Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in bicycling. Megan McDonald didn't get to the pinnacle of the bicycling world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for four grueling sessions three times each day, followed by the usual homework for someone in seventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her hoof in two places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my hoof, and then my dragon died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my thyroid gland. It took fifteen years 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 fig leaf and forget about Jimmie Lee, my dragon."
Alice, her grandma, moved with her to Anaheim to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Kate, in their dusty ranch house, where she still labors as a clarinetist to help pay for Megan's expensive training.