MILE$ FOR MONEY

  I had my "miles for money" day on November 24, 2024, at Ironman Cozumel. (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run).  My past ironman training and competitions were helpful to Scott in preparing for his perimeter ride just as my chasing Scott around on the bike this summer, as he got ready for his 100-mile gran fondo bike race, was helpful to me! First and foremost, congratulations to Scott on a great 100-mile gran fondo bike race- he finished in 4:35, on a very rainy windy day to finish 11/51 in his age group and complete his very first 100-mile bike race!  So very proud of him - I took loads of Facebook live videos of him flying by.     This was my 5 th  ironman and my 3d ironman Cozumel.   My last IM Cozumel was in 2022. I had finished in 12:53 in 2022, had a great race in the 55-59 age group. But a week after the race I had emergency surgery in Mexico to save my life, ended up having 3 ½ feet of dead intestine taken out. (S...

  It's hard to believe that we have already been home for almost three months. We are settling in and especially enjoying our deck looking over the lake, family and friends. It took a couple years of planning to get ready for the trip, so it will take some time to unwind all we put in place.  (For example, we bought the camper for the trip - we intend to sell it but I haven't yet completely unpacked it!)  While the trip is over, our mission to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer will not end.  Scott and I are committed to this mission until prostate cancer is zeroed out.  We are not there yet. We have continued to speak at Rotary clubs, churches, bike clubs, community groups and other events, and to share Scott's story frequently.  We are also excited to get involved with Zero's Twin Cities Run Walk this Saturday, September 14th. Scott will be MC, share his story, and also lead the run walk on his bicycle.  Next year  I will be tak...

  Our last week! Scott is just shy of 10,000 miles – he will finish the journey on Saturday into Itasca, somewhere between 10,000 and 11,000 miles. Very few people bike that many miles in one year. As an example, the Tour de France male riders cycle about 14,000 miles in a year, the women ride about 11,000. An “avid” cyclist rides about 3,000 -  5,000 in a year, and usually on roads or trails near home that they are accustom to. Scott is completing this ride while undergoing treatment too, for stage 4 prostate cancer. He has overcome numerous obstacles along the way. The physical and mental feat is something that is truly special and has inspired many to be more active, even with cancer, or other challenges ( with your doctor's ok!)  We were super excited to have Emmy award winning ESPN crew come out to film and interview Scott this week. Pictured above, Jeremy Schaap (television reporter, 11 time Emmy award winner for his work on E:60, SportsCenter and Outside the Line...

How appropriate that June, men’s health month, is when this epic journey will conclude! Scott is over 9600 miles, and we are in Medora, North Dakota.  We have less than two weeks to go! Scott did a video yesterday during our hike in the Badlands at Theodore Roosevelt National Park to remind men to get their physicals, and to get their PSA checked.  Today is also cancer survivor day, a day to be grateful for the each day that Scott beats this disease.  I too want to remind women to encourage the men in their life to get their physicals (and their own preventive physicals.) I pestered Scott about getting a checkup as I said "it was the thing to do" in our early 50’s. He felt great, he was strength training, playing hockey, softball, and had absolutely no symptoms of any ill health. We had only been married a few months when he was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer.   Scott had an elevated PSA detected from a simple blood test, and a biopsy confirmed the aggre...

For this memorial weekend, we think of all those we honor for their service, and those we have lost. Friday was “world schizophrenia day.”  With the significance of that day, and the approaching Memorial Day, Scott rode in honor of Benny Friday. We encourage all to support the charity we are supporting, Schizophrenia & Psychosis Action Alliance, a non-profit whose link is in the milesformoney.org website. One of Scott’s best memories of Benny is when he graduated from Boot Camp in the Army. Scott and his mom had driven down to South Carolina for graduation. After the ceremony Scott was trying to find Benny in a crowd, which was difficult as all the men all had the same haircut and same uniform! He finally saw Benny and was thrilled to see him in an animated conversation with another graduate. When he called his name, Benny looked up and smiled. The light and joy on Benny’s face is a memory that Scott treasures. Benny was often socially awkward. To see Benny so engaged and h...

Scott is well over 9,100 miles. We just enjoyed a wonderful visit with friends from Minnesota who came out to bike and hike Glacier National Park. We biked up the West side of Glacier Going to the Sun Road with them. In the spring it is a treat to bike the Going to the Sun Road before cars are allowed on to the road.  Tonight we are enjoying time with another friend that moved to Minnesota, and speaking to local press who heard about Scott's story and pleasantly surprised us at the camper.    We had a perfect weather day for the  Glacier ride up the west side. I was so happy  to bike with Scott as Puck and Sammie visited a local kennel for the day. YAAAA! We were also able to experience the Northern Lights from the beach on Lake McDonald! After our friends left, Scott biked around Glacier and then Scott and I biked up the East side of Glacier.  The weather was not quite as good that day, cooler and a high wind but still no snow so I did not complain.  ...

Scott is really close to 9000 miles in. As we do every 1000 miles, he took a few days off. We use that time to connect to share his story and connect with friends too which refreshes our spirits. We enjoyed speaking to the White Fish Rotary (pictured) where Scott shared his story. We also saw long time Minnesota friends that now live in Montana and are very much looking forward to other friends that just arrived to bike and spend time with us! Recovery is really important in a ride like this, not just for Scott’s body but also his brain. The daily ongoing focus to stay alert on the roads – mile after mile and day after day is hard. Thursday, he rode again, and we combined the miles he missed when it was 41 and pouring rain with the short mileage, he was intending to do for the recovery week. Once again, the road had slim to no shoulders coming into Whitefish – underscoring the importance of his alertness for these rides. Tomorrow will be an incredibly special ride on a perfect weat...

After several hard days of  challenging climbing in equally challenging cold, rainy, and even snowy conditions, (including graupel) Scott's legs and body were tired but his spirit remained strong. We both appreciate that we are on the final stretch, and it won't be long before we are headed into Itasca State Park that final ride day of June 15th!    Some have labeled May "mental health awareness month," an opportunity to take an inventory of how well we are mentally adjusted to today's life and mental health challenges. (I would suggest just doing an evaluation just one time a year for one month is not enough.) I have repeatedly stated, as have others, that we are in awe of Scott's strong mental strength in the daily pursuit of this journey, which got me thinking even more about mental health.  Scott and I have both had many challenges to face in our lives and on this journey. Most recently for  the 'big" challenges, Scott has been fighting advanced c...

Scott is into what many would say is the most challenging part of the trip. Forget that he is doing only two weeks after having radiation, or right after having a Lupron shot that takes away all his testosterone! We like to say he is doing it after training for 10 months or over 8000 miles, to be ready for the climbing! Earlier this week Scott had had his biggest climb to date – through the Washington Pass. Due to heavy snow cover the road had only been plowed through three days before his ride! The climb was epic, Scott was going uphill for most of the 6 hours of biking with only a few short descents. As is oh so Scott, he did not complain. But he did use “mental” breaks every 2 miles, and later every mile where he would stand up and change position. His body managed the climb well, and has been the case for him, the mental challenge of the relentless nature of the ride, was indeed the hardest part. Breaking up the ride into segments helps immensely. ( Another life lesson!)  D...

Today I had one of those heart stopping moments where I heard a kaboom when I was pulling out of the campground. I stopped immediately only to see the hitch and front end of the camper on the ground. Scott had already biked out. I called him, and he biked back.  Thankfully, the hitch had not broken but had come out of the receiver. It was human error – guessing the pin was ahead of the sleeves ie the pins didn’t properly go through the sleeve to secure it.  Lesson learned: even when you have hooked up hundreds of times, you can make a mistake. Stay present in the moment!  With the amazing help of the Jim and Mike of Riverbend Campground in Washington, and a fellow camper,  we propped up the camper with a jack, took apart the hitch, put the hitch back together, and we were able to reconnect all and hook up.  (It sounds simple, but it was not simple.)  I trailered on to the next site with no further issues. We will be inspecting all tonight to ensure that not...

Scott finished his last radiation treatment this morning to his rib and clavicle. So far, he has “irritation” to the clavicle but manageable with ibuprofen. Happily, he does not have any diarrhea or nausea from stray radiation to intestines behind the rib area, and only typical, not debilitating, fatigue. The side effects are expected to peak within two weeks from the last treatment. We are both just grateful the new mets are manageable and Scott can continue the milesformoney.org mission.   Our hearts are full after a full weekend of seeing family, friends and going to church. One of the hard parts of this year long trip is missing our loved ones. We appreciate their understanding of the need for us to do this mission, to honor the life God has given Scott, and Benny’s life. We are excited to get rolling again to finish those last “few” thousand miles and continue to raise as much awareness and funds as possible for the two charities zero prostrate cancer and schizophrenia psych...

As we have said over and over, we are so extremely fortunate for the excellent care we have received by the medical professionals  along the way. This visit was no different and the Mayo report follows.   The PSA was up a bit more to .36, and the PSMA pet scan showed some new metastasis in the bones. The other blood work looked normal.  Today we saw Dr. Eugene Kwon,  Scott's primary  provider who explained the test results and is directing his care, and Dr. Sean Park, Mayo Radiation Oncologist. Dr. Kwon was already prepared with a plan at our 7:15 am appointment today. Dr Park was not even on the schedule but made time for Scott ( thanks to Dr. Kwon,)  when the PMSA pet scan showed some new mets that need to be addressed now. Dr. Kwon talked to Dr. Park, who got Scott in for the consult today, and then Dr. Park designed the simulation, which also happened today. Mayo again illustrated a fantastic team approach and communication! The radiation will begin o...

Scott is almost 8000 miles into the milesformoney journey. He left off in Lincoln Beach, Oregon, where he will pick up after we return from this Mayo visit. We drove to McMinnville to drop the RV in storage – thank you to Gary Squires for allowing us to park the RV in your storage area while we are back in Minnesota. Huge thanks to Cynthia Easterday who arranged for a community talk in McMinnville. Everyone loved the yummy cupcakes and was moved by Scott’s inspirational talk. We also spoke to the East Portland Rotary, as well as speaking to Wesleigh Ogle and her team, of KATU news, who are putting a tv piece together for their “everyday heroes” segment. We are extremely excited to see and hear the piece!  For me especially,  as a long time rotarian, it is like a piece of home every time we speak at a Rotary, which is an international service organization based on “service above self.” Last week was National Physician’s week. What a fantastic opportunity to thank Scott’s do...