RACE ACROSS AMERICA
Local Athlete Competes in World-Class Race

Kevin McNulty at the start of the5 mile course on Scripps Poway Parkway from Sysco’s parking lot to Hwy. 67. File Photo by forrest Letzring

By Jim Evans

Five years ago, Kevin McNulty was just a “wannabe” riding a stationary bike in his Ramona loft to get back in shape (“Taking Fitness to a Higher Level,” Ramona Home Journal, May 2004.

Who would have believed that he would become an elite cyclist — at the ripe “old age” of 41 — participating on the four-man Kern Wheelman/ Advocare relay team in The Race Across America?

RAAM is perhaps the most recognized annual endurance cycling event in the world. Unlike traditional long-distance cycling races that take place in “stages” over several weeks, RAAM continues nonstop, 24 hours a day, for approximately nine days.

This year, the race begins in San Diego on June 19, (two- and four-person teams begin June 21) and covers almost 3,000 miles, traversing 14 states and climbing more than 104,000 feet, ending in Atlantic City, N.J.

The course will present some serious challenges to riders along the way.

“Death Valley, Wolf Creek Pass…the most difficult stretches will be the long, boring straightaways with nothing to keep my mind off the pain,” McNulty said. “I will actually be looking forward to the hills.”

There are multiple divisions of competition, including solo men and women; two-person mixed division; two-person men’s division; four-person mixed division; four-person men’s division; four-person recumbent division; and the corporate challenge (eight-person) division.

The Kern Wheelmen/ Advocare team — consisting of McNulty and Joe Petersen, Bill Elrich and Jarett Kennedy, all of Bakersfield — will compete against seven other teams from across the United States.

How was the team assembled? “Team Captain Joe Petersen carefully brainwashed two cyclists from Bakersfield and one from Ramona (me) into thinking this might be ‘fun,’” McNulty said, facetiously. “The Kern Wheelmen lost the world record last year, and they want it back!”

Kern Wheelmen is the name of a bicycle club in Bakersfield that held the four-man RAAM record for nine years and, along with Advocare, is one of the team’s sponsors this year. Advocare is a leader in the health, wellness, and performance supplement industry.

“We’ll be on an all-liquid diet for the duration of the race,” McNulty said, “so you could say that Advocare is ‘fueling’ us!”

About 18 people in cars, vans and mobile homes will provide support for the team along the way, according to McNulty. The riders will spend one-fourth of their time on bikes and three-fourths “fueling” in the vans and trying to rest. Each rider will race about 150 miles a day.

McNulty, who won the Southern California Time Trial Cup last year and finished second in the state championship, still does most of his training — about 12 hours a week — on a special training bike in his loft, with an occasional ride from Ramona to Mt. Palomar and back. All of his riding is done in time-trial position, leaning over the handlebars with the back parallel to the road, to create the least wind resistance.

“It’s very uncomfortable at first, so it’s important to get familiar with the position, because it closes off the diaphragm, making breathing difficult,” he said.

Kevin’s wife Carolyn and their son Colin, 6, will provide long-distance support.

“We’ve decided that Colin and I would be nothing but a distraction,” Carolyn said. “It’s not like we would be able to spend any time with him. I’ll be able to keep track of the race on the Web site in the evening.”

McNulty also has received a lot of support from Kirk’s Bike Shop in Ramona and the R&B Bicycle Club in Julian.

“Clark and Shawn at Kirk’s Bike Shop gave me lots of advice — all of it good — and Rich at R&B Bicycle Club loves to tell the story of my first ride in the Tour of Borrego,” he said. “Now I’m a successful time trialer. Thanks, guys!”

For further information about The Race Across America, visit www.raceacrossamerica. org, www.kernwheelmen.org or www.advocare.com.

Go, Kevin! You’ve come a long way, baby!