Mike Across America

It is hard to imagine not having a race to prepare for. It seems like the last 1-2 years has been training-training-training for RAAM qualifier, then RAAM, then Gut Check “Hell and Back”. Now its time to ride for???? Karen and I talked tonight about going back to California next June to ride the Race Across the West. This race is run with RAAM for the first 860 miles (the desert/mountain portion of RAAM). The time cut off is 90 hours.  This would be great training and practice to make another RAAM attempt in 2012 or 2013. I would also probably come back after Race Across the West and do the Gut Check “Hell and Back” again (I know I can break 60 hours on that thing!!) So guess what? Training is going to start up again real soon! I love it!

Jason Harms and I started the “Hell and Back” division (828 miles) of this years ‘Gutcheck 212 bike race’ at noon on August 11. We rode together the first 50-60 miles and then Jason decided to switch to his “trike” (three wheeled recumbent) and ride at his own pace. So the lonely journey proceeded with son Ben and his buddy Travis as my support crew.

The temperature hit 98 in Clark that afternoon and by 3:00am the next morning it was still 75 in Eagle Butte.  The first 300 miles actually went by pretty well – no major problems – eating and drinking as much as I thought I needed…and then trouble.  As I left Faith for the last 112 miles to the Wyoming border (6:30am) a 10mph headwind came up out of the west.  This portion contains the most hills as well.  Long story short I started to “bonk” – that is “run out of gas”. My legs were dead and each hill was followed by another hill. I had to stop twice for 20 minute “power naps” to make it to Belle Fourche by 2:00pm. It took me 26 hours to ride 400 miles – but I had 3 hours of “off the bike” time. I was so tired by the time got to Belle Fourche I did not ride the 14 miles to the Wyoming border, but instead went to a motel for a few hours of sleep.

By the time I got up to ride again – 7:00pm a storm was coming our way. I rode 7 miles toward the Wyoming border before I stopped to take cover in my follow vehicle (with wife Karen providing support now). After an hour of waiting for the storm to pass and winds to die down, we decided to go back to the motel for more sleep and try riding at midnight – weather permitting.  We started riding again after midnight and made the turn to head back east at 1:00am.  I had spent 11 hours in Belle Fourche.  Little did I know that Jason had ridden through the storm and had made the turn hours ahead of me. The temperature climbed back up into the 90’s again and I had to take it easier as my legs were pretty sore from the trauma I had put them through the day before.  Karen did a great job keeping me hydrated and fed. I did not know it at the time but I passed Jason in Gettysburg that afternoon when he was taking a sleep break. I hit a bad spell in Clark that night (1:00am) and had to stop and take a 30 minute “power nap” in the follow vehicle (1996 Suburban – provided by Spoke-N-Sport). Karen got some food in me and off to the Minnesota border we went.  Karen struggled to stay awake following me – she had been up for 48 hours by now – and we made the SD/MN border at 5:20am on August 14.

I made the return trip in 28 hours with 3 hours of “off the bike” time again.  My total time was 65 hours, 20 minutes. Jason made it to the finish in 68 hours, 8 minutes.  Saddle and mouth issues still plague me so I will continue to try to figure out how to eliminate or at least control them better.  Now its time to rest and recover and plan our next adventure.

August 11 at 12:00 MST, the Gut Check “Hell and Back” bike race starts. The course travels from the MN/SD to the WY/SD border following state highway 212 the whole way. Once you get to the WY/SD border , we turnaround and follow the same course back to the MN/SD border. First one back wins! The one way race starts on the WY/SD border on Friday, August 13 at 12:00 pm MST and the first one to the MN/SD border wins! Did I mention it is 412 miles across the state of SD (detours on highway 212 have made the distance 414 to 430 miles in recent years.) This years “Hell” is a total of 828 miles with a 96 hour deadline to be an official finisher.  My challenge to myself is to  complete it in under 72 hours.

After stopping at 743 miles in 72 hours in RAAM, I decided to do the double state crossing to “correct” some issues I experienced during RAAM. I will attempt to ride farther before sleeping, follow a more disciplined hydration/nutrition regimen, pay more attention to mouth hygiene to avoid issues there and use some additional padding on my saddle to attempt to ward off saddle problems. If these changes prove effective,  I will sit down with my wife, Karen, and we will decide if another RAAM attempt is a possibility.

Watch for updates on how things go either on this site or on Facebook.

Wow – its been over a month since RAAM. I must be having fun because time has been flying by. Physically I’m getting back to normal. I still have numbness in my middle toe on my left foot, but other then that no lingering effects. My training is going well.  I feel like I have been getting stronger in the last week or so, instead of just going through the motions. I’ve had some really good rides the last 7-10 days with some big rides (200+ miles this Thursday) planned in the next two weeks. Then I’ll taper for the GutCheck double crossing of the state (824 miles) August 11-15. I don’t have anything planned as far as races after that, which is good I think. My mind doesn’t have to subconsciously plan for anything else.

Mentally, RAAM still weighs on me. I know I need to “let it go” and I slowly am. But like any “lost” opportunity, its been hard. After all the planning, training, promotional work and then to walk away with a bit of an empty feeling -  hurts. I know – quit your crying and get on with things! We had a lot of fun doing all the preparation and the fund raising we did for our two charities was fantastic. The crew was great and everyone enjoyed the adventure as long as it lasted and we made many new friends and learned so much. Such is life – no guarantees. but do your best and don’t look back. Easier said then done.

We got back home on Wednesday, June 23.  I was off the bike for 10 days after I stopped on June 12.  I rode on Wednesday night with Jason Cox – a nice 40 mile ride and then did 50 miles on Thursday.  My legs/quads are still a bit sore, so no hard efforts – just riding.  Today I got in 75 miles and it felt pretty good.  Now I will  ease back into training and plan on racing the Gutcheck “to hell and back” division – across the state of SD and then back again in less then 96 hours.  That race is slated for August 11-15.  I’ve received many notes of support and encouragement since dropping out of RAAM and I really appreciate them.  I’ve reviewed what happened many times and with the benefit of hindsight, would make some changes if I do something like RAAM again.  Here is an example of the encouragement I’ve received.

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze that should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, that a sleepy and permanent planet. The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” Jack London

“It must be borne that the tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but is is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin.”  Benjamin Mays

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the [person] who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt
“Citizenship in a Republic,”
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

We made it to Annapolis yesterday. 3000 miles in less then 12 days – unfortunately not all on the bike! We did enjoy following the race and cheering on the riders that were still riding. The DNF – did not finish list – continues to grow. Only 1 of the 6 riders in the 50-59 age group (my group) made it to the finish. In this years RAAM race, over half of the riders who started (30) will not finish. This race is brutal. It makes me more determined to address the issues (saddle, mouth, dehydration) and plan another attempt. My crew tells me they would do it again. Right now I’m planning to attempt the “To hell and back” division of the gutcheck race this summer. That race is 824 miles in 4 days or less back and again across the state of SD (gutcheck212.com). It would give me a chance to work on the issues that knocked me out of RAAM. Stay tuned.

We (Karen, Kallie, Nancy, Harvey, Anita, and me) are following the race course trying to encourage/support the riders who are still riding. We are approaching the 32nd time station in Camdenton, MO. Amy Xu is just ahead of us somewhere. She is a friend of ours from Minnesota. All the riders seemed cheered and encouraged by our support. They typically smile and give a friendly wave. I’m envious of them for being able to continue on. Now that my physical issues (sore mouth, bottom, legs) are feeling better I want to get back on my bike!!
I’m very encouraged by the many notes of support/encouragement I’ve received. I really have not second guessed my decision to stop – I did not have a choice! – but I do second guess many of the decisions I made in my race strategy. I will change these things in future ultra bike races. I’m looking forward to visiting with some of the riders as we go, to learn how they have been able to overcome the difficulties they have faced.
UPDATE: We just passed through Time Station 32 in Camdenton, Missouri. Time Station Manager Eric Johnston is a great guy. His sister lives in Yankton, SD, and Eric is also a South Dakota native. Nice visit at McDonalds!

Before RAAM, we read books, we watched videos, we read blogs of other RAAM riders.
Before RAAM, we studied elevation maps, we studied the terrain, we studied reports on hydration, nutrition, muscle fatigue, and sleep deprivation.
We thought we knew what RAAM was.
We thought we knew how hard RAAM was.
We thought we knew what we were getting into.
We knew nothing.

There is a reason this is considered “the toughest bike race in the world.” I have seen some really tough folks, but Mike is by far the toughest person I’ve ever known – heart and body. Mike gave this ride everything he had and then some.

You’ve heard people say, “You just had to be there.” I gotta tell you – This is one of those times – You just had to be there. Even the elevation maps that look impossible don’t tell the whole story.

A fellow RAAM rider commented on one of Mike’s blog posts that the way you train for RAAM is by trying it. Another said that his trek of 743 miles was his RAAM training ride. Will Mike attempt RAAM again? Maybe. We are all more enlightened…we all know a little more. Every day, every night, every minute at RAAM is an education for the rider and the crew.

Mike didn’t finish RAAM, and in the official stats he is listed as a DNF (did not finish). In my book, that stands for “Did Nothing Fatal.”

Some people might say Mike “failed” to finish RAAM. Technically, that is true. But he finished his own first RAAM…all 743 miles of it…and that was just part of his successful RAAM ride.

Mike was a success when he raised $30,000 for the Sanford Cardiovascular Research Center and the Dick Beardsley Foundation.
Mike was a success when 13 people who believed in him and his cause were honored to join his crew.
Mike was a success when he was waiting on that podium in Oceanside at the start – before he pedaled his first stroke.
Mike was a success when he rode 743 miles.

How you do anything is how you do everything. Mike rode RAAM like he lives his life.

Jack London wrote, “I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

Mike gave 100% on every inch of those 743 miles.

It was an honor to serve Mike on this piece of his journey. Should he decide someday to go back to RAAM for another attempt, I will be the first one to sign on as his crew.

Thanks, Mike – we are all better people for having been on this leg of your journey with you.

Jenny