Four old guys just riding our bikes,
It’s been my honor and pleasure to have spent thousands of miles on my bicycle with three other “old” guys riding our bicycles to help save lives to raise awareness and money for suicide prevention. This time last year, our team of four riders and six supporting crew members were in the final stages of training for the June, 2022 Race Across the West, a 925 mile ultra endurance bicycle race from Oceanside, California to Durango, Colorado. We would compete against some of the best endurance riders in the world riding across the deserts of Arizona and over mountain passes of Utah and Colorado pedaling around the clock to reach the finish line. We would be lead by our team captain, Bill Taitano, a spring chicken of 74 years. And riding along with him was Joel Kantor at 65 years, myself, Craig Jackson at 67 years, and the youngster rider Tim Whiteside at 64 years old. We are true believers that staying in motion is a key factor in longevity and vibrance. To learn more about us and our support crew, please visit www.teamsuicideprevention.com. Through the support from people like you, we’ve been able to raise and to donate thousands of dollars to local organizations on the front lines of promoting suicide prevention and assisting families who have lost loved ones to suicide.
So how do you train for a 925 mile race? Well, you ride your bicycle thousands of miles. You ride in the hot and the cold, under the blue sky and in the rain, and you ride during the day and night. Between the four of us, we collectively rode over 30,000 miles in 2021 some of which included miles we raced during the Race Across America( RAAM) which is a 3,037 mile race from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. Our eight rider team finished in 8d 0h 4m. To say that we were exhausted is an understatement.
Crossing the starting line in Oceanside was exciting but we knew we had real work to do to conquer the 925 miles that awaited us. We’d endure temperatures up to 118 degrees with high dusty winds in the desert, and low temperatures in upper 30’s summiting a few mountain passes. We’d be taking turns riding all day and all night until we reached the finish line in Durango.
After finishing RAAM, something amazing happened. After a few weeks of recovery, the idea to attempt another grand adventure began to crystallize. The sister race to RAAM is called the Race Across the West (RAW). The organizations that we worked so hard to support still needed our help. The idea took hold and our four “old man” team for RAW was created with our incredible crew to support us. With amazing team work, we reached the finish line in Durango last June in a time of 2d 13h 15m. Even while shared amongst the four of us, those were the hardest 925 miles I’ve ever experienced. On two occasions after hard climbing efforts, I literally had to be picked up off the pavement. So what do you do after finishing something like that? Well, we took some time off and then continued to have fun on our bikes for the remainder of the summer and into the fall of 2022.
Wew finished the race at 4am completely exhausted after having at least one rider pedaling during our 2d 13h effort.
So often, you only hear about the excitement, the accomplishments, and the successes on journeys such as this. There’s often other aspects of these stories which can be more monumental than the original story. Being old guys, we carry a lot of baggage, scars, and bruises with us that have accumulated over the years. November and December of 2022 was pretty consequential. After years of discomfort, Bill finally decided to have a difficult knee replacement surgery in November. Meanwhile, Joel was on a ski trip in Utah and experienced a crash that resulted in a broken shoulder. After returning to Tulsa, he had shoulder surgery with rods and screws installed. In December, after riding months with pain, I had my third surgery on my foot/ankle to remove bone spurs, scar tissue, and to inspect the six anchor points that are holding my Achilles together. We were all quick to insist that Tim stay away from anything risky to avoid an injury else have all four of us under doctors’ care and in some type of recovery/rehabilitation. There were some very difficult weeks as we had to shut down to let our bodies heal.
Now that April and spring time is here, we are all to the point of restarting our outdoor bike riding, albeit with a fresh focus on moderation and safety, at least until we figure out our new “limitations”. But, we can still dream. Bill, Joel, and Tim have been riding well. I’ve been stuck riding on my indoor trainer as I work the kinks out of my ankle/foot. After logging a bit over 7,000 miles last year, I’ve been reluctant to push myself too hard. I can’t stand the thought of having my ankle opened up again for another repair. I’m working hard to get back to my “new normal”. Our first big ride adventure of 2023 is an event called the Triple Bypass this July. The classic Triple is a bucket-list event across the nation, and for good reason. Leaving from Evergreen, CO, we pedal over Juniper, Loveland and Vail passes for 118 miles in the high mountains with 10,800 feet of amazing climbing. But get this, there is beer and a party at the finish line, No idea what could go wrong on this adventure. You think? 🤷🏾♂️ But that’s the beauty of being four old guys. We pretty much know a thing-or-two about pushing ourselves forward and we don’t see any good reason to stop doing that now.
We still ride our bikes to raise awareness for Suicide Prevention and we continue to appreciate the gracious support to help organizations like Hope is Oxygen, Hope is Alive, and The Coffee Bunker. If you’d like to join us on this journey, please feel free to visit our website at www.teamsuicideprevention.com and learn about the organizations that are so important to help save lives to the epidemic of suicide.
Thank You
Craig