Daniel Paul Chew (born August 26, 1962) is an American former professional

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

and ultramarathon

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

who twice won the

Race Across America The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prov ...

. He is also co-founder and promoter of the Dirty Dozen, an annual road bicycle race over Pittsburgh's thirteen steepest hills. Chew is a 2014 inductee into the UltraCycling Hall of Fame.

Early life and amateur career

Chew started cycling in 1971 at age 9, after being introduced to the sport by his older sister. His parents and older brother were also cyclists, and Chew began accompanying his family on recreational touring rides that year. He completed his first 200-mile event the following year in 1972, riding the Midwest Double Century in Lima, Ohio with his family.

Professional career

Chew turned professional in 1985 and finished 12th in that year's national championship road race, the Corestates USPro in Philadelphia. He was 25th the following year, and 16th in 1987. Chew rode as an independent or free-agent professional without team support in all three appearances. In 1994, Chew switched his competitive focus from traditional road cycling to

ultra-distance cycling Ultra-distance cycling is the riding of any Cycle sport, bike race or route longer than a century ride, which is . However, such events are relatively common, so using a longer distance to define the category may be more useful, such as any race or ...

events. That year he placed 4th in his debut at the transcontinental Race Across America (RAAM). He was second at RAAM in 1995, and won the following year. He also won the 1999 RAAM, an experience he described as "tiredness beyond belief." Chew is an eight-time solo RAAM finisher.

Personal life

On September 4, 2016, around noon, Chew was seriously injured when he had vertigo while riding and crashed into a drainage ditch on Kennard Road near Lodi, Ohio. He was initially diagnosed with a broken neck and possible paralysis. The following month, Dr. Elliot Roth of the

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), is a not-for-profit physical medicine and rehabilitation research hospital based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1954, the AbilityLab is designed for patient c ...

confirmed that Chew was permanently paralyzed from the chest down and would never walk again. Despite having contemplated suicide in the weeks immediately following his accident, Chew suggested during the final days of his hospital stay that he would resume his goal of riding one million lifetime miles, albeit aboard a

handcycle A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the Human leg, legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear Bicycle wheel, wheels and one steerable powered front wheel ...

. Before his accident in 2016, Chew was diagnosed with

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnostic label that has historically been used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and no ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987.

Major results

;1994 :4th -

;1995 :2nd - Race Across America ;1996 :1st - Race Across America ;1997 :2nd - Race Across America ;1998 :4th - Race Across America ;1999 :1st - Race Across America ;2000 :2nd - Race Across America ;2001 :3rd - Race Across America

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chew, Danny 1962 births American male cyclists Ultra-distance cyclists Living people People with Asperger syndrome American disabled sportspeople Autistic sportspeople Sportspeople from Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh alumni Cyclists from Pennsylvania Chew family People with paraplegia