CARSON, Calif. — Clark Rachfal has always dreamed big.
"I wanted to be a Transformer," said Rachfal, a 29-year-old from Annapolis, Md. "I never thought anything was impossible."
But as Rachfal got older and realized that being the next Optimus Prime wasn't in the cards, he turned to a more realistic pursuit — tandem cycling.
And he has transformed himself — into one of the top stokers (backseat driver) in the world.
What makes Rachfal's achievement even more special is that he is going blind. He suffers from Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a disease that causes its victims to lose their vision from
the back of the eye to the front.
He and his tandem mate, pilot Dave Swanson, have won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals over the past five years. They have hopes of qualifying the 2012 Paralympics in London this summer, but they fell short of their goal this past weekend.
They finished fifth in their racing group at the US Para-Cycling World Championships at the Velo Sports Center in the Home Depot Center. By failing to medal in Carson, Rachfal and Swanson now must earn their way to London by qualifying at the 2012 Paralympic cycling trials in Augusta, Ga., in June.
Rachfal displays a championship sense of humor while discussing his malady.
"To the sides, I can see
colors, shapes and outlines, which works out great for tandem cycling,
because I don't see have to see Dave's rear end in front of me, but I
can still see on the periphery." Rachfal explained with a laugh.
He was first affected by LCA when he was young — which is when the disease usually strikes. It's relentless, and every day that goes by means a little more loss of sight. There's no cure, although groups such as Project 3000 are focusing on LCA and various other eye diseases.
"But I know that unless there's a miracle or stem-cell treatments are developed quickly, what I see tomorrow will be less than I see today," he said without a trace of bitterness in his voice. No surprise when one considers where he gets his philosophy — from a 1910 speech by late President Theodore Roosevelt titled "Citizenship in a Republic" but also known as "The Man in the Arena":
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Rachfal said he has loved that work ever since he read it a few years ago, and he turns to it to regain his focus at times he might be struggling.
"There's no choice but to have focus and be ready," said Rachfal, who put off going to law school to try to earn a spot on the US Paralympic Team. "These are the best athletes — disabilities or not — performing on the (biggest) stage of their sport. There's a certain level of competition, and the feeling is infectious. Even if you're off your game on a particular day, you still want to come out and perform because you're still representing your team and your country."
Swanson shares that goal.
"When you get to the (velodrome), I'm always wide-eyed," said the Tucson-based Swanson, who serves as the pilot (front-seat driver) because he does not have a sight impairment. "There's no doubt anymore that you're an elite athlete.
"Disability or not, we all work as hard as any other athletes do. We ride hard, train hard and give it everything you have all the time. You go after it with all your being, and I want to be a part of that. I'm honored that as an able-bodied athlete, I was invited to ride with an athlete like Clark. He's my best friend."
And that, said Rachfal, is why they've been so successful.
"We've only been a team since 2007, and that was months after we first met at a training camp," Rachfal recalled. "Dave was looking for a new teammate and so was I, and we hit it off immediately. We truly are each other's best friends and last year I spent months training and living with Dave at his home in Tucson.
"On the track we help each other and we always know what the other is going to do or where he's going. And off the track, we really like to (hang out) together. I'm very fortunate."
Will he still feel the same way if LCA continues to diminish his eyesight?
"Sure, why not?" Rachfal said. " . . . Wen it comes to other things I do, like traveling the world, I can still taste the different foods. I can still smell the scent of a building that was built in the year 800 A.D. My goal is just like anyone else's — to enjoy life to it's fullest.
"Wherever that takes me, I'm ready for the journey."
On and off the track.
