USD Magazine, Summer 1999

T~O FOR THE ROAD Engineering professor Susan Lord is such an extreme cyclist, her nine-mile bike commute to USO from her Tierrasanta home barely gets her heart pounding. Several times a year, Lord climbs on a tandem bike with husband Victor Chang and pedals 200 miles over some of the bleakest stretches of highway in the state. In one day. "It's a challenge," says Lord, 33 . "You really have to rely on each other for that great a distance." Called "double centuries," the long rides require team– work and supreme conditioning. Eleven are staged in Califor– nia each year, and while there are a few tandem teams, most entrants are single riders. Riders who complete three of the 200-mile races join the prestigious "Triple Crown Club" and are looked upon with awe by neophyte racers. Last year, Lord and Chang completed five. "I set out wanting to do only one," says Lord, "but Victor said if we do three, we can join the Triple Crown. Well, after we had done three, he said if we do just two more, we can join the 1,000 Mile Club." Rides are staged through hilly terrain in the Sierras, on burning desert stretches of asphalt and along slick coastal highways. Lord has pedaled through scorching temperatures in Hemet in August and through biting cold winds in Death Val– ley in February. They set out at 5 :30 a.m. , stopping only for lunch and a brief break at rest stations every 35 miles. They average about 14 mph, with their best finish coming in at 15 hours. Lord says the rides are a toll both physically and mentally. The back rider can't always see bumps and turns. The riders must communicate constantly with each other about road and weather conditions. Climbing back on the bike after each rest stop becomes a sheer test of will. "It's much better if the weather is cooperative," says Lord, who first rode a tandem bike with Victor in 1994. "If you're riding through rain for 100 miles, it can be pretty dis– couraging." Lord admits her favorite pastime is a "little nuts," and considering she hadn't done much cycling before she met Vic– tor, her accomplishments are all the more staggering. "I had an old Sears bike when we got married," says Lord with a laugh. "They say tandem makes or breaks a relation– ship - it's easy to blame each other if things are going wrong." Lord has shared stories of her adventures with her stu– dents and says the most common reaction is disbelief: How could you pedal that long for fun? Several times, she admits, she has wondered that herself. "In the end, though, you have to keep going and push yourself to your physical limits," says Lord. "What's the alterna– tive? To go 180 miles and then quit that close to the finish?"

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