Meanwhile, 3,000 Miles Later …

Friday, 20 June, 2008 in Happenings

He did it. We all did it. Last night, after just over 11 days, Doug Levy rode in to the 2008 RAAM finish line. He became one of less than 200 men and women who have successfully pedaled solo across America. He dismounted and posed for a few hundred photographs. He even had the wherewithal to stand up in front of the sea of normal people (and fans in neon green t-shirts) and tell people about hsi journey, and why he did it (raising money for CCI, link to the right).

Doug said he was just a normal guy who was glad he was able to do something extraodinary. We say, there’s nothing normal about you Doug, you’re a superman. You’re a hero. You’re a “world class athlete,” in the words of his Crew Chief. You spent 11 days on a bicycle, climbing mountains, outlasting headwinds, surviving deserts and dodging rain. You snuck food from your crew to fill your belly, when you couldn’t stand another bottle of calories (yes, we saw you! ). You did good, bub.

So there was a celebration at the final checkpoint, and at the finish line, and the one at the hotel outlasted many a tired crewmember. We were celebrating Doug’s achievements, we were celebrating all of the riders and crew, and the fact that we had come home safely. And I think we were also celebrating the fact that we could now sleep in a real-sized bed, that didn’t move, for more than 90 minutes!

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