I first partnered with Habitat for Humanity back in 2013 when I attempted the Race Across America (RAAM), a 3000-mile non-stop bike race from Oceanside CA to Annapolis MD. The race didn’t end so well for me. After being hospitalized with acute kidney failure in California I eventually withdrew in Kansas, suffering from a debilitating condition known as Shermer’s Neck. But I was able to raise over $25,000 towards a new home for Christiala Allen and her three teenage children, which was 100% of the funds donated by friends and supporters (since I pay all my own expenses).
The race went better in 2015, when I completed RAAM in 2015 in 11 days and 16 hours . And more generous support of over $20,000 helped build a home for Manuel and Antonia Tovar, with their five children.
The next year, 2016, I switched to a mountain bike for the Tour Divide, which is an unsupported race from Banff, Alberta down the spine of the Continental Divide to the Mexican border at the remote crossing of Antelope Wells. It had been a while since I’d been on a mountain bike, but it turned out well with a 10th place finish (from 160 or so starters) in 18 days and 17 hours.
I didn’t fundraise in the 2016 Tour Divide, but got back to work in 2017 when I raced the TransAmerica Bike Race - another unsupported race for 4,200 miles from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA. This was a good finish - a gentleman’s tie with Michele Miani from Italy for 4th= place out of 54 finishers (and more than twice as many starters) in 19 days 15 hours. Once again there was strong support from across the country (and overseas), raising another $20,000 that helped to build a home for José Mendez, Deisy Montanez, and their son Cristo.
Completing the Transam made me the first person ever to complete these three races across the USA - a big step for me, but a small step for mankind. Clearly it was time for a new challenge. My coach, Janice Tower, who had guided me through RAAM, the Tour Divide, and the TransAm, suggested Alaska (where she lives) and the Iditarod Trail Invitational. So I applied for the 2018 ITI to McGrath - the first 350 miles of the legendary dog-sled race from Anchorage to Nome.
The race to McGrath nearly didn’t happen. The weekend before the race start I twisted my left knee stepping off a curb outside Aggieland Cycling. By Wednesday evening I could put weight on my left leg and so I hobbled onto the plane to Anchorage. One thing led to another and I set off with the field from Knik Lake on the Sunday. I had my left knee in a tight knee brace. The brace held the knee together, but didn’t help the circulation. I finished the race in 4 days, an unspectacular time, but decent enough in the circumstances. The frost bite in my left pinkie toe looked worse than it turned out to be.
Completing the race to McGrath qualified me for the whole enchilada - the 1,000 miles to Nome, which is where I’m heading in February 2019.