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. 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.