Robert "Robo" Baldino

Robo

I saw the official sitting alone in Kayenta.  I picked up a couple of extra bags of M-and-Ms and went over to say hello.  He wasn't in a good mood.  He told me a cyclist had been hit by a semi earlier in the morning near Tuba City.  He didn't have any further details.

We headed down the road, and my mind quickly left the sad news and moved onto more pressing matters; after all, this was RAAM and Team Ride Red had an appointment in Annapolis.  Later that night, we happened to pull into a parking lot (somewhere) and I was happy to see the crew vehicles for T400 - Team4Gone (my old RAAM team from 2008).  I ran over to see if Tim or Robo were around.  Tim was asleep in the back of the van, and when I asked for Robo, they said, "Didn't you hear about Robo?  He was hit by a truck this morning."

The news hit me like a sucker punch to the stomach.  I woke Tim up and he told me what he knew and it didn't sound good.  I stumbled back to our RV before breaking down from the news.

Robo and I didn't know each other before RAAM.  And we didn't keep in touch after RAAM.  We spent a week together on our bikes and sharing the back of a minivan riding across America.  But, as crazy as it might sound, such conditions form a strong bond between people -- and it snuck up on me that night.  To hear of Robo's accident broke my heart, and I prayed to God this wasn't his last ride.

Robo leads us out of Oceanside in 2008

I knew Robo was a tough guy.  All you had to do was look at him and see his life etched on his face.  Vietnam vet, sailor and boat racer, now ultra-cyclist -- if anyone could make it, I knew Robo could.  I got conflicting reports on his injuries: broken vertabrae, broken ribs, massive wounds, etc.  All things you'd expect after taking on a speeding semi.  After a few days, I heard he was sitting up, but they were worrying about congestion in his lungs, pneumonia.

I talked to Robo yesterday.  Despite his pain meds, he sounds great!  He's back home in the bay area and recovering well.  Minimizing what happened to him, he asked about my race and my team!  He's already scheming to get a new Cervelo.  (Don't know if Kathy's gonna be OK with that, but ...)  Thank God Robo's not down for the count.  Thanks to all of you for your prayers and concern on his behalf.

Robo, keep the speedy recovery going and as soon as you get your new bike, TAILWINDS, my friend!

Kudos to Tim and the rest of Team4Gone.  Robo insisted they continue the race and they rode a hell of a race to Annapolis.  Congrats, guys!

Tim, KJ, Robo, Donna - RAAM 2008