When I think about how close I was to never coming in contact with Mike Mathiasen, I realize how lucky I am that I did.
I heard about how Mathiasen and friend Bob Pritchard were biking across the country to help raise awareness about non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the disease his wife Kathy has, just days before the Biking Vikings (as the two lifelong friends called themselves) were to take off for their three-month trip from Oregon to Maine.
I thought it was a great story and wanted to help them spread the message. On my first few attempts, I couldn’t get a hold of Mathiasen.
Man, I thought, I hope I’m not too late.
But when I came in to work the next morning, a message from Mathiasen assured me I wasn’t. He was still in town due to the fact that tax man Pritchard was still filing some last-minute returns for clients.
I finally got to talk to Mathiasen about his ride over the phone. We chatted for about an hour and a half. But I had no idea how much time had passed until I hung up the phone. Mathiasen was easy to talk to and an all-around fascinating individual – a great story teller, too. He delivered his tales (and there were many) just right. They weren’t too long and or too short, they were full of colorful details and all the while he was telling them, he still kept the listener involved by asking for feedback. I really enjoyed this. And I was learning a ton about biking, a hobby I recently decided to pick up.
He passed the phone to Kathy and I spoke with her about the trip her husband was about to take. The support the couple had for each other was strong – and rare. You got the impression they would miss each other terribly over the next few months, but that both knew the importance of the journey Mathiasen had planned for so long to make.
I wished Mathiasen luck, promised I would update the readers on the progress of the trip as it went along and we ended our conversation.
I was tickled to find, just minutes after I hung up, that Mathiasen had already sent me an e-mail. Even after our long conversation, he still had things to say.
“Just got off the phone with you…” the e-mail began. He went on to say he just wanted to pass along some of the quotes he was going to put on his and Pritchard’s Web site, www.bikingvikingsforacure, that set the tone for the trip.
The next day, he e-mailed a self-written guide to buying a road bike. He was determined to help me out. Turns out, he was always doing this kind of thing, especially when it came to cycling. The frugal Mathiasen sent his older brother Edward “Butch” Mathiasen, who lives in Houston, a very “nice and expensive” bike for Christmas so they could do a bike trip together. Recently, he had bought Kathy, who was inspired by her husband to get into biking, a new bike and had it outfitted for her.
Now, I understand that’s just the kind of guy Mike Mathiasen was.
Last Thursday, it was downright crushing to hear the news about his death of a heart attack, five days into the trip. There are no words to describe what a cruel twist this inspirational story took. He was doing the ride to help save his wife’s life. Now, his is gone.
Mathiasen lived a full life, as anyone who knew him will tell you, during his 59 years on this planet. But his one last mission went unfulfilled.
The Web site created to record the two men’s ride was really important to Mathiasen. It was the communication portal for the trip, the key to spreading their story and their mission of raising money for cancer research. Not only did it tell Kathy’s story and the story of the ride, but it also provided links to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
If you haven’t visited www.bikingvikingsforacure.com, you should.
Mathiasen and Pritchard were not personally going to raise money on their ride, but they carried business cards and fliers that directed people to the Web site, in hopes they would make donations to the society.
Just about everyone has been touched by cancer in some way. Even if you can’t afford to give money, at least pass the word on to your friends. The Web site has been turned into a memorial and will continue to be maintained by Mathiasen’s niece and webmaster, 15-year-old Abby Duerr.
Tons of other events, 5k runs, bike trips, etc. are held everywhere all the time to help raise money for cancer. Kathy’s sister, Kerry Duerr of Morgan Hill, participates in the Team and Training program to support her. It was events like these that sparked Mike’s cross-country trip idea.
I hope that Mathiasen’s story will spark others to participate in such events. Or, make trips of their own, like he did.
In the future, Mike’s 20-year-old son William Drake plans on finishing the biking trip his father did not. Until then, I’m challenging everybody reading this to keep Mike Mathiasen’s mission alive and well.
This was Mike’s driving purpose behind the ride. Let’s keep it going.
