Cycling Tips & Stories

Ironman Triathlon World Champion.
U.S. National Cycling Team member.
USCF and NORBA Elite and Masters National Champion.
UCI World Championship Medallist.
Three-time Olympic Cycling Team
10 years U.S. National Team
14-time USCF and NORBA Elite and Master’s National Champion
Ironman Triathlon World Champion (1981)
Cycling 24-Hour Drafting World Record Holder, 539 miles (1987)
Cycling World Absolute Speed Record Holder, 152.2 mph
Competitive Cycling Magazine’s Cyclist of the Decade -- 1970s

A lifetime of bragging rights accompanies any one of those feats.

But one man, John Howard, has accomplished them all -- and then some.

The "then some" would include Howard's participation in the 1982 Great American Bike Race, precursor to Race Across AMerica. He came in second to Lon Haldeman that year with a time of 10 days, 10 hours and 59 minutes. But he was first in another category. Howard was RAAM's first Rookie of the Year. . . .

A native of Springfield, MO, Howard first became interested in cycling at the age of 15, riding the slopes around his home -- the Ozark Mountains. In cycling, Howard wasn't following in his father's footsteps, those of Harry Howard, a high school football star. Rather he was blazing new territory. Go figure.

"My first real cycling hero was Marshall Major Taylor," Howard said of the turn-of-the-century black cycling great.

Related:

Tips&Stories: St. Louis team to tackle Race Across America this month

Tips&Stories: Ride of Silence across Missouri May 21st