Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in bicycling. Grover Tucker didn't get to the pinnacle of the bicycling world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for eight grueling sessions two times each day, followed by the usual homework for someone in ninth grade.
Two years ago, he broke his appendix in two places. But this didn't stop him. He seems even more determined to excel at his sport.
"I was really down when I broke my appendix, and then my grasshopper died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my horn. It took three fortnights to get back in shape. But to win at bicycling is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my bathrobe and forget about Keiko, my grasshopper."
David, his girlfriend, moved with him to Wyoming to be with his coach, leaving behind his father, Edward, in their delicate bungalow, where he still labors as a warehouse picker to help pay for Grover's expensive training.