Up until last month, Doug Levy began every day at 3 a.m. The full-time network engineer got ready for work and was out the door 45 minutes later on his 40-mile commute to his office in Exton - by bike.
Despite today's economy with gas prices slowly creeping higher and higher above the $4 mark, Levy was not looking for an extreme way to save money, but rather to get him across the country as a solo racer in the Race Across America.

The 3,014-mile race, nearly 50 percent longer than the renowned Tour de France, started June 8 in Oceanside, Calif., and ended in Annapolis, Md., 11 days, four hours and 59 minutes later for the Willow Grove resident.
When asked how he accomplished such a feat he said, "Anyone can do anything they set their mind to."
He added that the trick to completing a course that fewer than 200 people in the race's 27-year history have, is watermelon and his wife, Carol.
"Watermelon got me through the deserts of Colorado where it got to be 105 degrees ... but Carol was my backbone, she is my biggest supporter," he said.
His wife, along with his crew, made up of friends and family members, made sure the rider had everything he needed.
"I'm human, I was petrified I wasn't going to make it," he said. "But my crew got me everything. They cut up watermelon and my Powerbars into bite-sized chunks so I could eat and ride. I wouldn't have made it through without them."
Sponsorship from Keswick Cycle and Specialized also made his trek possible, he added.
Although Levy's training regime had been strict, he said one cannot be prepared for everything when going against the elements.
"Sometimes the road just looked like blank paper," he said of the effect of fatigue. Because solid food only seemed to make him more tired, Levy relied on a powdered supplement for a portion of the race.
Although Carol could not be with her husband on the road, she made sure her husband made it to the East Coast.
"She was the team manager, my coach and nutritionist," he said. "She planned everything from home, she really worked non-stop. She's amazing," he said of his wife who, although enduring personal health battles, supported him.
Aside from the satisfaction that he could actually do it, Levy, who has been competing since 1989, said the biggest thing he got out of the race was raising money for Canine Companions for Independence, an organization in which he and his wife are involved.
The organization, of which Carol is in charge of the tri-state area, provides highly trained dogs to assist adults and children with disabilities.
The couple, who have been raising and training dogs for over a decade, said it is a rewarding experience.
"It's amazing to see a dog that will do absolutely anything for the person he is helping," Carol said. "It gives people more dignity."
She added that the organization also helps break down barriers between the disabled and non-disabled community.
Although the couple is currently training two puppies, winding down from one race and still fighting Carol's illness, the backbone of the operation said this is just their routine.
"Our lives are organized chaos," she said surrounded by several Golden Retrievers.
Although the 53-year-old is in better shape than most men half his age, he said he learned that it isn't just physical strength that carries one across the county, peddling nearly 21 hours at a time.
"You're dealing with pain, injury, fatigue and weather," he said. "And you have to keep it together - you just have to take it mile by mile sometimes."