Going the extra mile

Think the ride to Silverton is tough? Try a grueling 5,700-mile, 24-day bike ride across Siberia.

That’s the epic challenge facing CSU graduate student Matthew Carnal, who is the only male cyclist in the country selected for the longest bicycle stage race in the world: the Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme. (He may very well be the only one who applied, but that’s beside the point.)

But before he can embark, Carnal has another uphill challenge: raising the $20,000 entry fee by the end of this month. To help with his fundraising efforts, Carnal – who has come up with the first $10,000 on his own – has done what any masochistic millennial would do. He launched a GoFundMe campaign.

If the physical feat alone isn’t enough to spur your donation, consider Carnal’s backstory. The self-described “country boy” from Kansas comes from a broken home where he and his two siblings were raised by a single mom. He worked hard to make a better life for himself, despite losing a grandfather and an uncle to suicide. “I was just that dreamer, that kid on the bike,” he told the school’s online news site, “The Source.”

Carnal got his first road bike in 2001, and completed his first major event in 2002, the Hotter ‘N Hell ride in Wichita Falls, Texas. He added to that by biking to Wichita Falls from Oklahoma City – and back again.

He is no slouch in academics, either. After earning undergrad degrees in biology and chemistry on a baseball scholarship, he got a master’s degree in economics. He worked as a chemist/ technician for five years before transitioning to become an economic analyst. However, when the 2008 recession hit, Carnal was laid off from his six-figure job.

After two years of job-searching, Carnal says he hit rock bottom while living with his brother in Missouri. He decided to use the last of his money to ride his bike across the country. Eventually, he settled in Fort Collins and enrolled at CSU, where he pursued exercise science. He is now working in the Department of Health and Exercise Science on a smartphone app that can measure the body’s lower-extremity power. He’s set to graduate in May, and wants to pursue a Ph.D. in exercise physiology or biomedical science.

But Carnal’s first order of business is to raise money and sponsorships for the ride across Siberia, which starts in Moscow on July 18 and finishes 24 days later in the Pacific port of Vladivostok.

Carnal says he would like to see the money go to buying bicycles and tools for kids. “I don’t want the money to go toward someone’s salary,” he says. “I want to make something happen.”

Only two of 10 solo riders have finished the race, but Carnal seems unfazed. “I just want to follow my passion. “I’m not after money. I’ve seen what that can do. I’m after stability, because I haven’t had that in my life.”