[June 19, 2013] Resident geared up for ride Tweet ZIONSVILLE, Jun 17, 2013 (Zionsville Times Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Mike Robertson started cycling 13 years ago to get in shape, but now he has accomplished something most can only dream about doing. The Zionsville resident was one of 24 people that participated in the Performance Atlantic Cycling Tours Elite Transcontinental bike ride, cycling from San Diego to Tybee Island, Ga., in 17 days. Robertson said he wanted to try the ride after losing his father, David, in November. "He always wanted to challenge life and go after it," he said. "His inspiration was to grab big things, and do things that you don't think you can do, and live life to the fullest." Robertson said an interaction with another patient at the nursing home his dad was in really drove the point home to live life to the fullest. "This guy, who also had dementia, grabs me by the arm and says 'Son, come with me,'" he said. "He looks at me and says 'You know how they tell you about the golden years, well, that's a bunch of crap. I have no money, no job and I'm here all day and can't do much.' That got me thinking about 'Here's a guy in his 80s or 90s thinking shoulda, woulda, coulda.' He may not have been all there, but it had an impact on me." Robertson had completed the RAIN Ride across Indiana and thought he should try riding across country. "The main reasons that I signed up were because, at 50 (years old), I knew it wasn't going to get any easier, and this ride was shorter than the normal cross country rides (30 days)," he said. ___ (c)2013 Zionsville Times Sentinel (Zionsville, Ind.) Visit Zionsville Times Sentinel (Zionsville, Ind.) at timessentinel.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]