50 Reasons: From Death Ride to Resurrection on Maui

Superman!

Last July I was attending the funeral of my good, longtime friend Greg when I got a call from Bob. Bob had not come up to Oregon for the funeral. He was leaving the next day for Markleeville to participate in the Death Ride, a classic California bike ride that climbs three Sierra peaks and has a total elevation gain of over 16,000 feet, all accomplished in one day (10 hours, to be exact).

Bob had bad news - that annoying pain in his shoulder which came on as he was tackling the toughest part of Mt. Diablo during his training ride earlier in the week - was not tendonitis but instead, a major heart blockage. His doctor called the location of the blockage "the widowmaker" because once this vessel closes up, you don't survive a heart attack here. It was 97% blocked and everyone we talked to at the hospital told us we were lucky to have caught it in time. Needless to say, the Death Ride probably would have been just that for Bob. Bypass surgery was soon scheduled, and several long months of recovery followed. During that recovery, we learned that our niece Jacqui would be getting married in Maui. Normally we would have passed on a trip like this since we were already planning our trip to Croatia for my birthday, and with both girls in college, we didn't want to overspend. However, after Bob's experience, he decided we should do this since family is important and maybe there would not be a second chance. During the planning he discovered a bike shop near where we would be staying that offered excursions with bike pros up Haleakala, a 10,000 foot climb from sea level spanning 38 miles each direction. That challenge helped Bob to embrace his recovery and today, nine months to the day from his surgery, he completed the ride with amazing style. Bob, you are truly my superhero and I am so proud of you! Despite the fact that the bike shop staff was not available to assist (they only support rides up Haleakala on Wednesdays, but that was the day we were flying home), they did rent him an awesome titanium Lightspeed bike and I provided support, driving his food, water, and extra clothes to the top for him. I had tears in my eyes as he came around the final switchback and we celebrated with a victory hug and kiss at the top!