You could own John Marino's futuristic Mike Melton bike from the inaugural Race Across AMerica (RAAM)!
Behold an incredible piece of American bicycling history, the bicycle custom-built by frame builder Mike Melton for John Marino for the inaugural Race Across America in 1982!
In 1978 and 1980, John Marino broke the Guinness Book World Record for bicycling across the USA. This was a solo effort, just him and his support crew. After this, as he saw a few others taking up the fledgling new sport of ultra cycling, he came up with the idea for a transcontinental bicycle race.
Christened “The Great American Bike Race,” four men competed in that inaugural 1982 event: Lon Haldeman, John Howard, Michael Shermer, and John Marino. That was also their finishing order.
The race was featured on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” and had a huge viewership. (You can see this bike in a scene in Marino’s garage.) Viewers of the program – including yours truly – were completely in awe of the displays of human spirit, sportsmanship, and competition. John Marino came in last, but he was – and still is – my hero because the race was his idea, and because – as the last-place finisher – he suffered the most.
The race was rechristened Race Across America in 1983, and I was there to see it begin, and drive along for the first 100 miles. (I was 16 then.) That fall, I met John at a criterium race in Santa Barbara, CA on Columbus Day and breathlessly introduced myself. I told him I was going to become an ultra cyclist and would be setting the first ever record for bicycling from San Francisco to Los Angeles, city hall to city hall. (I did this on April 17-18, 1984.) John gave me his business card and became my friend and mentor, helping me get sponsored and soon he was also helping me start organizing ultra cycling events. The rest is history! If you’re really curious, you can read what I wrote about him in 1993 deep within my website here.
His sponsor was Huffy and the builder was Mike Melton, who would become even more well-known two years later when he built all the futuristic bicycles for the 1984 US Olympic team (bicycles which included many of the aerodynamic features that this bike of Marino's already had in 1982.)
John gave me the bike in 1989 as a thank you gift for my years of service to RAAM. I totally restored it and pampered it. The whole thing is museum quality and I have never ridden it, as it is a monument to my idol and mentor, John Marino.
In 2007 this bike was selected by Jan Heine to be featured in the book "The Competition Bicycle" (see page 140-145.) I am including my own autographed copy of that book, along with something that is extremely unique (likely no more than ten were ever printed back in 1982): John Marino’s own copy of the “1982 Bud Light Great American Bike Race Official Race Log,” also given to me by John once upon a time. The very last page has the spec sheet for this bike!
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