On Mary Pierce is no stranger to challenges. In 1993, Mary was rushed to the University of Michigan to receive a double lung transplant from a woman who had died in an auto accident. Following her discharge from the hospital, Mary began a rigorous program of weight training and bicycling to rebuild her oody. Only a year after her transplant, Mary won two bronze medals in cycling at the 1994 National Transplant Games in Atlanta. One year later, Mary won a gold medal in the 20-kilometer bicycle race at the '95 World Transplant Games in Manchester, England.
Pierce aims to be the first lung transplant recipient to ride a bike across America.
Shirley St. Cyr will be among the 1,000 GTE Big Ride cyclists. The mother of five children, St. Cyr has Alpha-1 deficiency emphysema which almost destroyed her lungs, leaving her with greatly diminished lung capacity. She has ridden with Team Alpha for two years, participating in seven ALA treks in 1997, totalling nearly 1000 miles. When J.T. Todd turns 64 on July 10, he ' ll be cycling between De Smet, South Dakota and New Ulm, Minnesota on the GTE Big Ride. Todd, who has had asthma since he was a child, began bicycling seriously about five years ago.