The first summit of Mount Everest, the first sub-4-minute mile — these are athletic feats that redefined our perception of what is possible. And a team of four paraplegic handcyclists has just redefined the possibilities of endurance bicycle racing. At 2 p.m. on June 20, Team Can Be Venture pushed off from the starting line in Oceanside, Calif. — headed for the finish line in Annapolis, Md., 3,021 miles away — in the annual Race Across America, officially known as RAAM, arguably the toughest endurance event in the bicycling world.

 

The rules of RAAM are straightforward: follow a pre-determined course, which includes time-check stations at 60-mile intervals; first to cross the finish line in Annapolis wins. The cutoff time to complete the race is nine days. One second late and you are a DNF — did not finish.

 

RAAM is revered by cyclists throughout the world. The race is so tough that only a few dozen riders (both team and solo) even attempt it. This year there were 59 entries (representing 11 countries). Only 41 finished. A successful RAAM finish is as coveted as an Everest summit. For years, rumors of handcyclists planning an attempt at RAAM flew about, but like the sub-4-minute mile, many thought it would be impossible to finish in the allotted time on arm power.

 

But members of Team Can Be Venture have a history of accomplishing the impossible. They decided to combine their individual successes and joined forces to rewrite the limits.

 

At age 31, Vico Merklein, from Germany, is the youngest member of the team. Merklein holds course records in handcycle races around the world, including the current world record (team) of 1:05:35 in the marathon distance.

 

Patrick Doak, 40, is a project manager from Concord, Mass. In between work and spending time with his family, Doak has managed to train for and successfully complete four Ironman World Championship triathlons.

 

Carlos Moleda, 45, from Bluffton, S.C., is a former Navy Seal. In 1989 Moleda was paralyzed when his Seal team was caught in an intense firefight in Panama. Since then, Moleda finished college, started a family and won four Ironman World Championships in his division.

 

Rounding out the team was Dr. Hannes Koepen, a retired biologist from Germany. At 50, Koepen is the oldest member of the team and is also an Ironman World Champion, winning his division in 2007 and 2008.

 

The personal challenge and feeling of accomplishment were certainly motivating factors behind the team’s attempt on RAAM, but there was more. They also used their RAAM challenge bid to raise awareness for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises money to provide adaptive athletic equipment and assist people with disabilities in getting involved in athletics.

 

Undertaking a race like this is not cheap. In addition to equipment, travel, and time off from work, expenses included a team of 12 support people who did everything from driving the athletes’ RV, equipment van, and safety van, to helping with medical issues and keeping the riders healthy, preparing meals, washing clothing, navigating and handling communication needs. The support teams are the unsung heroes of RAAM and are as vital to a rider’s success as Sherpas are to an Everest summit. 

 

Team Can Be Venture’s race was sponsored by Sun Life Financial, a worldwide financial services company. Sun Life Financial saw the advertising value in sponsoring the handcyclists, which helps redefine another possibility — the value of sponsoring adaptive athletics.

 

The RAAM officials offered no quarter to the handcyclists and none was expected. If they were to miss a cutoff time, they were out of the race, just like any other cyclist. For the team, this is a sign of a respect.

The team raced in 8-hour, 2-rider shifts, taking turns leading and drafting.  While not riding, their job was to eat, hydrate and recuperate in the RV -- to be ready for the next 8 hours of pushing the limits. During a race like this, a rider will burn 10,000 calories a day!

 

From the start, the racers had a battle on their hands. Keeping pace to meet the cutoff times left no room for error. When not riding, all equipment had to be checked and adjusted, and the riders had to be ready and waiting for their next leg. The transitions — like handing off the baton in a relay race — were crucial. Every minute lost was lost forever, and each minute counted.

 

Starting in the cool air of Oceanside, the course headed into the heat of the California and Arizona deserts, then climbed the mountain sections, topping out at 10,000 feet in New Mexico.

 

The team’s first “make-it-or-break-it” checkpoint was Elkhart, Kansas. The desert heat and mountainous climbs had taken their toll. In addition, they lost 2 valuable hours when a San Diego Sheriff — who hadn’t heard of the race -- stopped the riders and the pace van (pace vans drive on the side of the road behind their riders, keeping them safe from traffic).  The next day they lost more time when derailers on a bike failed in the middle of the night. The bike had to be fixed at 2 a.m. in a Walmart parking lot. 

 

When they reached the crest of the mountain climb in Taos, N.M, their support team expressed concern about making the Elkhart checkpoint — still 300 miles away — in time. The riders said it would be no problem. In RAAM it is important to use every opportunity. Vico Merklein used the steep mountain descents as a “mph opportunity” and let it rip, often hitting speeds of 60 mph! The well-trained team powered through and made Elkhart with 4 hours to spare after three days of riding.

 

The Midwest offered its own set of challenges. Traveling across Kansas and Missouri, the handcyclists pushed through high humidity and 100-degree heat in the day, then got drenched by blinding rain and pelted by hail during evening thunderstorms. One of the racers required IV fluids during his 8-hour recuperation time. 

 

Once past the heat and endless straight miles of the Midwest, the last big hurdle was crossing the Appalachians. Though much less daunting than the Rockies, they seem more so after 2,500 miles of peddling and many days of minimal sleep. The Appalachians have been known to be the breaking point for RAAM riders. But the team’s physical and mental toughness, and years of training, once again came through. As a side note — and as an example of the type of training it takes to do RAAM — one of the riders, Merklien, had ridden 8,000 training miles just since December in preparation for the race.

 

The training and teamwork paid off. At 3:29 a.m. on July 8, Team Can Be Venture crossed the finish line in Annapolis, Md., and rolled into endurance cycling history with a total time of 8 days, 9 hours and 6 minutes for the 3,021-mile race. 

 

At the RAAM banquet awards dinner on the evening of June 29, Team Can Be Venture was awarded the Ian Sandbach Inspirational Award. At press time I was still attempting to get an interview with the riders and chase down a few photos. But for some unexplained reason, they have their phones turned off and are sleeping in.