by Terra Osterling
Day 25, mile 54 of a 65 mile day into Walsenburg, CO, through La Veta Pass. When Churchville native and Paralympic athlete Ryan Chalmers placed his hands on the rims of his racing wheelchair on April 6, he reflected on the two years that he and his Push Across America team had spent preparing for his 71 day and 3,300 mile journey from Los Angeles to New York City.
“At the start in LA, I thought: I don’t want to let anyone down, I want to give it everything I’ve got to make it a success,” Ryan said via cell phone on day 47 of Push Across America. He had pushed 71 miles that day – the equivalent of nearly three marathons – partly with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign track team, his alma mater.
Ryan, an elite track and field athlete and member of the 2012 London Paralympics Team USA, is pushing his racer across America to raise awareness for the capabilities of disabled youth and young adults. Ryan and Roger Muller, founder of Stay Focused, wanted to stage an event for the 10th anniversary of Muller’s organization.
Day 47, mile 20, of a 71 mile day pushing into Champaign, IL, with the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, track team. GoPro, a Push Across America sponsor, donated an action camera, used by extreme athletes, to record Ryan’s push. The camera is mounted on the front of Ryan’s bike.Stay Focused provides growth and leadership-development opportunities for disabled youth through a Grand Cayman-based SCUBA certification and mentoring program. Ryan, born with spina bifida, was himself a Stay Focused mentee, and is now a mentor and a PADI-certified Dive Master.
Ryan began training for Push Across America after the 2012 Paralympics. To prepare for the altitude of the Rockies, Ryan wore a bandanna over his nose and mouth while pushing up the ramps at the U of I stadium.
He pushes a racing wheelchair in a well-practiced “punching” technique. While a conventional wheelchair is powered by pulling wheel rim bars back-to-front, racers are powered when the rubber-coated rim bars are grabbed in downward “punches.”
For Push Across America, Ryan begins at 6:30 a.m., when his biggest fan and sister Emily sends her daily text message, breaks for lunch, then usually stops for the day at dinner time. “He’s going an average of 10 mph, an average of 60 to 70 miles per day – some nights until 8 p.m. because he’s going three mph uphill, but needs to make the goal,” says Gregg Chalmers, Ryan’s father.
Day 16, mile 33 of a 55 mile day on the way to Page, AZ. Ryan’s “punching gloves” cover his index finger and thumb to offer some protection, but blisters and scrapes are inevitable. Just outside of this shot, Ryan’s support team leads and follows, transporting extra tires, an extra racer, and anything else Ryan might need on the road. The whole family plans to be there for Ryan’s New York City finish, near Central Park, on June 15th.Bob deNormand, Ryan’s grandfather, says, “It’s not really speed work unless you’re going downhill – and he did do 53 mph going downhill,” – “Once!” add Gregg and Linda, Ryan’s mother. Ryan’s racer, made and donated by Top End, is equipped with an emergency brake, but he prefers not to use it once he has built up momentum.
The Push Across America team caravan is made up of an RV equipped for documentary filmmakers, the lead vehicle, and the support van with this bumper sticker: “Slow moving vehicle – fast moving Paralympian.” Together they travel the professionally designed cross-country course.
Ryan has been on many teams, including Rochester Rookies track and Rochester Rockets junior wheelchair basketball. Track took him to the 2005 Junior World Games in Australia, where Ryan filled in on the basketball team at the coach’s request. That team earned a gold medal and Ryan was later recruited by U of I for their wheelchair basketball team. But track is his first love, and the way Ryan now promotes his message of setting and accomplishing goals.
Ryan Chalmers, Day 16, mile 26 of a 59 mile day heading into Cedar City, UT, just after a snowstorm.Fran deNormand recalls her grandson pushing his racer the approximately one mile loop of Burnt Mill Road, where Ryan grew up two doors down. He would pause at her mailbox, but refused to stop for water until he finished 20 laps around.
Asked what he would tell his hometown supporters now, Ryan says, “As long as you are passionate and set goals for yourself, you can accomplish anything. Churchville is an incredible place – it’s the place that made me who I am today.”
Ryan Chalmers will complete Push Across America in New York City on Saturday, June 15. Follow Ryan’s progress @PushUSA on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Donate at PushAcross-America.org.
Rochester Rehabilitation and SportsNet will host “Born to Roll,” a benefit event welcoming Ryan home, at Frontier Field, Thursday, June 27. Tickets ($15) are available at SportsNetNY.org. Children age 12 and under enter free.
