Two Cottage Grove residents and members of the bicycle group Team One Life are soon to undertake a mission in support of children with cancer and their families.
Amy Hite and Dave Lundberg, a married couple, will take part in the Race Across America in support of Special Love Inc. The Race Across America (RAAM) is an over 3,000 mile bike race that starts in Oceanside California and ends at Atlantic City, New Jersey in just over a week, while Special Love Inc. is an organization which helps provide a strong and nurturing environment for children with cancer from across the country, as well as their families. Based in Winchester, Virginia, Special Love Inc. operates Camp Fantastic, working with 7 to 17 year old cancer patients, also serving those birth to 30 and their families. Readers can find out more at specialove.org.
Also part of Team One life supporitng the mission of Special Love Inc. meanwhile are Brian Hetherington of Annapolis, Maryland and Rick Phelan of Waxahatchie, Texas, along with a support crew of 10 to help care for the four bikers on their journey. Team One Life will compete in RAAM in the mixed (co-ed) 50-59 age category, with several sponsors including Bion Inc., Source One Flooring, ISI Demolition, Clark Construction, Windsor Electric Company, and many more. A full sponsor listing is posted on the team’s website.
As for RAAM itself, its an annual event first held in 1982 which draws competitive bicyclists from around the world, and is sometimes called “the world’s toughest bicycle race.” Participants follow a course for this year that takes them through different time stations, the course moving through California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, across the Mississippi, and on through several more states before ending at the East Coast. In all, 155 riders are registered for this year’s race. So just what drives Hite and Lundberg to take on such a grueling journey, aside form the mental and physical challenge involved?
“To keep an eye on Dave Lundberg and to raise awareness and support for Special Love – for children with cancer,” Hite shares at the team website of teamonelife.org. Also a recent cancer survivor, Hite says she knows how a cancer diagnosis can turn someone’s world instantly upside down, with continued training being one way she maintained control and a semblance of normalcy during her cancer treatment.
As for Lundberg, the retired 59-year-old and native of northern Minnesota first learned of RAAM in the late ‘90s, from friends racing a 200 mile bike race in California, with some using the 200 mile race to qualify for participating solo in RAAM. Riders can participate in RAAM solo or in teams ranging from two to eight people. Only solo riders need to qualify before participating.
“I’ve always dreamt since then of doing the RAAM event and am very excited for an opportunity to realize that dream,” he shares at teamonelife.org. “It’s also exciting to be racing to help support the great camps and programs that Special Love provides for the children and their families.”
Soon to be in action 24 hours a day as they race from California to New Jersey, Team One Life riders will divide into groups of two; each group taking shifts of four to six hours. Within each shift, the two riders will take 20 to 30 minute turns riding. Effectively a complex bike and no-stop bike relay, the race will run 24/7 over the course of competition, and for that, they’ll need help.
Support staff will drive a vehicle that allows the on-shift rider and shuttles the resting rider to the next transition zone, also driving and staying an RV that will allow riders to sleep and eat between riding shifts. Included in the support crew are a bike mechanic and photographer.
With RAAM settee begin this June 15, readers can follow Team One Life and its course progress with the following online resources.
• Facebook: @teamonelifeRAAM
• Instagram: @teamoneliferaam
• Team One Life’s website: https://teamonelife.org/
• Special Love’s website: https://specialove.org/
• www.raceacrossamerica.org