For most of us bike riding means great outdoor exercise, for David Quincy, M.D., a family medicine doctor and Regional Medical Director at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, it means riding all the way across the United States. Together with three team mates (two of his patients and his triathalon coach), he recently rode from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland in six days and 16 hours to complete this year’s Race Across America.
“Before the race I was wondering if I’d met my match with this one,” says Dr. Quincy who is no stranger to endurance events and has participated in many biathlons and triathlons for the last 25 years. “But it was a really exhilarating experience. This type of event certainly gives you a whole new level of confidence.”
Unlike the Tour de France, the Race Across America is not ridden in stages. Instead teams use a relay format and race 24 hours a day, averaging 350 to 500 miles each day. The route is over 3,000 miles long, goes through 14 states and climbs over 100,000 feet.
“Our team had to put together a complex plan to keep one rider continually on the road and moving east,” explains Dr. Quincy whose teammates included two of his patients and his triathlon coach, all of whom ride together regularly. “We divided our four-man group into two two-man teams; one team took turns riding 30 minutes each for eight hours while the other team rested.”
In theory, this was a good plan, but the riders soon discovered that much of their “time off” was taken up with helping their nine-person support crew, assisting with navigation and completing the myriad other tasks it took to keep the whole caravan continuously moving east.
“In a time period of 24 hours, you ended up only getting about three hours of sleep,” says Dr. Quincy. Team members grabbed a couple of hours of sleep in motels, camped out at the side of the road on mattresses or tried to stretch out as best as possible in the support vehicle.
Despite the sleep deprivation, Dr. Quincy’s team not only mastered this feat of endurance, they also won their age division in the four-person team category.
Returning from this great adventure Dr. Quincy advises everyone to find their own “Race Across America.”
“It doesn’t have to be a transcontinental bike ride but give yourself a goal, put something lofty out there, and then do it,” he recommends. “Step away from your routine and do something unusual–this is what gives life its flavor.”
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