Originally Posted by
lhbernhardt
Don't let the amputation stop you. I remember riding a big masters stage race back in the late 80's. The first stage started in Bishop, CA and went up the long grade along Hwy 395 to Mammoth Lakes. As usual, I was popped off the back and trying hard to get back on. I'm a sprinter, not a climber! And then I get passed by Pete Penseyre's brother, who is a double amputee. He's got these metal rods for legs, and he just glided smoothly past me, and all I could do was look over at him and marvel. I couldn't even grab his wheel. What a guy. So let that be a lesson to you!
Luis
Pete's brother passed and dropped me on a climb in a race in '91- the Death Valley-Whitney Portal stage race. Dude was pretty fast.
In this years' Everest Challenge (two days and 29,035 feet of climbing, out of Bishop) we had a single leg below the knee amputee in my field. He had a really trick carbon fiber prosthesis that he'd made himself, painted to match his bike. The 55+ field was pretty big and the 45+ field was the largest of the race.