On the road with his nephews, Ethan and Cameron, cheering him on. Photo by Bridgette Rodriquez

Dan McGehee is an amazing athlete. If you talk to him about his accomplishments, he will defer to his Team. To McGehee the team is the most important thing. He considers the officials, the crew and those who just come to cheer him on, as well as the sponsors of RideClean (the cycling team for which McGehee ride) as part of his overall team. He will tell you, "I cannot do this alone," and anyone who has ever attempted an ultra event knows what he is talking about.

Byron Gremley and Paul Carpenter were the officials for McGehee's recent UMCA 100-mile road record. McGehee averaged 25.42 miles per hour on an established course in Kaneville, IL. His time was 3 hours 56 minutes and 3 seconds. The best part of this record was the support of his family. McGehee lives in Mesa, AZ but the rest of his family lives in the Midwest, mostly Illinois. He used this record attempt to bring his entire family together for the first time in many years. Many athletes would talk about the record, and McGehee does, but more importantly he talks about the team. In speaking to McGehee he said, "I am a family man who happens to be an eye doctor, and I like to ride my bike as fast as I can."

Greg Hemmerlin, Marty Ryerson, Dan, Al Schottt, Hope McGehee. Photo by Marie Handrahan

Allow me to give you some competitive background on McGehee that you may not know. He ran the 800 meters in college and continued to run competitively after he graduated. After breaking a bone in his foot he began swimming and riding a bicycle. You guessed it, the next adventure for McGehee was a triathlon and after more than 100 triathlons the Kona Ironman became a goal he achieved twice. He would come off the bike in the top 35 only to be run down in the marathon. He even beat Paula Newby-Fraser off the bike to watch her pass him in the pit. This became old and the Cochise County Cycling Classic became his next challenge and adventure. The CCCC is an annual 252-mile perimeter ride in Southern Arizona organized by the Perimeter Bicycle Association of America. The 1996 CCCC was his first foray into the ultra cycling community. He has since won seven of them and holds the record at 10:23. Next came the Furnace Creek 508. Have you heard the story about the winner saying at the finish: "take me to the hospital"? This happened to McGehee in 1998 when he won the FC508. He had pneumonia and spent three days in the Palm Springs hospital. When he recovered he was back at it and in 2003 set the two-man team record at Furnace Creek in 25:38. He raced the 2006 Race Across AMerica as part of the four-person Emily's Team, and has attempted and set many UMCA records.

McGehee sets the bar high for himself and always questions whether he sets it high enough. He realizes he is not getting any younger and his window of opportunity is running out. I have been the official for many of his record attempts in Arizona and can tell you that his idea of the window is small in comparison to those who have seen him attempt these records. He has hopes of riding some time trials next summer while on a trip to Europe with his family. While his son is busy at soccer camps, McGehee hopes to be on his time trial bike. He may not get a chance to set any records but will gain the experience of riding a British time trial or two while there. The British hold all the records for 100-mile, 12-hour and 24-hour road time trials. Always looking for a new challenge, McGehee is also looking at velodrome trialing, where the elements do not come into play and it's one constant pace.

RAAM 2006 Finish with the team and crew. Photo by Barb Franklin

Cycling is all about the journey and the team. McGehee strives to make the experience a positive one whether he breaks the record or not. He certainly achieves his goal! Even while he is lying on the pavement totally spent at the end of a record attempt, he is concerned not for himself but for the team present. He sends a special thanks to his long time friend, Al Schott, who has always been there for him as his crew chief. Along with his other close friends, Greg Hemmerlin and Marty Ryerson, they have seen a lot of pavement together. Realizing he cannot do this alone he agrees, as the rider, he has the easiest job of all.