Saving lives - even his own - by cycling
Head Out
Published: August 2, 2007
Last Modified: August 2, 2007 at 06:54 PM
SEWARD -- Roger Parr, a bear of a man with calves the size of birch trees and shoulders that fill a doorway, is an Anchorage hero.
After watching the Tour de France over the past three weeks, I've marveled at the feats of such riders as Juan Mauricio Soler of Colombia, a first-timer who won the King of the Mountains jersey, and Linus Gerdemann of Germany, who broke away to win Stage 7 of the race -- even briefly wearing the yellow jersey. They are the unknowns, the guys whose names were not flaunted in the press but whose feats show the true grit of a determined athlete.
Parr is a 30-something father of one in Anchorage. A husband. A lifelong Alaskan. And in January, at 320 pounds, he went to the doctor and was told he had diabetes. He also had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a bunch of other problems.
The doctor explained what that meant: no running around with his daughter, who turns 1 today; lifelong limitations on what he can eat and how hard he could push himself. If Parr didn't get his weight and health under control, his doctor warned, it could kill him.
So, seven months later, what does Parr do but ride his bicycle 130 miles from Anchorage to Seward -- and finish first! The event, Ride for Life Alaska, was not a race -- rather, a group ride fund-raiser for cancer screenings in Alaska.
For Parr, it proved the motivation he needed to get beyond the unhealthy lifestyle he had slipped into and back outside to a place that could restore his health -- and happiness -- without coming up with excuses to avoid physical activity.
Parr learned about Ride for Life when shopping at Skinny Raven with his wife and noticing a flier. Earlier in the summer he had ridden the Tour de Cure, a 25-kilometer fund raiser for diabetes, on his big, heavy mountain bike.
But the Ride for Life? This was something different.
"When I looked at it, I thought, 'Anchorage to Seward? Holy cow, you have to be crazy. You have to go up two mountain passes. Who would do such thing?'?" he said.
He showed it to his wife, Cindy Myers-Parr, who very confidently said, "Why can't you do that? You've trained hard."
"She said, 'You've done really good. Let's get you a road bike so you can do this,'?" he said.
So down to The Bicycle Shop Parr went -- "I was afraid they wouldn't have a bike big enough for me," he said -- where they outfitted him with a Specialized Allez and heavy-duty rims to support his weight.
In three weeks, he put 400 miles on the bike, riding from Anchorage to Portage and back to prepare himself. Although he'd grown up playing basketball, snowmachining and enjoying other outdoor sports, he never considered himself a cyclist -- especially one of those svelte racers wearing lycra and riding alongside highway traffic.
The day of Ride for Life, Parr said, he was nervous. He awoke at 5:30 a.m. with the jitters.
"I know it's not a race, but I told myself I just wanted to come in the top 25," he said. "I'd feel good if I did that."
Which he did. Despite three -- three! -- flat tires, he went on to complete the first day's 80-mile stage ride in 4 hours, 42 minutes.
Day 2, from Summit Lake to Seward, was even better. With his tire problems taken care of, he rode alongside cyclists Billy Koitzsch and Adam Baxter, whom he had met and ridden with the day before.
The rain came down steadily, and the men were covered in dirt and grime. But Parr, wearing red and cranking his pedals, ignored it. He thought it might kill him, but he kept pedaling. Baxter and Koitzsch had taught him the mechanics of drafting the day before, and he knew he needed to stay with them to conserve his energy.
A half-mile from the finish, Baxter, Koitzsch and me slowed ever so slightly, yelling to Parr to come up front from his position in the rear. He had earned it, Baxter said. This man, who has learned the hard way to appreciate the benefits of spending time outside and taking care of himself, held his head high, pedaled over one more hill and drifted down to the parking lot at the Alaska SeaLife Center amid cheers of encouragement.
"He set himself a good goal so he could get out of the house, and he did it," said Darren Duhnke, who spent most of the first day riding with Baxter, Koitzsch and Parr. "He was a great guy. I don't think any of the four of us knew each other before that, but now we do, that is for sure."
?• Play outdoor columnist Melissa DeVaughn can be reached at adn.com/contact/mdevaughn or call 257-4482.
