Iowa City cyclist sets national record

Posted Jun 16, 2003
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A 45-year old Iowa City man won a national race on a tricycle last weekend. Steve Thunder-McGuire set a national record for recumbent cycling riding 382 miles in 24 hours.

By Susan Harman Iowa City Press-Citizen Tuesday, June 17, 2003 It's not what you think. Steve Thunder-McGuire, an associate professor in the College of Education and coordinator of the art education program at the University of Iowa, won the National 24-hour Challenge on a recumbent three-wheeler and set a national record in the process. He pedaled 382 miles in 24 hours, smashing the previous record of 344 miles. This is the first time a recumbent trike beat a regular recumbent in the race. Accompanied by his two-man support crew, Dennis Corwin and Steve Merkle, McGuire pedaled for 24 hours on three different courses near Grand Rapids, Mich. Although he is a long-time long-distance cyclist, this was the first time he competed in this event. "I told the crew that the first goal was to complete it and the second was to beat the recumbent record," he said. "I kept thinking at some point I was going to hit a wall, but it was OK. The thing that motivated was that as I progressed I realized I was doing well. Further into the night, people were yelling because they began to announce times, so they realized I was doing well." He covered 190 miles in his first 12 hours and 192 in the final 12. In the final hours, he came across the previous record-holder, a man from Germany. Thunder-McGuire said the many miles he has biked, his maturity and mental fortitude helped get him through the night. To prepare, he routinely rode from Iowa City to Lisbon or Tipton, about 60 miles roundtrip, and followed it up with a 100-mile ride. He took one day off per week from training. "After 12 hours, when a body would normally become fatigued to the point of starting to hurt, it lasts longer for people who've done it for years and years," he said. His plan was to get off the bike every 36 miles during the evening for sustenance and to stretch out. But he was careful not to stay off too long. He ate a banana and a can of liquid food, and he drank a quart of water an hour. He also inhaled a few bugs along the way, particularly during the night. The crew kept him fed and focused and advised of his time and distance splits. No one slept much. Thunder-McGuire has been an aficionado of the recumbent style bike for several years. He became a convert after he built a tandem recumbent trike for his son several years ago. "I realized not only was it a novel thing to do, it was quite comfortable for long distances," Thunder-McGuire said. He said it took two years and 2,000 miles to get his legs adjusted to the new posture. The riding position uses the large muscles more efficiently and saves wear and tear on hands, wrists, the back and tender bottoms, he said. But where he feels it is in his quadriceps. A rider does not stand up to scale hills, so the quads have to pump all by themselves. So why would a seemingly rational guy put himself through such an ordeal? "It's really true; there's something about pedaling that feels so good," he said. "The other part of it is I really like a kind of adventure competition where the challenge is to see not necessarily how much better you can do than somebody else but how well you can do given a variety of circumstances that can be unforeseen over a long period of time." The ultra fit Thunder-McGuire said he is not on his way to triathlons. He said there is such a thing as moderation and balance in one's life. "It's always a matter of doing what keeps life happy and yet at the same time recognizing all the types of commitments you have," he said.