From Cali to Maryland; to hell and back

Somewhere late at night in June, after crossing the Mississippi, the legs will begin to burn and the dark night will close in. That’s when the cyclist begins to question their sanity

DONNCHA CUTTRISS cycled from his home in Cork to Liverpool via the ferry to Holyhead on Friday night. The rest of us worry about the size of our carry-on — Cuttriss just makes sure he can carry it on his back.

He was nonchalant about this when I spoke to him over the phone on Monday — ultra athletes are often deadpan about their incredible feats, apparently oblivious to how maddening this is to the rest of us.

In June, when the rest of us begin to wonder why we’re not lying down on a beach somewhere, Cuttriss will join fellow Corkonians and sometime training partners, Team Youghal, at the Race Across America (RAAM) an event which can either be described using apocalyptic adjectives or just by calling it what it is: a 3,005-mile race across America.

Recently retired soldier Cuttriss, 39, will race solo, aiming for at least 250 miles a day over 12 days which will require about 20 hours of cycling every day. But of course he’s aiming to finish it faster than that.

“Even the guy that’s going out to win it will tell you his aim is to simply finish it. This is the kind of race where you don’t know if you’re going to finish it. You never now what’s going to happen. Anyone can be beaten by it.

“In one sense, I’m telling you I’d be happy just to finish it but at the back of my mind I’m telling myself, ‘No! You’re going to drive it on and do it as fast as you can! You’re never going to give up and you’re going to do it in 10 days!”

A national champion boxer before he joined the Army, Cuttriss was a sparring partner for Michael Carruth and Billy Walsh at training camps in Wexford where he’d rise at 5am to run the sand dunes at Curracloe Beach.

That brutality served him well. So did serving in the Lebanon as an 18 year old. The aim for the solo rider is to sleep as little as possible, maybe a half-hour a day. In reality, that may mean just a half hour off the bike and not necessarily sleep.

Somewhere late at night in June, after crossing the Mississippi, the legs will begin to burn and the night will close in. That’s when the cyclist begins to question their sanity.

I’m reminded of an episode in Paul Kimmage’s Rough Ride depicting a cruel nighttime race from Bordeaux to Paris.

Thirteen competitors set off at midnight. Kimmage eventually finishes ninth of the 10 who make it without falling asleep. Along the way, he was offered drugs and even a push from his team car but he refused and in refusing, he was left behind by the lead group with 220kms to go.

“This was a test of courage and I passed,” he wrote. “But the price was high. That night I hadn’t the strength to walk up the stairs to my bedroom — I crawled on my hands and knees. The mental strain of the week was over and I felt I had made a giant step towards my contract.”

So what could possibly motivate Team Youghal captain, Ger Flanagan? He and seven others (although, if there’s anyone looking for an adventurous ride across the Colorado peaks and the Kansas plains, they’re still looking for a seventh member) will complete the course in a well-organised relay: four race accompanied by crew members, four rest and drive ahead with the other crew members. And on and on, leap-frogging each other from Oceanside in California to Annapolis in Maryland.

Longer than the Tour de France but completed over a shorter time period, there are 170,000 feet of climbing. Steve Redgrave led an eight-man team last year which tells you all you need to know about the background of the kind of person who takes this on.

“It’s a mindset of endurance and commitment we’re looking for, not necessarily speed,” points out Flanagan who, along with Cuttriss, is keen to emphasise the importance of their respective crews.

“We’re not looking to break any records, just to raise awareness for the Emer Casey Foundation and raise good money too. We did the Race Around Ireland (1,350 miles) in 2009 and 2010 and I just said, ‘Look lads, there’s one race left for us to take on’.

“We’re all leisure cyclists. We all work. We have one guy who is 60, I’ll be 48 next birthday. Another guy’s 58, he’s a retired school principal. We have the local fire officer, he’s 54. It’ll be our biggest adventure.”

Cuttriss is also competing for the benefit of a charity, the Aisling Group which provides addiction counselling. A visit to his alma mater Mayfield Community School last week also brought it home to him how his incredible drive can be a source of inspiration.

“I told them how I lived across the road and this is what I had done with my life. I told them, no matter what they do with their life, do it with passion and don’t let anyone get in the way.”

For more information or to donate to either of these charities visit: www.aislinggroupinternational.ie or www.emercaseyfoundation.com

Contact: [e-mail]; Twitter: JohnWRiordan