From peddling meth to pedaling cross country

Within a day, Mikael Luman went from biking in the comfort of the 75-degree Phoenix sun to chilly temperatures in the 20s.

For Luman, a Beaverton resident, it was just another day, marking the home stretch of a 12,000-mile cross-country bike trek to call attention to A Generation Free, Luman’s foundation designed to teach young people positive life skills.

Since leaving from Seattle in July, he’s had to deal with a variety of weather and topographic conditions, the worst being the wind and high elevations.

“The last five days of riding in the hills, it’s been windy and it’s been hilly,” said Luman during a phone call Tuesday.

But for Luman, a 1992 graduate of Aloha High School, the longest ride hasn’t been the 10,000 miles he’s logged so far. It’s been the long road to recovery.

On Dec. 14, Luman’s book, “800 Meters: A Journey of Addiction, Recovery and Redemption,” will be released, chronicling his abuse (and dealing in) ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine and nitrous oxide.

Noting that he’s a perfectionist, Luman, 33, said the book took about a year to write.

“I wanted to make sure everything in there was truthful,” he said. “Being an addict, you tend to elaborate on stories.”

“I’d been pulled over four times on (my motorcycle). Two of those times I probably had a pound or more of meth and ten to fifteen thousand dollars in cash on me along with scales and baggies. The first time, I got towed for no insurance. The other times, all they did was give me a ticket for driving without a license and tell me to get someone else to drive it. That didn’t bother me. I just waited until they left.”

— 800 Meters


The book is an unvarnished look into how Luman went from a clean-cut star high school athlete to being sucked into a world of drugs that would keep hold of him for almost a decade. Along the way, other addictions would pop up, including an affinity for strippers and a penchant for video poker. Also, before it was all over, he would find himself in his fair share of violent situations.

Drug-free for the last six years, Luman was always good at sports, playing soccer in local leagues as a boy. At Aloha High, he excelled in soccer, basketball and track and was named all-state in the latter where he ran the 800 meters, a grueling race that takes strength, speed and endurance.

But a blown-out kneecap and subsequent basketball injury seriously affected his self-confidence. His priorities began to change, he said, and before long he was tired of turning down friends when they offered him a drink.

“After the injuries, instead of saying ‘no,’ I said ‘yes,’” he recalls.

What made his descent into the drug world even more of an anomaly was the fact he grew up in a sheltered environment, having been raised in the Mormon faith. He wasn’t even familiar with drug slang.

“A lot of my drinking and drug use had to do with sports and not being able to compete. It filled the void and became my sport. Right at the end of high school, I tried marijuana for the first time. When I was about seventeen, I was driving with friends when they decided to do some.”

‘I’d never do that marijuana stuff,’ I said.

My friends broke up laughing, and one of them said, ‘You did marijuana last weekend.’

‘I did not,’ I insisted. ‘I smoked pot.’

That’s how naïve I was. I didn’t even know the jargon.”

— 800 Meters


The sports injuries gave him an excuse to justify doing what he wanted, he said. A drunken senior trip to Seaside ended up with Luman getting beat up in a fight at the beach. Heading to college, the scholarships had dried up but he played soccer for Portland State University, caring less and less about sports and more about partying.

Then one night, he and a friend decided to break into an apartment they thought was vacant.

It wasn’t.

As soon as they kicked in the door, they discovered a pair of shoes. They fled in Luman’s car but not before someone recorded the license plate.

When police pulled him over, they discovered stolen electronics in his trunk, taken from neighbors in the same apartment complex where he lived.

“When I got arrested for the burglary, I got kicked off the soccer team,” Luman recalled.

During his years of drug use he said there were times when he wanted to leave, but couldn’t find his way out.

“Although I was starting to think about changing, I wasn’t yet able to face the issues that were caused by addiction. I thought being clean was just not using drugs that day. I didn’t have the skills to stay clean for good. As soon as life got tough, I went right back to using.”

— 800 Meters


The book includes a chapter about his kidnapping where he was forced to help an ex-biker make meth. He found the chapter especially difficult to write because he wanted to provide enough information to paint a clear picture to readers, but not reveal too much information because it could have put people in danger.

“That was a big thing,” he said of the kidnapping. “It just goes to show how reckless and out of control you can get.”

Luman said he was fortunate to have escaped the world of drugs. Some aren’t as lucky. Such was the case of one drug dealer who was interested in forming a business partnership with Luman, impressed with the former high school athlete’s proficiency in manufacturing “the clearest, chunkiest crystal (meth) imaginable.”

The meeting never occurred. A couple of days later, Luman found out why when he talked with the dealer’s tearful girlfriend who explained what happened:

“‘He put one bullet in the gun, spun the chamber, put the gun to his head and fired. It’s not like what you see on TV. It’s real blood and real brains and a real hole in someone’s head.’ She was horrified by what she’d witnessed, and I doubt that she will ever recover from it.”

— “800 Meters”


Throughout his ordeal, Luman said there was always something in the back of his mind that pushed him along. Even when he was doing and dealing drugs, he thought maybe he was here for a reason.

“I almost felt I was there for a purpose,” he said.

In addition to being kidnapped, Luman had his fair share of other close calls. The vehicle he was riding in was once riddled with bullets, and while he was manufacturing meth, a glass beer bottle exploded, sending a shard of glass into his face.

Also, a jealous stripper girlfriend had an acquaintance threaten Luman by waking him up with a gun pointed at his head.

Although his addiction lasted almost 10 years, he clearly remembers the day he was arrested. It was Nov. 2, 2000, in Scappoose. He was out of drugs, out of money and tired.

“I was sleeping when (police) arrived, vaguely aware of voices, but unable to wake up. The next thing I knew, three of them were standing around the bed and I was handcuffed.”

— “800 Meters”

Surprisingly, the arrest provided him with a peaceful feeling.

“I knew I was done with being arrested,” he said.

He was incarcerated for 24 months with much of that time spent in the Oregon Summit Program, a boot camp.

When he did get clean, he reconnected with his spiritual side as well.

“In order for me to change my life and be clean and sober, I needed to find my center. I needed to repent for passed mistakes and make an effort to be the best Mikael Luman I can be,” he said.

Although he had thought about forming the “A Generation Free” foundation while serving time in prison, it was the birth of his now-14-month-old daughter, Mikaila, who inspired him to take the bike trip. The trip would be a way to call attention to his cause and his story.

“When she was born is when I thought I really needed to do something,” said Luman. “At some point in my life, with all my experiences, I couldn’t sit around and not do anything.”

Throughout his addiction and while in prison, he discovered how many drug users didn’t have the first clue about how to manage their lives.

As a result, Luman believes that in addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, some sort of life skills classes should be mandatory school curriculum, something he hopes to draw attention to through “A Generation Free.”

In addition to his parents and his wife, Amanda, Luman said a high school coach, Ken Yarnell, was extremely supportive in helping him during his recovery.

Yarnell is now an Aloha High School vice principal.

“If I had a list of Top 10, Top five people (in my life), he’s in there,” said Luman. “He’s what coaching and teaching should be about.”

Luman said Yarnell didn’t want only good athletes; he wanted students to do things the right way.

Heading to California this week, Luman hopes to talk to groups of students, ideally in the Beaverton School District, when he returns on Dec. 7 or 8. He might make a promotional tour for his book with tentative plans to ride around Hagg Lake.

For Luman, the bike trip has been an eye-opener, although he hasn’t received the interest or media attention he originally had hoped for. Scenery-wise, he hasn’t come up with a high point. He said he’s not picturing the beauty of the ride but of images of people fighting drug addiction and those in prison.

“If it was just about the ride and scenery, I probably would have stopped a long time ago because it’s pretty brutal,” he said.

He recalled one distinct image while riding under the subway in Philadelphia where he observed adverse poverty.

“When I was in prison or in jail, I had better living conditions than people living on that street,” he said.

At some point, Luman said he wants to meet more of the people he hurt during his days on drugs.

“Eventually I’d like to make contact and make amends to all the people I was a negative influence on in their lives,” he said. “Now I’d like to be a positive influence.”

http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=119629958153633000