Wednesday, June 27, 2007
By Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A 71-year-old doctor at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is riding his bicycle across America to raise money for research into lung disease.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” said Dr. Brack Hattler. “I’ll find out pretty soon if I’m up to it.”

A transplant surgeon at UPMC’s Heart, Lung and Esophageal Surgery Institute, Dr. Hattler is also director of the Medical Devices and Artificial Organs research program for the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a joint program of the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC. The McGowan Institute is sponsoring his ride.

Dr. Hattler and 44 others left Seattle Monday for the 3,300-mile trek to Washington, D.C. They plan to travel 80 to 90 miles a day, passing through Washington state, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland before arriving in the nation’s capital on Aug. 11.

Dr. Hattler isn’t the oldest rider. That distinction belongs to Robert Jones, 76, of Towson, Md.

Each rider paid a $150 registration fee and must have sponsors who pledge at least $5,500. A total of $335,000 — the most ever in the four-year history of this event — has been raised. Roughly half that money will go to the American Lung Association, the other half to pay the expenses of the Big Ride Across America.

Dr. Hattler and his wife, Jean Anne, have been riding bikes for many years, and on several occasions has ridden 400 to 500 miles over a five- to six-day period, he said.

But the last time he rode that far was seven years ago, and never before has he undertaken anything approaching the challenge presented by the Big Ride.

On a typical day, the riders — who’ll be sleeping in tents — get up at 5 a.m., and ride from 7 a.m. to about 3 p.m.

“For the past five months, I’ve been riding almost every day,” Dr. Hattler said. “There are many things I don’t want to have happen, but one of them is not to be embarrassed.”

Training in Pittsburgh may give him an edge over riders from other parts of the country, Dr. Hattler said.

“I’ve been told the hardest part [of the route] will be in Pennsylvania,” he said. “The hills here have steeper grades.”

Dr. Hattler said he was inspired to go on the Big Ride by his lung transplant patients, whose family members told him about the ride.

“I see firsthand the effects of living with lung disease, patients who can barely breathe or walk,” he said.

“If I can help in some small way to bring more quality to their lives, it makes this journey all the more worthwhile.”

Lung disease is the No. 3 killer in America today, responsible for one out of every seven deaths, the American Lung Association says. More than 35 million Americans suffer from chronic lung diseases.

(Jack Kelly can be reached at jkelly@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1476. )