indoors is worth 20 miles - so 900 miles of indoor riding.  So for the year - so far - I’ve ridden approximately 3148 miles. I plan to ride somewhere around 10,000 miles this year in preparation for RAAM 2010. The key is hard work and recovery. Like Eddy said “ride lots”.

Our bodies have three fuel sources: fat, carbohydrates and protein. As endurance athletes we work to train our bodies to work at the highest level possible using fat as our primary energy source. At 9 calories per gram- compared to carbos and protein at 4 grams - fat is a high energy fuel.  Even a 150 lb athlete with only 5 % body fat has 7.5 lb of fat which would yield well over 27,000 calories of energy - enough to run approximately 270 miles! Of course you have to have the bio-chemistry/enzymes in place to convert fat to energy. You also need to have carbohydate and water and oxygen available and an efficient transport system, respiratory system, muscular/skeletal system.  What I’m talking about is training to maximize all these processes/systems.  And I’m talking a lot of training. Endurance athletes have to spend hours and hours performing whatever event they participate in - running, cycling, swimming, etc. to develop the ability to perform at the highest levels. We really do become “flex fuel hybrids” in the world of sport. So to become a “better butter burner” get out there and start putting in the time and watch those fat burning enzymes grow.

I remember reading years ago that 10-15% of the general population  exercise - no matter what.  Are you one of these 10-15% who exercise because you can’t not? I know I am. It always makes me wonder why so many others aren’t joining us. My riding buddy Jason and I can be out on the most beautiful days and we rarely see other riders. We are also out there on some of the not so nice days and wonder why we are there!  We ride on the best roads and we typically have it to ourselves. It’s like we have this treasure that we discovered and would be happy to share it.  If you are not sharing in the treasure - start now! You will not regret it.

I grew up on a farm and I started running in 1971.  I would run around the section (4 miles) regularly. I did this all through high school and college as I was always training for track or cross-country. Our closest neighbor was 1/2 mile from us and I would run by their farm. The son of the owner told me a story recently about the time I was running by their farm and the old farmer who owned the place was sitting on his front porch with his grand-daughter on his lap. When I ran by the grand-child asked her Grandpa why I was running. The old farmer said “I’m not sure - but I think he has a screw loose”. “Will that tighten it?” his grand-daughter asked. We’ll obviously it didn’t. Now my “’screws” appear looser then ever! Maybe thats the problem now days - peoples “screws” are too tight!! So find a ride/run/swim/walk/etc. and set yourself a goal and loosen up those screws!

This race - RAAM - is my Tour De France. We all dream of doing something big, but rarely can we achieve the level of world class athletes. As a runner I had dreams of participating in the Olympic marathon. I even qualified for the Olympic trials twice! But my ability wasn’t able to match my desire. As a cyclist the Tour is the dream. RAAM is my Olympics and Tour De France. The preparation will demand just as much effort;  finishing (I hope) will be just as  satisfying. Right now is the preparation phase. This has been going on for 38 years. I’ve never stopped training, except for injury or illness since 1971. The next 14 months will be the home stretch for the biggest race of my life. I can’t wait.

As you can see I’m planning to ride in the 2010 Race Across America. This event is known as RAAM. This years race - 2009 - will be the 28th edition. As soon as we (Jenny Stinson) gets the link up to the RAAM site, you really will want to check this event out! You can go to raceacrossamerica.org right now if you want to learn more about the race. I mentioned Jenny’s name as she is the “web - guru” who is the brains behind this site. She is hard at work building it and you will be seeing more and more things added in the near future. You will learn more about Jenny soon. This endeavor is about me setting a personal goal to complete the race and raising as much attention and funding for two of the biggest health and social issues of our times. Cardiovascular disease and chemical dependency.  Please keep watching this site. I hope to take you with me through the process of training, planning, fund raising, educating, inspiring for one of  the biggest and hopefully rewarding  athletic challenges there is.