Biography

Alejandro Albor - A Personal History

In the corner of the corn shed, on a mat spread upon a dirt floor, I came into this world.  Tzintzimeo, a little town in the state of Michoacan, Mexico was home.  I grew up living with various relatives as my father labored in “El Norte” (America) and my mother worked cleaning houses for wealthy families.  After my mother joined my father in the United States, they saved enough money to pay a “coyote” to sneak me across the U.S. border.  At the age of fifteen, after walking for what felt like days, I had my first taste of American life – cold Kentucky Fried Chicken as I hid behind bushes awaiting a ride to safety.

My father, mother, two younger brothers and myself lived in a one-car garage.  We had a twin bed, a hot plate, and a toilet partitioned from the rest of the garage with a sheet. Morning showers consisted of the garden hose pouring water through a hole high up on the garage wall.  We had made it to “El Norte” where all roads led to wealth.

My family wanted me to continue working the fields, but a year later, I hitched a ride and enrolled myself in school.  I did not speak English, but I wanted to go to high school.  I played soccer.  I got into fights.  I found my first love.  During my senior year, my girlfriend left me for my best friend. 

At the tender age of eighteen, having endured ridicule, prejudice, poverty, and loneliness, I got in my father’s car and headed toward Mexico.  I continually thought about what lie ahead.   Would my old friends welcome me home?  Where would I live?  What would I do to get by?  In an instant, with the train’s whistle blowing as it sped passed on the tracks in front of my idling car, I decided to take my own life.  I floored the gas pedal and slammed into the moving train.

I did not lose my life.  I lost my legs.

For the next three months, I lived in the hospital.  My life had been altered in countless ways.  There was so much to learn and even more to relearn. With time and a long bout with depression, I adjusted to prosthetics and life in a wheelchair.  Late that spring, I went back to school to graduate with my high school class.

I had always been an athlete. I saw myself as an athlete, but how was I to pursue athletics without having any legs?  I persevered.  I learned to play basketball. I taught myself kayaking. I designed and built my own handcycle, a bike for the physically challenged.  I entered triathlons. I found the athlete within - he just had a different approach.

Ultimately, I learned to use my loss to fuel my desire to be competent in spite of having no legs.  I learned to climb ladders, do roof repairs, and fix automobiles.  I went to college and earned a degree in Airframe & Powerplants, enabling me to repair planes. I became a U.S. citizen and worked for the Army Corp. of Engineers. 

In 1992, nine years after I lost my legs, I was visiting a friend at a nearby hospital.  It was late at night as I drove down a neighborhood street on my way back home.  Suddenly I recognized a familiar laugh.  I slowed down, backed up, and called her name.  It was a woman I’d met in college and hadn’t seen in eight years.  I asked her out and that was all she wrote!

We’ve been married for 13 years and have three great children.  Selina is a corpsman in the Navy.  Miguel is exploring junior high and Maya is a happy third grader.  With their support and encouragement, I began entering races in 1999. Races like the National Championships, the Boston Marathon, and Sadler’s Ultra Challenge fueled my hunger to train and improve my physical abilities and my racing times.

Recognizing my desire and ability to help others, whom, like myself, found themselves relearning what they used to take for granted, A-WON Handcycles was born in October 1999.  My first project was a handcycle for a local girl who had been paralyzed in a road rage incident.  Since then I have built several handcycles for children who are physically challenged.  Using donations from local organizations, I can build the bikes for little to no cost for the families.

I also began speaking at area schools.  I talk with children from kindergarten through continuation high school about perseverance, making positive life choices, working hard in school, staying away from drugs and being fit.  It is rewarding work and I believe it helps children to have role models who have made it in spite of challenges and major life setbacks.

In April 2003, I was invited to join the U.S.A. Cycling Elite Team.  Since then I have participated in the European & World Championships, racing in Germany, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. In September 2004, I took a silver medal in the Paralympics in Athens, Greece.  My time and that of the gold medalist were identical; I took second by a couple of inches.

I continue to train each day with my eyes on the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China.  Until then, you can keep up to date with what’s happening in my life via this web site. 

Thanks for your support!

Alejandro Albor