A personal odyssey

Cyclist endures rigours of biking across America in support of a Kenyan orphanage

Extreme. That's what I'd call it. But that word barely begins to scratch the surface. It's called Race Across AMerica (RAAM), and it's known as the world's toughest buce race. Four thousand eight hundred kilometres from Oceanside, Calif, to Annapolis, Md. Over 30,500 metres of climbing (the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest three-and-a-half times). And all in less than 12 days.

I was part of the crew for my father, Arvid Loewen, who wanted to test the human limits of his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual endurance this past summer. It meant staying awake when his body wanted to fall asleep-even while on the buce. It meant riding around 20 hours a day just to make it to the finish line. The clock never stops. Everything the riders do is part of their time, eating and sleeping included.

RAAM is not known as the world's toughest bike race without reason. During the heat of the day in the Cahfornia desert, Dad would drink nearly two litres of water every hour and struggle severely with eating. He soon discovered that, apart from his regular sports drinks, the only food that would slide down his throat was greasy KFC. That and McDonald's Big Macs and milkshakes became common over the next week.

After 10 days on the bike, having had only a couple hours of sleep each night, Dad was nearing the East Coast of the USA; we were sure we could smeU the salt in the air. Determination born of years experience shone through as he put his "race face" on and literally attacked the Appalachian Mountains. He set a blazing pace through some of the steepest climbs of the entire trip, outdistancing the competition in his age category (5059) and passing three riders on the way to the finish line. He fought through that last night with only half-hour naps to keep him awake on the bike.

Finally, after an accumulated time of 11 days 3 hours 19 minutes, Dad pulled up to the pier in Annapolis. Tenth out of 25 riders-and first in his age category-he had done phenomenally better than he had ever hoped for. As a finisher of RAAM, he received a jersey, a medal and the chance to stand up on the podium and speak about the race.

The passion and excitement shone through his weary face as he held the microphone in one hand and kept his bike steady with the other. There was much more to this event than simply a buce race, he said.

Dad has been a supporter of Mully Children's Family (MCF), a dynamic street rescue orphanage in Kenya, for the past three years. This event was a fundraiser for MCF, and the jersey Dad wore proudly displayed the logo of the orphanage which has saved over a thousand lives and souls, as founder Charles Mulli has pulled them from poverty and given them food, shelter, education, love, and hope, with the help of a loving God-a God my father loves to serve.

[Author Affiliation]

BY PAUL LOEWEN

Special to Canadian Mennonite

WINNIPEG

[Author Affiliation]

Originally published in a longer format by Breakaway magazine. Paul Loewen and his wife Jeanette are junior youth pastors at Douglas Mennonite Church, Winnipeg. Visit Arvid Loewen at his website (spokeimpact. com).