Michael Garland of Santiago has seen the devastating effect cancer has on families and friends over the years, including his own. He’s lost his father, his grandfather and an uncle to the disease and knows many other family members and friends who are in treatment or remission from the malady.
In honor of those who have come and gone and those who are battling the disease today, Garland plans to do something unprecedented in his life — bike all the way from Minnesota to the west coast.
“This is in memory of my dad, Don, my grandfather, Raymond Perra and uncle Johnny Swiers as well as many other friends and relatives that have had cancer or are being treated for it or are in remission,” said Mike. “It’s such a horrible disease and I decided I wanted to do something to help in some small way.”
Garland, 57, will set out in mid-May with the hope to return to his home by the end of June. He’ll be riding about 1,921 miles out to Ashland, Oregon along the South Dakota and North Dakota borders, into Montana, the northeastern corner of Wyoming, through Idaho and into Oregon.
His return trip will encompass another 2,000 miles as he’ll head south through Nevada, head east towards Utah, then climb north towards Wyoming and then head straight home through South Dakota. The entire trip should take him about 40 days.
Mike’s goal is to raise $5,000 or more as part of the local Relay For Life American Cancer Society event in Becker, July 10. So far he has raised just $825, but has an anonymous donor ready to double the donation as soon as he reaches $1,000.
“I picked Relay For Life because I learned that at least 72% of the donations brought in go directly to the American Cancer Society,” Mike said. “That’s more than others I researched.”
Mike has been training for his trip for several months now by setting up his triathalon bike on a resistance trainer in his home and spending at least 30-45 minutes a day on it. He also is part of a running club out of St. Cloud as he continues to condition his body for the arduous trip.
“I also have to prepare my body and the bike for the extra load of carrying tools, sprockets, extra tubes, CO2 canisters, an extra chain, sleeping bag, clothes, shoes and a tent,” he said. “I also will be toting a small generator so I can keep my cell phone and tablet charged.”
The total weight of the extra gear is expected to be around 22 pounds.
Mike plans to blog his entire trip so his wife, Peggy, bought him a Go-Pro camera kit so he can video-tape all the goings on. Mike will have some pepper spray with him too, in case he runs into any unruly critters while camping out at night at area campgrounds.
Garland has always had a passion for staying fit. He was active in sports as a teen and played on Dwight Lundeen’s first football team in the 70s. Over the years he began running recreationally but soon realized the pounding had an adverse effect on his knees and joints. Six years ago he bought a bike and he’s never looked back.
“In the summer I bike probably six days a week,” he said. “I’ve also entered a few duathalons where you run and bike but mostly I do it for the health.”
Garland is retired from Xcel Energy in Becker where he worked for over 33 years. He is married and has four adult daughters.
Garland has a website on Facebook called, Mike’s West Coast Ride, where he is documenting his day-to-day training and updating people on his donation efforts. There is also a link that’ll take one to the donation page. Anyone interested in helping Mike reach his goal of $5,000 can also donate at www.relayforlife.org or go to main.acsevents.org to donate or follow Mike’s progress.
He also is willing to answer any questions or field any comments at his email address of: mikegarland1957@icloud.com.
“A Relay For Life event is not only a way to join my community to fight back against cancer, but it is also a way to inspire hope by raising funds and cancer awareness to help those facing the disease,” Mike said.
“This is my opportunity to honor the cancer survivors in my life, remember friends and family I have lost, and help raise funds to support the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission.”
