Race Across AMerica : Four of 25 Cyclists Pedal to Arizona

As of 9:30 p.m. PDT Sunday, four riders have reached Arizona in the Race Across AMerica bicycle competition, which began Sunday morning at the Huntington Beach Pier.

Leader Mike Secrest of Flint, Mich. passed through the check point at Blythe Ariz., 238 miles into the race at 8:48 p.m. PDT. Jonathan Boyer of Pebble Beach was in second place, within one minute of Secrest.

Lon Haldeman of Harvard, Ill. passed through Blythe at 9:10 p.m. PDT and is in third. Michael Shermer of Hollywood is in fourth, less than a minute behind Haldeman.

Rob Tempelin of San Diego, the United States Cycling Federation’s Southern California Best All-Around Rider in 1980, is in sixth place. Shelby Hayden-Clifton of Greensboro, N.C. is first among three women riders and is seventh overall.

The oldest competitor in the race, William DeBreau, a 48-year-old grandfather from Garden Grove, is in 11th. He failed to finish in 1983. Wyatt Wood of Kensington, Calif. is 13th.

Jim Penseyres of San Juan Capistrano, a Vietnam veteran who lost his left leg in battle when he stepped on a mine, is in 15th place. Dennis Bock of Costa Mesa, who rode last year and didn’t finish, is in 16th. Long Beach’s Jim DeGraffenreid is 18th and Elaine Mariolle of Berkeley, who was an unofficial finisher last year, is 22nd.

Wayne Phillips of Richmond, British Columbia is the first rider to compete without a supported group. He is 21st place.

Dwight Callaway, 39, of Denver, N.C., suffered from heat exhaustion 142 miles into the race, five miles west of Cathedral City. Temperatures in the Mojave Desert reached 110 degrees. He was off his bike for three hours before resuming. He is in 25th place.

No one has dropped out of the competition.

The 25 riders left the Huntington Beach Pier at 9 a.m. PDT. A crowd of 5,000 spectators lined the pier and Main Street for the start. Also, 2,000 to 3,000 people on bicycles escorted the competitors from Huntington Beach to the Santa Ana River Trail.

From there, the riders went through Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Center before crossing the Arizona border and heading toward Blythe with a slight tailwind.

The riders will then proceed to Prescott and Flagstaff before crossing the New Mexico border en route to Albuquerque.