Dorothy: [00:00:00] The Rose was introduced to Mike Hazelrigs during a Bikers Against Breast Cancer event that raised money for The Rose. It was about that time that Mike also met his fiancée, Kathy, who was also battling breast cancer. When I first met Mike, he said, You know, I’m a real biker, and he is. He said, I don’t want you to be afraid when I come in through the door.
I weigh 300 pounds, I got these tattoos, and my hair is long. And I said, Mike, I know what you look like. But what I didn’t know was this heart of gold that Mike has and how passionate he is about paying it forward to help women battle breast cancer. And that’s why this summer he’s going to go on a 10,000 mile Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, which goes from Florida to Alaska, to raise money for The Rose and help us help others who are dealing with breast cancer.
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Let’s Talk About Your Breast. A different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose, the Breast Center of Excellence, and a Texas treasure. You’re going to hear a frank discussion about tough topics, and you’re gonna learn why knowing about your breast could save your life.
We’re here today with Mike Hazelrigs, and he’s gonna be telling us about this amazing ride that he’s about to do for The Rose, but there’s a lot we wanna know about you, Mike, and you know, if I didn’t know better, I’d know you were a biker . I mean, you just, uh. You have that look. And, uh, I remember though, you telling me that in your other life, in your real life, in your work life, what is it that you do?
Mike: [00:02:00] So, I’m a facility manager. I was in IT for 30 years and then landed in facilities management, and so that’s what I’ve been doing for about 15 now.
Dorothy: Yeah. And I was, and I remember you saying, I have to go to work and get, get— looking like a regular human being and all of that kind of stuff. Be professional.
And I thought, uh, because the first time we talked you said, you, you’ve got to go look at my page. And I went, holy smokes, this guy really is a biker. So how long have you been biking? How long have you been doing
Mike: this? So I’ve been riding since my early 20s, so, um, 40 plus years now. Um, all the accoutrements have basically come since I was 60, uh, the tattoos were something I did with my daughter, heaven forbid. And uh, I just reached a point in my life where I decided to think there were different priorities in life. So I can be professional, but. I can keep it under wraps a little bit.
Dorothy: You do it, yes. [00:03:00] And I, now we’re talking the big motorcycles. We’re talking big bikes. I was telling someone I was about to interview you and they go, Oh, a biker. I said, no, no, no, no. We’re talking the big heavy duty kinds. Uh, so how did you first find out about The Rose?
Mike: So, we were very fortunate. Um, Uh, Kathy was diagnosed in, uh, January of 2011.
Dorothy: And Kathy’s your fiance.
Mike: She’s my fiance. And, um. We, she had just been diagnosed and was just starting her first treatments and stuff.
And we had a bunch of friends that, uh, already rode. And through that connection, we found out about Bikers Against Breast Cancer. And— everybody had to come because everybody loves Kathy. So there was a support thing and I think that’s how we, we came about The Rose and then attended six, seven of them have donated, done the [00:04:00] Shrimp Boil and everything else. So it, there was already a connection there.
Dorothy: A good connection. Yes. And the Bikers Against Breast Cancer was something that The Rose hosted for 10 years. An incredible, incredible fundraiser and lots of fun. Always outside, always dependent on the weather. And, uh—
Mike: If it rained, we rode.
Dorothy: I know you did. I wouldn’t be out there and I would think, uh, What was it y’all covered, like, 60 miles or?
Mike: It wasn’t a terribly long ride. I think the highlights were usually crossing the Fred Hartman Bridge and a couple of things, but a lot of stuff down, um, in the Clear Lake area, Nasa, that kind of stuff. Um, it was a good ride. Main thing was, it was a big pack. And it was people of all different professions and, and types and, and it was just so heartwarming to see the people on the side of the road holding up signs supporting and stuff. It might get a little dusty in the helmet when [00:05:00] you were doing that kind of thing.
Dorothy: Yeah. So tell us what was Mike like before you met Kathy?
Mike: So Mike, um, had reached that point in his life where his daughter was off at college and I would say I didn’t have any responsibilities but work, but that’s what drives me is responsibility. So I was working a lot. And, um, then, then going up and seeing my daughter at A&M frequently. That was pretty much all I did. My bike was my release.
Dorothy: Well, how did you meet Kathy?
Mike: So we had, uh, mutual friends. Um, my best friend now, um, we knew of each other. We, we traveled in the same groups and everything else. We just really hadn’t spent time together.
Um, Kathy was kind of dabbling in riding behind what was my best friend and stuff. And they knew her situation about being diagnosed and they knew I was [00:06:00] unattached and they also knew my, past work history and stuff like that. And they said, maybe we need to get you all together. So in a conniving way, they put her on the back of my bike and then I became responsible and probably the best thing that ever happened to me.
Dorothy: Do you know you were in love with her then?
Mike: Kathy had a lot of things to handle with me. Um, I have always trusted her from the very beginning. And I think love came about pretty quickly because she needed me, and, and that drives me in many ways.
Dorothy: Okay, now take me back. She had already been diagnosed when you met her?
Mike: Yes. She had just been diagnosed. We met, I want to say, maybe a month later. I know it was more than 18 days because, uh, the, the chemo process had already started with her hair and stuff like that. Um, that was an interesting moment in her den when [00:07:00] we both knew it was time to, okay, take the bandana off and let’s see. And that went really well. I think that’s something we both got through easily without having to worry about feeling awkward or anything. So.
Dorothy: Well, tell me a little bit more about that.
Mike: Okay. So she, she was diagnosed in January and she’ll probably correct me, but I know I’m close to it. And then, uh, we got, together, probably around February, March, something like that.
And so she had already started chemo. She did chemo, then she did radiation. And so her hair, I think we counted the day is day 18 had, she’d already gone through the, the shaving and stuff. And she was just terrified because we’d just been put together and what’s he going to think and stuff like that. And, um, It, it really didn’t affect me.
It was, first off, she can get ready really quick because she can change wigs and we’ll be out the door. [00:08:00] But, but also again, I knew, you know, if you can be this vulnerable with me, then, and not even really knowing, and, and it doesn’t put either of us off, then I think that speaks to what the possibilities could be for getting you through this. So it wasn’t a bad time. It was a good time.
Dorothy: Well, did you ever have some bad times with her? Difficult times?
Mike: We’ve had, um, I think a lot of times being an advocate within the healthcare system, um, and just understanding common sense and trying to drive people to, okay, if this is what we’re trying to do, then why are we over here doing this?
And I can be pretty rigid at times, I’m told. Um, to get through those bad times, I think. And I think anybody that’s been through the cancer journey, you’re used to having a very regimented organized life because you have appointments after appointments. You have, [00:09:00] uh, tests, you have doctor visits and everything else, and your life’s very busy.
But at some point, the darkness always comes in a little bit just because you start questioning, are we doing the right things? Are we, are we making progress and stuff? And we were very fortunate with the care that she received. So. I don’t know where I was going with all that.
Dorothy: Well, we were talking about, um, you know how you handled the difficult times, how, and, and for you, now you’re her partner— what was the most difficult time for you?
Mike: So that’s been recent. So, the most difficult time is, um, She’s been diagnosed with metastatic at this point and we were just at the cusp of signing on our retirement home where we were going to join our houses. I mean that week. It’s the way it always works out I swear and She got her diagnosis and we knew [00:10:00] immediately. Okay. Well the battles on again. And fortunately, I had some contacts and she had some contacts and we got in with people the best of care at M.D. Anderson this time. And, um, I think that’s the worst time because it’s a whole different scenario when you’re coming at it. A second time.
Dorothy: And metastatic.
Mike: And, um, but—
Dorothy: Had she been declared cancer free in this time?
Mike: Oh yeah. Rang the bell. Started doing trips to Florida was her goal. And we’ve always tried to have goals and everything else. And now we’re continuing that because, you know, you should have a, everybody should have a bucket list. And if you don’t have a bucket list, then what are you working for? It’s, it isn’t just about going to work every day.
So, um, we’re working on the bucket list. But. I, I think that’s been our hardest time, is how do you deal with a different approach [00:11:00] to cancer this time?
Dorothy: So what keeps you going?
Mike: Anger? Um.
Dorothy: That’s okay.
Mike: Uh, it’s responsibility and my loyalty to her and my love for her. Uh, no matter what, we’ll see this through and I know we will, and we’ll steep. I want to focus on the little victories. Like I said, find those bucket list items. We, I took her to a big surprise the other day. We went to the elephant preserve up by Fredericksburg and I wouldn’t tell her what it was. And she just lit up. She had no idea until we went into the gift shop of what we were doing and then it just made her day.
So those little bitty victories, I think, keep me going. I think, um. Knowing that what I’m doing is worthwhile and, um, that’s, that’s pretty much it.
Dorothy: So, Mike, you’re [00:12:00] planning a very, uh, big bike ride. And, all right, you’re going to have to say it for me again. What is it called?
Mike: It’s called The Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge.
Dorothy: And what does Hoka Hey stand for?
Mike: So Hoka Hey is a Lakota word and, and before we start, I’m, I’m a participant. I am not representing Hoka Hey, but I’ve learned a lot in the year and a half that we’ve been working up to this. And it’s a Lakota word that means “let’s go,” but more literally, uh, transposed is “it’s a good day to die.” it sounds terribly morbid, but it’s not. What it’s really about is live a good life. Make sure that you’ve, you’ve lived in, in faith and strength and, uh, community and all the things that are important so that if it’s your turn to have your ticket punched, you’ve lived a good life.
Dorothy: And describe this ride.
Mike: So, um. It’s something that all the public [00:13:00] will be able to watch. It’s actually kind of fun because we all have trackers on it. And starting around August 1st, if you go to the Hoka Hey, challenge website, um, you can see there’s even international competitors. There will be trackers coming from all over the states to gather in Daytona.
And on August the 4th, we will leave Daytona, go down to the Keys, and then head across to Arizona, New Mexico, and then up to, um, Sturgis Rally will be going on then. We’ll go up through South Dakota and then through Canada to, uh, Fairbanks and then down to Homer and we’ll do that in hopefully about two weeks time.
Dorothy: That just is amazing to me. I don’t know how in the world you can do that in two weeks time.
Mike: Well, it wouldn’t be a challenge if it was easy.
Dorothy: And how many miles total is all this?
Mike: So, it’ll be about 10,000 miles.
Dorothy: Okay.
Mike: And, um, but It could be easily more [00:14:00] because for this challenge, and it’s very specific, you cannot use any GPS.
You cannot use any electronic detections or directions. We get turn by turn directions. It’s all secondary roads. If you get a moving violation, you’re disqualified, which allegedly may happen. Occasionally, but we got to watch that. Uh, we have to sleep outside by the bikes. You cannot go in a hotel.
Dorothy: And what’s the purpose of that? That was, I think the most amazing part of this whole biker strip that you’re sleeping outside with your bike?
Mike: Yeah, well And again, this is me speaking of my knowledge before I take it. What I can tell you is everybody that’s written it that i’ve talked to has said you will change What that means is within you so I think The purpose of what, uh, Jim Red Cloud was trying to, to do by coming up with this challenge was, um, this really isn’t about a long [00:15:00] distance ride. What this is about is, um, going through areas of the country, A) that are beautiful, but B) may be challenged with um, say reservations, indigenous people issues and stuff like that. It’s about finding your zen and being out on the road and learning more about yourself. And, and the friendships that you build on the road.
Yeah, it’s 10,000 miles and yeah, you’re in hardships and everything else, but What’s two weeks worth of hardship compared to the lady that’s just been diagnosed with cancer? It’s not. So I think it’s diving deeper into yourself to really understand that is the purpose of Hoka Hey in my mind. It’s not just about pounding miles because we can all do that. It’s not easy, but we can do it. You got to manage gas and everything.
Dorothy: You know, it sounds like though you’ve done a lot of that already.
Mike: Um, [00:16:00] I would tell you that goes back to what I learned with Kathy’s first diagnosis. And I think everybody that goes down the journey knows is your priorities totally change.
The people that you think will be there for you many times won’t be there for you. The people that you would never expect, in my case, Kathy had no earthly idea. I didn’t even have any idea this was going to happen for me to support her. But when your priorities change, you become more attuned to what’s going on within you and you realize the only things that are really important anymore are time and relationships. It’s not money. It’s not the pursuit of of who’s got the better car or what your job title is or anything like that. But I think that has a lot to do with I guess how I’m getting kind of Into the mental and spiritual aspects of the journey versus just pounding miles. You had no idea it was going to go here, did you?
Dorothy: No, I didn’t. [00:17:00] Um, but I kind of suspected there was a lot more to Mike than you were letting onto when we were visiting. It was all about I’m getting this done and I am—
Mike: I’ll be in Homer Barring a moose Impact or something. I’ll be—
Dorothy: Cancel cancel. We don’t want that happening at all So the the motivation for you is going to be Kathy raising money and— You know I understand that this is more than just a bike ride. I understand Uh that you’re you have this great goal of raising lots of money and I think you’re well on the way to meeting that goal.
Mike: I have a benefactor that just matched up to $5,000, on a 10 plus right now. I need to change my goal. What a terrible problem to have.
Dorothy: Yeah, what a terrible problem. But it’s more than that. You’re looking for some uh, comfort, [00:18:00] if not, maybe different answers.
Mike: You’re, you’re dead on of, of what I’m doing this for. Kathy told me something that, and it breaks me up every time I say it, but she told me when I first approached her and my daughter about doing this, because I mean, it’s difficult and you’re away from the family and there’s a lot of practice that has to go into, there’s a lot of investment, a lot of things.
And, um, I’ll never forget her telling me, um, you can’t fix me. Try to help somebody else. And the fact that I had to face the fact that I couldn’t fix something I don’t live well with. And I immediately thought of The Rose, just, it was just, that was natural. But I think my comfort is going to come from and, and one of the things that’s going to motivate me on my ride is not only [00:19:00] raising money for people, and I think it’s really important that I do something with my life. I raise money for people that I don’t even know, that I know I’ll have an impact. I’ve walked into the, the waiting rooms at the other location and every woman was there by herself and I just want to go up and hug her and tell her it’ll be okay. I’ve traveled this path. We’ll get you there. Um, but what I’m going to do personally, which will help me is I’ve reached out to, and I think we all know a bunch of people that have had breast cancer, which is an issue to be, uh, I’ve reached out to people that are one degree separation from me and some people have passed and some people, um, are still, um, living with cancer or have recovered from cancer or survivors and everything else. And I’ve asked for bandanas. So I’m going to put their name on the bandana with the, um, their information. And I’m going to weave that into my, [00:20:00] um, rack on top of my top box. And they’ll make the ride with me to Alaska. And I’ll bring it back to them.
Dorothy: Oh, that’s beautiful.
Mike: So, when I’m out in Arizona, in the desert with the scorpions laying on the ground, I can look up and go, you know, it’s not so bad. I got all these people with me.
Dorothy: We’ll be thinking of you. We’ll be glad you’re there.
Mike: And you’ll all be able to see it online with why is Squatch not moving in the desert, so.
Dorothy: So how’d you get that nickname?
Mike: Um, kind of big and hairy and it seemed fit. I actually had that as a road name a long, long time ago. I had one other that I didn’t want to use and that’s just out of respect, but it fit and I needed something for a, I don’t want to say marketing thing, but I needed something that I could get out in front of people at gas stages and everything else that caught the attention that would make them look at the QR code. I am not good at asking for money for [00:21:00] anybody, for anything. I’m just not built that way. But if I can give you a sticker, I can give you a card with a QR code that says, look, I’m trying to do this for other people. And that lets me get on my way so I can get my, my ride over. Um, that was my goal. And, um, it seems to, you know, it certainly is fitting, but, um, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a lot of fun.
Dorothy: So this is a two week ride. You’re, you’re out every day. You don’t have, you can’t use a GPS. What are some of the other challenges or things that you’re going to have to deal with? Are all the bikers that are out there, you’re not in a, in a group group, are you? Are you—
Mike: No. Well, uh, so every year it’s, it’s a biannual event. So every two years they take on a hundred new writers and actually Hoka Hey itself is charitable. They pick charities within indigenous peoples. Um, this year it’ll be the Kenai tribe up in Alaska, [00:22:00] um, for education, but they do their own charity. So we pay money to sign up for that. Then we’re vetted. You have to be an accomplished rider. Let me stress the people that are participating in this are from all over the world. They have all kinds of world records. These are the very best writers of the very best riders. So for me to be able to ride with them, and I’ve already gone on several, you know, uh, meetups and everything else with them, I’ll be riding with my friends.
Um, there’s, I think the difficulty is everybody says it’s 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical. So if you can get your mind right, then I think the rest of it isn’t bad. The directions will be my nemesis. I will be turning around a million times because I can’t even tell you road numbers or anything like that.
But, I’ll get there. One way or the other, I’ll get there.
Dorothy: That surprises me. I’m [00:23:00] very surprised at that.
Mike: It’s, it’s not uncommon in that. And, and plus, if you’re planning stuff too much, then you’re going to be very disappointed. So basically plan for 80 percent of everything. And then the other 20%, again, that goes back to the whole, theory of Hoka Hey is learn how to adapt, learn how to make that better for everybody else and, and for yourself.
So there’s even lessons there for cancer.
Dorothy: Oh, absolutely. I mean, you touched upon something when we get our mind right, then there’s so much more we can handle.
Mike: Mm-Hmm
Dorothy: We have to get our mind right.
Mike: Mm-Hmm.
Dorothy: So you’re a guy, a man who couldn’t fix this, who couldn’t fix this. I mean, this is very common though, Mike. You know, you have a spouse, a loved one that’s going through this and you want to fix it.
So what advice would you have to someone who’s at the same place you are trying to get through it?[00:24:00]
Mike: Remember what’s important. Spend time on things that are important. Don’t spend time on things that are not. The things that upset you, traffic, whatever it is, in the grand scheme of things, is not important. What’s important right now is her. What’s important right now is, is making enough money to make a difference in other people’s lives.
To me, what’s important is that I accomplished something in my life that my children or my grandchildren, daughter, if you’re listening, or anybody can look back on and say, I had the cool dad. He did this and, um, but that’s, that’s more of a personal thing, but I get so much fulfillment out of seeing her smile. Over just little things or victories. So, spend time on what’s important. Get your priorities right. Realize what you’re there for. And, don’t let anybody down. [00:25:00]
Dorothy: Mmm. That last one’s a biggie.
Mike: It’s, it’s tough. But that includes yourself.
Dorothy: Okay.
Mike: So.
Dorothy: And where do you get your support?
Mike: Cause I’m mean and scary. Uh, my support, I get support from my daughter and, um, Kathy, a ton of, from both of them. They’re they’ll never tell me don’t do something. Um, my long distance family now has, I’ve never been in an area that had so many consistently responsible, respectful, accomplished people. That even if you hadn’t met, which most of us have, I’d trust him with my life. And that’s, I will be trusting him with my life. Um, We may leave as a group, but we’ll be strung out from Florida to, Some guys will make it in eight or nine days, probably. I’m not one of those. [00:26:00] But we’re all there for each other.
Dorothy: And it’s all guys.
Mike: No, absolutely not. This is, and that’s one of the things I really enjoy about this is, there are so many women in this. The typical percentage of women riders is about 20. In long distance riding, it’s 30. And they’re beasts. I mean, they, they can keep up with the guys. They ride with the guys. There isn’t, and, and I’ve yet to see anybody be treated any differentat at any event for long distance stuff, because there are no bad riders. You’re weeded out right away. And that’s what all the respect is about is, is what you carry inside. Do you keep your word? Um, That kind of stuff.
Dorothy: Yeah. Yeah. I can, I can see there’s a lot more to this. Yes. Very old school. And it’s, it’s what you’re, you’re carrying in life is what makes you who you are.
Mike: And I think age brings a lot of [00:27:00] that too.
Cause once, and I’m not saying I’m that old, I don’t feel it. But once you’ve reached a certain point in your life, you start getting your fulfillment more for doing for others or service or faith or whatever you want to, uh, look at community becomes much more important than, you know, what size is my house? And I need to, you know, put a pool in and stuff.
Dorothy: Well, I can tell you, whatever you raise in this ride is going to impact hundreds of women. And you know that, and it’s going to allow us to reach so many more. So like you said, there’s going to be women. You will never know. And you’ll never meet who will benefit from this. And we just want to thank you ahead of time. All of your information is going to be in the show notes.
Mike: Okay.
Dorothy: And, uh, people will be able to go there, go to your page. Support you through this and most importantly they can ride with you.
Mike: Yes. I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I [00:28:00] Last uh two years ago when they did it, um, I spent allegedly time at work with it with it on one of the screens watching just everybody coming from all over the country and joining and then all of a sudden it spreads back out It’s just the neatest thing.
Dorothy: Oh, I can’t wait to watch it. So ,thank you. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for taking care of Kathy. For being who you are, Mike.
Mike: Oh, it’s my pleasure. I’ve, I really enjoyed it. And, um, I guess the, the last parting words are we only regret the rides we don’t take, so.
Dorothy: Ooh. Oh my gosh. That’s profound.
Mike: And that goes for everything.
Dorothy: Everything. Everyone. Again, thank you so very much. I enjoy this.
Mike: I didn’t know a hundreds. That’s awesome. I need to raise more money. It’d be thousands.
Dorothy: Yes, we’ll, we’ll agree to that.
Mike: Thank you for the opportunity. I, um, I checked. I think one of the things that’s [00:29:00] important and cut it or not, but, um, Guidestone, Guidestar, uh, rating of The Rose to me, the fact that you’re rated platinum tells me that I’m doing something worthwhile. There’s so many charities. That, Oh, we’re in it for providing the CEO, you know, planes and everything else. And, um, I can’t tell you how much better I felt knowing that what I was doing was actually going to make a difference. So thank you for running the organization the way y’all do. Thank you for making it a family.
Cause even when we’ve come to the Shrimp Boil and everything else, nobody knows us, but we’ve had a good time and, and Bikers Against Breast Cancer. I can’t thank y’all enough for that, because just to be in a pack that’s strung four miles And everybody riding for the same thing, and, and seeing people on the side of the road supporting it, it just It means so [00:30:00] much. So thank you for putting together what you put together.
Dorothy: Thank you for that. We appreciate it.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke Podcasting and brought to you by The Rose. Visit therose.org to learn more about our organization, subscribe to our podcast, share episodes with friends, and join the conversation on social media using #Let’sTalkAboutYourBreasts.
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