Ironman AZ '09
There are two stories behind the bike I rode at Ironman AZ 2009; one that’s known to many and one that up until now was only known to those very close to me.
While trying to figure out a good way to raise funds for The Prostate Cancer Foundation, my buddy & co-worker Jack Harbaugh popped his head in my office. During our conversation I mentioned putting the names of friends & family that have battled cancer. Jack’s family has been touched far too often by this dreaded disease, and his sister was days away from getting the great news that she had beaten her recent battle with breast cancer.
Sadly, it didn’t take long for me to put together a list of friends & family that have battled cancer. Some names are in honor of those who are battling for their lives, some have won, and some names are in memory of those who were taken from us. I was able to raise $1600 through Athletes For A Cure for The Prostate Cancer Foundation through the generous donations of my friends & family. Here’s the full list:
- Nelson DeAngelo
- Jan Bodyk
- Art Beaumont
- George Walick
- Carol Gregor
- Shawn Garcia
- Leo Plante
- Dorothy Peter
- Mike Yuchunas
- Tricia Harbaugh
- Jack Markin
- Tom Ross
- Sharon Grady
- Frank Casarella, Sr.
My uncle Leo Plante passed away the night I was installing the names on the bike.
While that might be an inspirational story by itself, there was another layer to the title of this post: Life, Death & Hope.
You may notice I don’t call this bike “My Bike” – while I do own it, I know it belongs to another triathlete who died in a car wreck just before Christmas in ’08. (names witheld for privacy) His wife was too broken up to see his bike hanging in the garage every day, and asked some of her co-workers to help her find a new home for his bike. Through a series of events, this Guru Cron’alu came into my life, and I sold off my own bike to purchase it. I felt from day 1 that this bike was special; and I promised myself that I would do something its previous owner would have loved to do – finish an Ironman.
Ironman AZ Transition
On race day there were several times when my energy level was fading and I drew inspiration from the names of those who have had a REAL battle on their hands; Nelson DeAngelo fought off prostate cancer, Carol Gregor is battling pancreatic cancer, Shawn Garcia fought cancer through grade school and was taken way too young. I also knew that I had a promise to keep the real owner of this bike, and there was nothing that would stop me… even my own bad luck & stupidity.
Flat tires are relatively common with 2400 racers biking 112 miles in the desert; and smart racer makes sure to have plenty of tubes and air to get them through the event. When my rear tire started thumping on the stem at mile 60, I was very zen about the whole thing… I figured I’d take my time and change it – no need to rush. I ran through the normal procedure for swapping out a new tube and got the bike back together within a few minutes… and then I realized the stem on my tube was too short for my rim – I couldn’t put air in the tire. With the help of a race volunteer; I was back rolling about 40 minutes later.
While I was waiting for help, I had only one fear: “I might not finish this race”. I was initially upset for selfish reasons – I wouldn’t be able to call myself an Ironman – and then I centered on the promise that I had to fulfill. It was right about that time my helper appeared out of the blue and fixed my tube. I’m not claiming anything supernatural happened, but I’m really glad for the outcome.
Guru & Me
Tonight, I am writing this as I am stripping the stickers off the bike in order to sell it. I know I’m only removing the decals, the names will remain with this bike forever.