INTRODUCTION<br >In 1982 I was asked by ABC television to cover the Race Across<br >AMerica. At the time I was racing in Europe so I had a good excuse not<br >to cover it. The next year I was again asked to cover the Race Across<br >AMerica. This time however there was no way out. I was going to have<br >to follow a bunch of guys and one woman， who called themselves cyclists，<br >for about ten days as they pedaled from the Pacific to the Atlantic.<br > What could I do? I thought to myself there must be some way out of<br >this. These people are not bicycle racers. Sure， they taught John Howard<br >a lesson last year but he was old， maybe even over the hill.<br > After the start in 1983 it took just five hours for me to realize what<br >John Howard had discovered in 1982. I was shocked--the top competi-<br >tors can HAMMER.<br > 1 rode the first 100 miles with the leaders， one of whom was Michael<br >Shermer， and I was dead! To say that I was glad to see the ABC mobile<br >home is an understatement. These guys were maintaining a speed of over<br >20 mph into a stiff head wind and the temperature was well over 100<br >degrees. It was a humbling experience for someone who considers<br >himself a bicycle racer.<br > Over the next week and a half my respect for the leaders increased as<br >1 was continually amazed by their talent as cyclists.<br >