Maria Parker (born February 7, 1963) is an American long-distance cyclist and the holder of multiple cycling records. [1] [2] She is also the founder of 3000 Miles to a Cure, an organization to raise money for Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure. [3]
Parker rides a front-wheel drive Cruzbike recumbent bicycle [4] and holds the:
In October 2012, after her sister was diagnosed with Stage IV brain cancer, Parker helped found 3000 Miles to a Cure, a brain cancer research funding organization with a goal of raising 1 million dollars to support brain cancer research. [3]
As part of 3000 Miles to Cure's fundraising efforts, Parker participated in Race Across America, the 3000 mile cross-country bike race, in 2013. Parker won the race, despite facing setbacks early on. [7] 612 miles into the 3000 mile race, her follow vehicle was rear-ended by a texting driver outside of Tuba City, Arizona, and several crew members, including Parker's son, suffered minor injuries. In addition, her backup bikes and primary follow vehicle were destroyed, and Parker withdrew from the race. [12] However, after a 24-hour break, Parker resolved to continue the 3000 mile ride, believing that she would be disqualified for missing a time cut-off. Upon resuming her ride, the Race Across America organization forgave the time cutoff that would have disqualified Parker, and allowed her to re-enter the ride as an official racer. [13]
After returning to the race, Parker quickly climbed the women's field, performing what RAAM commentator David Towle called "one of the greatest rides in Race Across America history". [14] Helped by six-time RAAM winner Seana Hogan's early withdrawal (due to respiratory problems), Parker finished first in the women's field with a time of 11 days, 20 hours, and 54 minutes. [15]
An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km) run completed in that order, a total of 140.6 miles (226.3 km). It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.
A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Recumbents are available in a wide range of configurations, including: long to short wheelbase; large, small, or a mix of wheel sizes; overseat, underseat, or no-hands steering; and rear wheel or front wheel drive. A variant with three wheels is a recumbent tricycle.
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race.
Jure Robič was a Slovenian cyclist and a soldier in the Slovenian Army. He became prominent for his multiple wins in the men's solo category of Race Across America (RAAM). He died on 24 September 2010 in a head-on collision during training. He was descending on his bike on a narrow mountain forest road in Plavški Rovt near Jesenice in Slovenia and hit an oncoming car.
This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.
The Cape Town Cycle Tour, formerly known as the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, is an annual cycle race hosted in Cape Town, South Africa, usually 109 km (68 mi) long. It is the first event outside Europe to be included in the Union Cycliste Internationale's Golden Bike Series. South Africa hosts some of the largest, by the number of entrants, sporting events in the world with three being the largest of their type. The Cape Town Cycle Tour, with as many as 35 000 cyclists taking part, is the world's largest individually timed cycle race. The other two are the world's largest ultra-marathon running event, the Comrades Marathon, and the world's largest open water swim, the Midmar Mile.
The Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge is New Zealand's largest mass participation cycling event. First held in 1977, it takes place on the last Saturday of each November and circumnavigates Lake Taupō, a volcanic crater lake in the centre of the North Island. The ride starts and finishes in Taupō with one full circuit being approximately 160 km. Around 7,000 riders take part each year.
Sharon Laws was a British professional cyclist and environmental consultant.
Leah Goldstein is a professional Canadian-Israeli road racing cyclist, former 1989 World Bantamweight Kickboxing Champion, and Israel's 1998 Duathlon champion. In 2021, she became the first woman to win the overall solo division of the Race Across America (RAAM).
Team Strawberry was a professional bicycle racing team that participated in experiments on human power/performance conducted by their primary sponsor, Balboa Instruments of Newport Beach, California. The Team was founded in 1988 by team captain Alan R. McDonald. It lasted 2 years for the purpose of testing Bicycle aerodynamics and power, human power measurement/logging, and competing in the 1989 HPV Race Across America. McDonald acquired New Zealand rider John Harvey, also an Ultra Marathon cyclist. They were later joined by Greg Ewing and Mike Haluza. During the 1989 RAAM, the team used the hi-tech prototype cyclocomputer called the "Power Pacer" designed by Balboa Instruments. The device measured each rider's individual performance in terms of power output and calories burned through an output device built into the rear wheel hub.
Adventures for the Cure (AFC) is a nonprofit organization and USA Cycling club that exists to raise awareness for diabetes and other selected charities. Formed in 2005, AFC is based in Halethorpe, Maryland, near Baltimore.
Barbara Buatois is a French racing cyclist and one of the fastest female recumbent racers and ultra cyclists.
Peggy Maria Llewellyn is a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock Motorcycle drag racer. She is of American, Mexican and Jamaican descent. Her father Gene Llewellyn was closely involved with bikes and bike racing and she began riding herself at age seven.
The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered perhaps the most prestigious record in all of cycling. Over history, various cyclists ranging from unknown amateurs to well-known professionals have held the record, adding to its prestige and allure. There are several records, one of which is the record for streamlined human powered vehicles, also known as recumbent bicycles.
Kyle Bryant is an athlete, speaker and the spokesperson for the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA). Bryant is the founder and event director of rideATAXIA – a nationwide bike ride fundraiser benefiting FARA.
Cruzbike is a brand of recumbent bicycles based in Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States. The company was founded in 2005 and all models are now designed in the United States and manufactured in Taiwan. Cruzbike started life in Australia and was featured on the ABC show The New Inventors. It is fairly unusual in that it makes a front-wheel drive recumbent bicycle with a Moving Bottom Bracket (MBB). The bottom bracket is the piece that the pedals attach to, and in this case it moves left and right with the front wheel when steering the bicycle. This design allows for better climbing ability, and eliminates "heel strike" on turns, but comes with a slightly longer learning curve as there is a pedal-steer effect.
The Trans Am Bike Race (TABR) is an annual, self-supported, ultra-distance cycling race across the United States. The route is about 4,200 miles (6,800 km) long and uses the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail that was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association for the Bikecentennial event in 1976. The route runs from the Pacific coast in Astoria, Oregon to the Atlantic coast in Yorktown, Virginia, passing through ten states. The inaugural race was in 2014, which 25 people completed, the fastest of whom took less than 18 days.
The definition of ultra-distance cycling is far more vague than in ultra running or in ultra-triathlon. Any bike race or ride longer than a century ride, which is 100 miles (160 km), is sometimes considered to be ultra-distance cycling. However, such events are relatively common, so using a longer distance to define the category is more useful, such as any race or ride that is longer than 200 kilometres (120 mi), 300 kilometres (190 mi) or even a double century, 200 miles (320 km).
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