LOYAL MAN PREPARING FOR X-COUNTRY BIKE RACE
Friday, February 24th, 2006 -- 11:40 AM
A Loyal man is preparing for the ?World?s Toughest Cycling Event?. In June, Tom Kingsbury, 54, will compete in the Race Across America ? an over 3,000-mile, non-stop event that will have bicyclists pedaling from southern California to Atlantic City, New Jersey."I am (in) a two person recumbent team. We'll have a nine-person team that will be our support. We will run 24-7. We will not stop," Kingsbury says.
The course?s lowest point is over 100-feet below sea level; at its highest point ? near Durango, Colorado - riders will be over 11,000-feet above sea level.
"Our goal is to do it in seven days and five hours. To do that, we have to average right around 17-miles per hour," Kingsbury explains.
If pedaling across the country sounds grueling, imagine doing it with only 3 hours of pseudo-sleep a day. Kingsbury and his riding partner, Tim Woudenberg of Moss Beach, California, plan on riding around the clock and only sleeping for three hours per 24-hour period.
"Sleep is a kind of a poor word. You won't get sleep. We're not going to be in a moving vehicle. We're not going to stop at a hotel and get a room. A lot of it will be in the seat of a car," Kingsbury says.
As you might imagine, 'Wisconsin's' weather isn?t conducive to year round outdoor training. Kingsbury lifts weights and pedals his recumbent bicycle indoors for 3- to 4-hours a day.
"I just enjoy doing it. We just like to do it - simple as that," Kingsbury says.
Kingsbury and Woudenberg would be the first two-person recumbent team to complete the event.
[url=http://www.raceacrossamerica.org]Race Across America website[/url]
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