Mastering Cycling

John Howard has a remarkable resume as a professional cyclist, endurance athlete, and coach. He spent 10 years on the U.S. national cycling team and raced in three Olympic Games. In 1971 he won first place in the Pan-Am Games road race—America's only gold medal ever in that event. He has won other major road races, including the Tour de L'Estra, the Tour of Newfoundland, and the Tour of Baja. An American pioneer on the European racing circuit, he won a stage and finished third overall in the Tour of Ireland in 1973. John was a cofounder of the coast-to-coast Race Across America (RAAM) and finished second in the inaugural race. In 1987, he set the 24-hour cycling distance record of 539 miles. In 1989, he was inducted into the U.S. Cycling Hall of Fame.

Howard's achievements don't end with traditional bike racing. In 1985 he set the bicycle speed record of 152.2 mph, riding behind a custom-built land rocket on the Bonneville Salt Flats. He won the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon in 1981. In 2000 he set the 24-hour canoeing record of 104.6 miles. He has been named a masters cycling national champion an unprecedented 18 times. He now runs one of cycling's best-regarded coaching clinics, the John Howard School of Champions. By his estimation, John has ridden more than 1/2 million miles during his career.