Twenty-six

miles is a long way to go. It is a long distance to run

or ride a bicycle, but imagine having to pedal with your

hands.

Dwayne

Sanders of Peachtree City knows this first hand. He has

been riding a handcycle for almost a year now and will

show off his riding ability this Saturday in a race in

Brooks.

Sanders,

currently a chemical engineer, was a cheerleader at

Georgia Institute of Technology when he broke his neck in

an accident and was paralyzed. He has participated in

many wheelchair sports but he wanted to do something more

active with his family.

Last year

he purchased a handcycle for recreational rides with his

wife, Sharon, and his children, Michael and Catherine,

and is now interested in racing competitively with the

handcycle.

Sanders

rides with Fayetteville City Councilman Glenn Brewer, who

also will ride in Saturday's race, and Rodney Anderson, a

racer from north Georgia who will most likely make the

Paralympics in Sydney this summer. The men also hope to

have Judge Eric Maxwell out racing with them soon.

Sanders

does most of his training on Robinson Road, riding an

average of four to five days a week. He will be getting a

new handcycle next week, jumping up from a seven-gear

cycle to a 27-speed cycle. The new cycle is light and

faster and should add some overall speed.

After

Saturday's 26-mile exhibition race in Brooks, Sanders

plans to head to a 10K Criterion, sponsored by Lance

Armstrong in Austin, April 8. He then will race in the

annual Twilight Criterion in Athens this May. He plans to

race in four more events this year, but is seeking

sponsorship to help defray some of the expenses.

Currently, Regents Bank, BP and Kaufman Tire have lent

their support.

Handcycling

has grown exponentially as a sport over the past few

years. Just recently, the U.S. Cycling Federation has

added handcycling to its rule book, paving the way for

handcycle acceptance in many large races. Though there

are some racers out there who are largely professional

and try to shave seconds off their times, Sanders is

still working on shaving off minutes.

"The

key for me is to get stronger and more conditioned,"

said Sanders. "I enjoy it because it is also a lot

of fun."

Bicycles

Unlimited is sponsoring a day of races in and around

Brooks this Saturday. The racing will begin in the

morning at Brooks Elementary School. The last race,

Sanders' race, will begin around 1:30 p.m. If you are

interested in sponsoring Sanders or the sport of

handcycling, e-mail him at [email protected] .