Pedal to the Medal : Cyclist Prepares to Compete in Barcelona Paralympics

As most of Southern California is rolling out of bed, Rick Hoang, 22, is pedaling up a mountain, passing fellow cyclists who have the advantage of two arms.

Hoang, of San Gabriel, is one of nine disabled athletes selected for the U.S. Paralympic cycling team, scheduled to compete in Barcelona next month. The Paralympics are held every four years in the same city as the Olympics.

Hoang was 11 when he fled Vietnam in a boat. He was 16 and a member of the Temple City High School track team when he slipped on a wet floor at the cleaners where he worked. Trying to break his fall, Hoang caught his right arm in a spinning machine that tore it off at the elbow.

Seven months later, he was back on the track, competing in the 200-meter run. Hoang qualified for the 1988 Paralympic track team, and came home from Seoul with a silver medal in the long jump. His 400-meter relay team took the bronze.

Then, a couple of years ago, a friend offered him a bike at a price he couldn’t refuse. “I fell in love with it and gave up running,” he said.

Today, Hoang’s day starts early. He gets up at 5 so he can ride his bike before the heat and smog become too unbearable. His training regimen consists of riding nearly 70 miles a day. Several times a week he pedals up Chantry Flats, a four-mile ride into the San Gabriel Mountains.

Hoang, who lives with his sister and her family, must raise $2,500 to pay for his trip to Barcelona. He helps take care of his niece and nephew in addition to working as a smog mechanic at a local gas station.

“The thing I like most about riding is when you’re tired and you think you’ve lost it,” he said, “you’ve still got to make it home.”