We spoke about his involvement with RAAM, consequently my enthusiasm was apparrant and Lon lent me a DVD showing the early history of the inception of RAAM before it was called the the Great American Bike Race in 1982. I graduated High School around this exact time.
This was a very good day. I have often wondered about how Lon was doing after all these years and was impressed with his appearance. Once a bike rider always a bike rider. He leads bike tours with his PAC Tour company and it shows.
Tomorrow the athletes will line up to follow a route across the country that Lon Haldeman crossed so many times and I thank him for the effort he made to such an amazing race which we now call RAAM.
I did it, met my hero. Lon inspired me like no other athlete at the time. He knows how to suffer. Lon showed us how fast it was possible to cross this great country with the power and fitness that results from hard work and discipline, just amazing.
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