An Interview with Rebecca Rusch, Queen of Pain
Rebecca Rusch, nicknamed “The Queen of Pain,” is among the greatest ultra-endurance mountain bikers in the world, and holds 10 years’ worth of world records and championships. In 2015, she took on a new challenge—physically, emotionally, and mentally—when she decided to pedal the 1,200 miles of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, in search of the site where her U.S. Air Force pilot father’s plane crashed during the Vietnam War. Along the way, Rusch gained new perspective on the conflict from her riding partner, cyclist Huyen Nguyen, one of the most decorated athletes in Vietnamese history. Rusch also discovered another tragic legacy of the war — unexploded ordnance, the explosive remnants of bombs and other munitions that continue to devastate the Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians who live today along “Blood Road.” Rusch and Nguyen’s experience was filmed, and became the 2017 documentary Blood Road. 34
Misadventures Issue 4
The Minefield of Memory Interview by JESSICA C. MALORDY
