Considering all that Bobby McMullen has been through, it's reassuring to know he hasn't lost his zest for life. The Redding resident is headed to the 2006 U.S. Mountain Bike National Championships for the Super D on Saturday, and hopes to compete in Friday's Downhill National.
McMullen is fully blind in his left eye and 80-percent blind in the right. When describing his right eye he says, "It's like looking through a rolled up piece of paper with Vaseline smeared on the eye hole."
McMullen, who is an avid skier, mountain biker and triathlete, has been legally blind since 1993 due to a degenerative eye disease. Moreover, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 12 years old. He has also endured two kidney/pancreas transplants as a result of his diabetes.
His most recent cycling adventure came in the Race Across America, which began on June 13 in Oceanside, CA and concluded one week later in Atlantic City, NJ. McMullen was part of an eight-person team (Team Donate Life) that finished third in class and ninth overall out of 59 teams.
"That was a wild ride but that's what I'm all about," McMullen said. "I was on the bike about four hours each day. We biked all the way from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean in one week.
"It was tough when I was told I wouldn't see again," said McMullen, a 43-year-old massage therapist whose dream of becoming a lawyer was cut short by his blindness. "I was pretty disappointed and it was hard to swallow. When you look at it we are in a sight-oriented society and those of us who are visually impaired face a lot of obstacles.
"When I got the news I went home and my dad came out to meet me and I cried pretty hard right then. But then it was time to get on with my life."
And he has certainly done that. He made the U.S. Disabled Ski Team and won the U.S. National Championships in both downhill and Super G in 1996. He also made the Nagano Paralympics in 1998 in Japan.
McMullen races downhill by trailing his guide, who starts the trek down the hill in front of him and shouts instructions along the way. His guide is his girlfriend, Therese Connor, who is also a competitive mountain biker. It is an amazing sight to watch McMullen race down the hill, legally blind, with only his guide for instruction as he reaches speeds in excess of 30 mph.
"It is an unreal and intense experience for me," McMullen said of his downhill runs. "But I have a great communicator in Therese."
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