I had the opportunity to talk to Kurt Lorch over the phone and ask him some questions. Below are his responses to the Q&A. Click here to learn more about Kurt and his family!
Q: How did you get involved with RAAM?
Kurt: Jeff (Zaniker) called me up one day and said, 'Hey I'm thinking of doing RAAM this year, do you wanna do it?' I said, 'Jeff you realize this is big, this is huge, this isn't just a bike ride across the US. It's the best of the best.' So we talked about it and basically Jeff told me that if I'm in than he's in. So I told him sure!
Q: What is your role on the team?
Kurt: Riders strictly ride. I'm sure we will help out with other stuff here and there. Like help secure the RV.
Q: What is your favorite breakfast meal?
Kurt: Oatmeal.
Q: Why Oatmeal?
Kurt: There's really no reason. I guess because I don't eat cereal and I don't like milk, so I eat a lot of oatmeal. I do a bunch of flavors. Sometimes I'll put blueberries in it, brown sugar in it and raisins or nuts. A little bit of everything
Q: What 3 things can always be found in your refrigerator/freezer?
Kurt: Man that's a tough question. How about hard salami, ice cream and beer!!!
Q: How long have you been training for this event?
Kurt: Well I'm always riding, but I started training a little more serious probably in the last 4 months. I was actually in the process of training for the 3 State 3 Mountain challenge. I've been training for that all winter anyways, so I went from that and just transitioned right into training for RAAM.
Q: What is your favorite candy?
Kurt: Have you ever seen those Brookside dark chocolate covered candies? Love 'em! Chocolate covered pretzels are always good too.
Q: What are you most afraid about for this trip?
Kurt: I guess mainly just the first day or so, till we get into the swing of things. I guess just getting started. Once we get the first day out of the way, we will get into a rhythm. So I guess that's the thing I'm most worried about.
Q: And what is it that you most looking forward to?
Kurt: Well the one thing I'm looking the most forward to is finishing.
Q: Do you have a birthday or any special date during our trip?
Kurt: Parker is going to Boot Camp while I'm riding. So I'll be missing that.
Q: Is that something he is doing through the High School or outside of school?
Kurt: No he's a Navy Sea Cadet. It's the High School version, so when he gets through boot camp, he'll be official. He starts Boot Camp the day before we finish.
Q: Tell us one thing about you that we would not know or would surprise us.
Kurt: Oh gosh. Well the average person is shocked to learn that Joy and I have been married for almost 27 years. Most people are shocked when they find out we've been married that long.
Q: Well you both look young and act young, so keep that up!
Kurt: Thanks!
Q: How has living with MS impacted/affected your life?
Kurt: The thing with MS is that it affects your life daily. The reason I say that is because MS is like a roller coaster. You have good days and bad days. So when you wake up you just never know what your day's gonna be like. Living with MS you just have to know that every day is going to be different and you just have to learn to roll with the punches and keep moving on.
Q: We all know what happens when you give a mouse a cookie. What would happen if I gave you a cookie?
Kurt: Oh man BJ that is my downfall...I love cookies! Love cookies!!! You don't want the answer that if you gave me a cookie that sucker would gone so fast? You're looking more for... What kind of answer are you looking for?
Q: Obviously I hope you would eat it! But would you want something to wash it down or would you ask for another one?
Kurt: BJ I'm pretty boring. I eat a lot of cookies. When Joy makes cookies I can't stop with just one. I guess I'm kinda weird because most people would drink milk, but I'm not a big milk drinker. I guess would just have some ice water or water. So I guess yeah, if you give me a cookie, I'll ask for another one! That's my downfall.
Q: Is there anything else you want people to know about you?
Kurt: One of the main reasons for me wanting to do this is to bring awareness to MS and to raise money, so that one of these days they find a cure. That's the main goal. With 3 kids myself, I would love for my children and future generations to not have to worry about MS. They would find a cure. I've been on medication now for over 16 years and it was money that funded research to come up with these drugs to slow down the progression. If I hadn't been diagnosed when I was I probably wouldn't be doing as well as I am right now.
Q: How old were you when you were diagnosed?
Kurt: I was diagnosed when I was 26 years old. I look back and I remember having problems prior to being diagnosed. Heck, I remember when I was 17 years old that I was having problems. I would go to the doctor and by the time I would get to the doctor I would be fine, so they couldn't do anything for me. I got to the point where I just stopped going to doctors, because they weren't doing anything for me and I thought the heck with it. By then I had let it go so long, that I pretty much had to get into the doctors. So when I did get back, they did an MRI and a lumbar puncture and there was no question. They knew it was MS. It came back positive. When you are diagnosed it has to be more than one reason. By the time they did the MRI I had quite a few lesions, so there was so question what I had. I guess that's my story in a nutshell.
Q: How did you get involved with RAAM?
Kurt: Jeff (Zaniker) called me up one day and said, 'Hey I'm thinking of doing RAAM this year, do you wanna do it?' I said, 'Jeff you realize this is big, this is huge, this isn't just a bike ride across the US. It's the best of the best.' So we talked about it and basically Jeff told me that if I'm in than he's in. So I told him sure!
Q: What is your role on the team?
Kurt: Riders strictly ride. I'm sure we will help out with other stuff here and there. Like help secure the RV.
Q: What is your favorite breakfast meal?
Kurt: Oatmeal.
Q: Why Oatmeal?
Kurt: There's really no reason. I guess because I don't eat cereal and I don't like milk, so I eat a lot of oatmeal. I do a bunch of flavors. Sometimes I'll put blueberries in it, brown sugar in it and raisins or nuts. A little bit of everything
Q: What 3 things can always be found in your refrigerator/freezer?
Kurt: Man that's a tough question. How about hard salami, ice cream and beer!!!
Q: How long have you been training for this event?
Kurt: Well I'm always riding, but I started training a little more serious probably in the last 4 months. I was actually in the process of training for the 3 State 3 Mountain challenge. I've been training for that all winter anyways, so I went from that and just transitioned right into training for RAAM.
Q: What is your favorite candy?
Kurt: Have you ever seen those Brookside dark chocolate covered candies? Love 'em! Chocolate covered pretzels are always good too.
Q: What are you most afraid about for this trip?
Kurt: I guess mainly just the first day or so, till we get into the swing of things. I guess just getting started. Once we get the first day out of the way, we will get into a rhythm. So I guess that's the thing I'm most worried about.
Q: And what is it that you most looking forward to?
Kurt: Well the one thing I'm looking the most forward to is finishing.
Q: Do you have a birthday or any special date during our trip?
Kurt: Parker is going to Boot Camp while I'm riding. So I'll be missing that.
Q: Is that something he is doing through the High School or outside of school?
Kurt: No he's a Navy Sea Cadet. It's the High School version, so when he gets through boot camp, he'll be official. He starts Boot Camp the day before we finish.
Q: Tell us one thing about you that we would not know or would surprise us.
Kurt: Oh gosh. Well the average person is shocked to learn that Joy and I have been married for almost 27 years. Most people are shocked when they find out we've been married that long.
Q: Well you both look young and act young, so keep that up!
Kurt: Thanks!
Q: How has living with MS impacted/affected your life?
Kurt: The thing with MS is that it affects your life daily. The reason I say that is because MS is like a roller coaster. You have good days and bad days. So when you wake up you just never know what your day's gonna be like. Living with MS you just have to know that every day is going to be different and you just have to learn to roll with the punches and keep moving on.
Q: We all know what happens when you give a mouse a cookie. What would happen if I gave you a cookie?
Kurt: Oh man BJ that is my downfall...I love cookies! Love cookies!!! You don't want the answer that if you gave me a cookie that sucker would gone so fast? You're looking more for... What kind of answer are you looking for?
Q: Obviously I hope you would eat it! But would you want something to wash it down or would you ask for another one?
Kurt: BJ I'm pretty boring. I eat a lot of cookies. When Joy makes cookies I can't stop with just one. I guess I'm kinda weird because most people would drink milk, but I'm not a big milk drinker. I guess would just have some ice water or water. So I guess yeah, if you give me a cookie, I'll ask for another one! That's my downfall.
Q: Is there anything else you want people to know about you?
Kurt: One of the main reasons for me wanting to do this is to bring awareness to MS and to raise money, so that one of these days they find a cure. That's the main goal. With 3 kids myself, I would love for my children and future generations to not have to worry about MS. They would find a cure. I've been on medication now for over 16 years and it was money that funded research to come up with these drugs to slow down the progression. If I hadn't been diagnosed when I was I probably wouldn't be doing as well as I am right now.
Q: How old were you when you were diagnosed?
Kurt: I was diagnosed when I was 26 years old. I look back and I remember having problems prior to being diagnosed. Heck, I remember when I was 17 years old that I was having problems. I would go to the doctor and by the time I would get to the doctor I would be fine, so they couldn't do anything for me. I got to the point where I just stopped going to doctors, because they weren't doing anything for me and I thought the heck with it. By then I had let it go so long, that I pretty much had to get into the doctors. So when I did get back, they did an MRI and a lumbar puncture and there was no question. They knew it was MS. It came back positive. When you are diagnosed it has to be more than one reason. By the time they did the MRI I had quite a few lesions, so there was so question what I had. I guess that's my story in a nutshell.