A Ride to Remember

Andrew Johnson had ridden bikes recreationally before. During the summer months before college, he said he rode about an hour a day.

Then things got a little more serious. His high school friend’s father, an IU alumnus, pushed him to ride in the Little 500.

“One thing about him was that he was really encouraging,” Johnson said. “He’d make you believe in yourself. He believed in you. He believed in everybody,
really.”

So Johnson, a freshman, decided to ride.

“Lots of things I do in my life are kind of based on whims, but once I find something I want to do, I really stick with it and follow through,” Johnson said. “I’d say I’m pretty dedicated.”

RIDING WITH A PURPOSE
In late October, the whim based on the father’s suggestion became much more. Johnson began to ride with a purpose.

“Before I was able to say thank you for convincing me to do this, suggesting that I do it, for your faith in me – before I even told him I was going to do it ... he passed away,” Johnson said.

Samuel Miller died of aortic dissection, a condition that occurs when “the inner layer of the aorta’s artery wall splits open,” according to www.americanheart.org. The aorta is the major artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. A third of patients who are not immediately treated die within the first 24 hours of dissection, while 50 percent die in the first 48. Seventy-five percent die within a two-week period.

Samuel Miller died at 53 on Oct. 30, 2008, according to his obituary. His family, including Betsy, his wife of 32 years, and their five children, including Johnson’s friend Ryan Miller, were left to deal with the grief – as was Johnson, who said he was “very close” to Samuel Miller.

“When I’m training, I just remember that he’s the reason I’m doing it,” Johnson said. “Now I want to do it in his honor and let people know that there’s this man behind all of this.”

Ryan Miller said he appreciates Johnson’s dedication to his father’s memory.
“I greatly respect his efforts,” Ryan Miller said. “The fact that it was my dad who motivated him to get involved is only a footnote – I would admire Andy’s devotion either way.”

RIDING THROUGH THE PAIN
Johnson has dealt with some pain and frustration preparing for the Little 500: He’s scraped his knees, been in near-collisions with cars and pedestrians and climbed stairs until he’s vomited. He’s fallen, but he always climbs back on the bike. And he rides.

“Andy is the kind of teammate you hope to have,” senior John Bowden of Johnson’s team, Team Cinzano, said. “He never seems to have a bad day and always keeps an open mind. His attitude and outlook is a great contribution to the team both mentally and physically.”

As for Johnson, his biggest challenge is not the grind of daily training.

“It’s definitely physically grueling, but the time commitment is crazy,” Johnson said. “With managing classes and all of the training, it’s difficult to have a social life. It keeps you very busy.”

Johnson has a large load to carry, considering he also has two majors: linguistics and Japanese. However, he said he believes the hard work is worth it. He said he knows he is improving, even though the improvement is hard to see.

“When you do it every day, it’s hard to notice the progression,” he said.

THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME
Ryan Miller, a freshman at Purdue studying computer science, has had a hard time dealing with the loss.

“It was tough on him,” Johnson said.

But Johnson’s efforts have helped him deal with the pain of the loss and ride on into the future.

“I’d like to think that my dad is being remembered,” Ryan Miller said. “I know that every day Andy gets up early to train or finishes miles of practice with his team. He thinks of the person who encouraged him to get involved in something like this.”

Johnson said he feels his efforts are not extraordinary, but necessary.

“The only thing I could really say is people give back what they get,” Johnson said. “He treated you just like another person, and he gave me lots of respect. I just try to reciprocate.”

Ryan Miller said he and Johnson have been through a lot together. In the past few months, they have experienced broken bones, broken dreams and broken hearts. The Little 500 has become more than a race to them – it has become a ride of hope and a ride to redemption.

“I think we helped each other through every twist and turn during those few months, and luckily things seem to have leveled off,” Ryan Miller said. “In my mind, Andy’s newfound interest in biking and the Little 500 symbolizes the first step in moving on to a brighter future.”