After facing several major medical complications, Mike Adsit is back on the bike and ecstatic to be at the National Senior Games among his fellow athletes.
In 2015, NSGA published a “Personal Best” profile about cyclist Mike Adsit, who is now 75 years old. In that feature, Mike told the story of how he beat stage 3 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and how he has encouraged and inspired others. He was moved to return to biking, pushed by the realization that active adults have a greater survivability rate than those who are not active.
Mike is still cycling competitively, despite an incredible array of new challenges. In 2019, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Mike endured more chemotherapy, but this time was also given hormone therapy to deplete his body of testosterone. He lost a lot of muscle mass because of this, which made staying on the bike even harder.
In 2020, Mike had a triple bypass heart surgery, and then in 2022, he had a heart ablation procedure because of heart flutters he experienced during a race. After recovery from all of this, fate dealt another blow. Ten days shy of the National Senior Games in 2023, Mike was hit by a car. Undaunted, he still showed up in Pittsburgh for The Games!
Any one of these setbacks could leave the average person knocked out of their sport forever. But this cyclist is anything but average. Each time, Mike refused to give in, prioritized recovery and worked his way back to becoming active again.
Through all of this, Mike managed to make it to several State Games and three trips to national competition. The 2025 National Senior Games presented by Humana is the first Senior Games in a while that Mike has been able to compete without a health condition or injury. His racing bike shorts display ‘COURAGE: Embrace the Storm,” an expression he uses when telling his story.
How does it feel to be back and better than ever? “Awesome!” Mike exclaimed with a smile. “I always get so inspired by all the other athletes, and the National Senior Games are just so awesome!”
“I want to inspire others that cancer is not a death sentence, and you can go on. Just keep pedaling,” Mike declared. He has certainly beaten the odds, and so far has earned ribbons for placing in the top 8 in his first three races in Des Moines.
By: Sydney Parker
