Richard Winkler, a resident at Covenant Village of Turlock, says he’s always been a competitive person and that paid off for him as he recently won a CyberCycle competition where he peddled 1,118.3 miles to earn the top spot. Winkler, who is 90 years old, admits it wasn’t easy as the competition was down to the wire against a woman in her 60s from Pennsylvania.

“In order for me to keep my mileage and distance going, I had to cycle all night long for two nights,” said Winkler. “I stayed up two nights in a row peddling to try and stay ahead.”

The CyberCycle Madness Competition started with more than 1,114 riders from across the country and of all ages. Each rider cycled for a 48-hour session each week over the course of four weeks. The overall goal was to get in as many miles as possible within the 48 hours.

Winkler says last year he took 4th place overall and he was determined to improve this year. Riders are able to see distances of their competitors and so Winkler knew what he needed to do to win.

“It really was neck and neck in the competition and I guess I finally out maneuvered her in total mileage,” added Winkler. “I really didn’t have much energy left, but I did what I needed to do to win this year.”

When he’s not peddling away on the CyberCycle, Winkler says he participates in water aerobics and other fitness classes at Covenant Village.