Up for the Challenge: Getting Back Into Shape

After recovering from my near-fatal motorcycle accident, my first challenge was to learn to walk normally again with the help of my doctors and physical therapists, which is more difficult and painful in your thirties than you might imagine. I had to dig really deep every day to retrain myself to do a movement that comes naturally to most people. Then, I focused on building my strength, so I trained on a stationary bike before challenging myself on a real bike. On that bicycle, I had to find out how far I could go.  

A Man Named John Marino

I remained dedicated to my self-rehabilitation program, and by happenstance one night, Donna and I saw a man named John Marino being interviewed on television about riding his bicycle across the continental United States. I didn’t even know there was such a thing, but what was most intriguing: John completed this amazing feat despite not being a cyclist.

John was an athlete. He played baseball and football at Hollywood High School in California and then at San Diego State University. While a student there, the Dodgers drafted him twice. Both times, he turned them down so he could finish his teaching degree. But the part of the story that most resonated with me was that he suffered a severe injury to his back while lifting weights, ending his baseball prospects.  

More Than a Race

In the fall of 1976, John was thumbing through the Guinness Book of World Records looking to pick up another sport. He ultimately chose cycling and the U.S. coast-to-coast record because it seemed like a huge adventure.

He explained, “After setting the record, I realized that the endeavor was more than a race. It was an expedition. It was more than merely pedaling a bicycle fast and long. It was incredibly interesting. There was so much about the challenge that could pique one’s interest. It also has an ‘off the wall’ quality. It’s just so ‘out there.’ This is really living life to the max. It’s not for everyone, but definitely a huge attraction to some.”

John trained for the ride for two years, and in 1978 when he broke the world record, he called that moment “the greatest thrill of my life.”

After watching the interview, I began to wonder if I could do the same thing. After all, we were a lot alike. When he started planning for his ride, John was not a competitive cyclist but an average guy. He had been a successful athlete in other sports; so had I. He overcame a serious injury; that was what I was trying to do. Maybe I could do this. Maybe this would be a way to prove that I could take control of my life again.  

Up for the Challenge

In September 1979, I rode from Dunwoody to Helen, Georgia, a total of ninety-one miles. It took about twelve and a half hours and was the hardest thing I had done up to then. I had to finish the last five miles with one leg, because my right leg had cramped so severely that I could not use it.

As I rode across the Chattahoochee River into Helen, I thought to myself, “I am so lucky.” I thought about all the people who faced a similar challenge, and I felt I needed to get a message out there about determination, about the importance of not quitting, never giving up. It was at that moment that I decided that I wanted to ride my bicycle across America.

Looking back, this was one of the craziest decisions of my life.