Note: In the days leading up to graduation, we are profiling a number of seniors whose interests and accomplishments exemplify the diverse talents that make up the Class of 2008. These students and their classmates are ready to make an impact that extends far beyond Uni High. For the first portrait in this series, see Maritza Mestre's profile of Eunice How. See also Laura Dripps' profile of Kumars Salehi, Sindha Agha's portrait of Erin Hayes, Elaine Gu's profile of Ethan Berl, Erika Belmont's portrait of Alex Zhai, and Deborah Ladd's article on Anna Cangellaris.

AS AN ATHLETE, there is only one definition for senior Ethan Stone: Hardcore cyclist.

How did his legacy begin? Let’s go back, just a few years, when Stone was a freshman. Living quite a distance from any friends (in north Urbana), he had to ride his bicycle to anyone’s house he wanted to hang out with. Visits like these amounted to at least 30 miles a day.

After a while, trips like these were too much for Stone’s old generic mountain bicycle. So, a purchase of a new bicycle — a road bicycle with thinner tires — was necessary.

The summer following his freshman year, Stone participated in a Habitat for Humanity charity ride that only intensified his dedication to biking. Along with classmates Micah Berman and Hannah Lake-Rayburn, he biked 500 miles a week.

Since then, Stone has entered the world of competitive biking — and what an impression he's made. Clearly skilled at the sport, he has earned two state championships, second and fifth place in closed-loop lap races, and second place in a road race. (For more about some of the races Stone has competed in, see Michael Belmont's November 2006 OG article about Stone, “Breaking Away.”)

The third week of July this summer, Stone plans to compete in Tour de l’Abitibi, a junior cyclist race in Canada, the biggest race for junior competitors.

How does he do it? Let’s take a look at the regimen Stone leads in aspiring for greatness.

Off the bike, Stone slide-boards in addition to running in fitness class. Slide-boarding is done wearing booties, sliding back and forth on an eight-foot-long plastic strip. Originally designed for speed skaters, this exercise to directly applicable to cyclists.

In weights during Uni’s PE class, Stone follows his own regimen, focusing on core stability for gaining muscle weight without gaining bulk.

And as far as training on the road goes, here’s a sample of what Stone does each week:

• Monday: One-hour easy, recovery from Sunday's ride and getting ready for Tuesday. Roughly 20 miles.
• Tuesday: One-and-a-half to two-and-a-half hours. Hard intervals. These can either be intervals going as hard as possible for a minute or two, and recover one to two minutes, repeat nine to 12 times, or they can be longer intervals. Between 30 and 50 miles.
• Wednesday: Either one to two hours recovery, one-and-a-half to two hours tempo, or a weekday race that one of the local groups puts on. If it’s recovery, probably 20 to 40 miles; if tempo, 35 to 45; if a weekday race, 35 to 50.
• Thursday: One to two-and-a-half hours recovery or tempo, 20 to 50 miles.
• Friday: Rest day.
• Saturday: Two to three hours, same as Tuesday.
• Sunday: Long ride, tempo. Three to five hours, 60 to 100 miles.

Surprisingly, Stone does not follow a terribly strict diet plan.

“My diet's balanced, and I have a lot more complex carbs and proteins than most people, but I don't count calories,” Stone explains. “I used to, but my body's learned just how much it needs, and if I follow my cravings, I usually get a balanced and healthy diet.”

So now, as you can see, Stone’s life revolves around his love of biking. In fact, if ever he’s unable to get at least one ride in each day, things don’t go so well.

“My grades drop and I lose sleep,” Stone says. “I cannot imagine life off the bike.”

When Stone was involved in Uni’s fall play this year, “Diary of Anne Frank,” long rehearsals limited him to only three to four hours of biking a week.

“I’m addicted to riding; when I don’t ride for two or three days, I get depressed and irritable,” he says. “The few months of ‘Diary Of Anne Frank’ were hell for that very reason.”

As far as other dedications go, Stone has invested large amounts of money into biking essentials. Here are just some of the items and their costs:

• Bike: $4,000
• Standard training wheels: $450
• Race-day wheels: $1,600
• Time-trial bike: $3,500
• Helmet: $220
• Jersey and shorts: $200
• Shoes: $180
• Winter jersey, tights, and base layer: $380
• Shoe covers: $50
• Loving to bike: Priceless

Of course, Stone’s parents chip in a significant amount for other things. His coaching costs $200 each month, which his parents pay. They also lend him the car to drive to races, as well as gas money and entry fees to races.

Stone is sure these investments will create opportunities for him in the future that he can use to become a professional cyclist. In the next four to five years, he hopes to become a domestic professional (continental), and then eventually an international professional.

It appears that nothing will stop him, either … apart from possible injuries.

Last December, Stone was in Texas training with a friend for a few days, where he seriously injured his knee biking up a mile-long path. Feeling a small pain in his Achilles, Stone disregarded it.

After a few hundred more miles of biking, and an eventual visit to the doctor’s, he discovered that the pain in his Achilles and his knee was in fact patellar tendonitis and induced Achilles tendonitis.

Stone was off his bike for nearly three months.

But as far as injuries from falling off or crashing his bike, it’s no big deal.

“Crashing’s part of the excitement,” Stone says. “Going around a 180-degree turn at 30 mph, you’re pushing the limits of what your bike can do, and when you push too far, the results are huge. Almost going over the edge, and avoiding others when they do, is a huge adrenaline rush; there’s no time when you feel more alive than dodging a crash at 30 mph.”

In addition of the huge adrenaline rush he gets from racing, Stone involves himself and biking in other beneficial ways. For example, he helps the local city governments create safer biking routes throughout Champaign-Urbana with his training.

This, and the fact that biking generally makes people healthier, lowers traffic congestion, reduces gas consumption, and saves money, is why Stone thinks biking is a wonderful thing to do.

After spending next year in Belgium on a Rotary International Youth Exchange, Stone plans to attend the University of Illinois, securing a spot on the cycling club. In fact, he is already in the top five racers’ ability levels in the U of I club.

But, what does Stone say when asked if cycling is his passion?

“I would not say that cycling is my passion,” Stone replies. “Cycling isn’t a sport, a passion, a hobby; it’s a lifestyle. The ‘first rule of cycling’ is to never stand when you can sit, and never sit when you can lie down. Energy conservation is everything, and I expend as little as energy as possible. It’s all about saving everything for the bike ...

“Cycling’s a lifelong sport, and I intend to race for the rest of my life.”