If riding a bicycle around Lake Tahoe seems tough enough, imagine pushing one 72 miles at elevations between 6,300 and 7,100 feet.

That's exactly what Matt Strugar-Fritsch and John Kirsch did on Sunday in the 17th annual America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride. Paralyzed from the chest down, the paraplegics started from Horizon Casino Resort in Stateline around 7 a.m. and pushed their hand cycles across the finish line nearly seven hours later.

Kirsch, 41, and Strugar-Fritsch, 25, ride hand cycles to raise awareness about the life-changing programs offered by Disabled Sports USA. Still strong enough afterward to give firm handshakes to admiring spectators, Strugar-Fritsch said he's already looking forward to next year.

"The switchbacks (going to Emerald Bay) weren't as bad as I thought, but the Spooner hill was long," said Strugar-Fritsch, who is a communications coordinator for Disabled Sports USA's Far West division and rides his hand cycle about 50 miles each week. This is our first time doing it, and we definitely plan on doing the century next year."

Kirsch and Strugar-Fritsch were among the 3,300 registered cyclists for the event. Three different races are available to athletes: 100-mile century, which incorporates a 30-mile round-trip excursion from Tahoe City to Truckee, the 72-mile tour of Lake Tahoe and a 35-mile fun ride/boat cruise.

The most dominating presence was riders with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America's Team in Training, which had roughly 1,800 cyclists representing 60 different regions.

In an effort to keep the mood festive, each region attached decorative ornaments to their helmets. The Rocky Mountain chapter had Coors Light cans on their helmets, New Mexico/El Paso riders red chiles, South Florida dolphins, while Washington had figurines of the U.S. Capitol.

Regardless of their respective ornaments, Team in Training riders usually had someone else on their minds. Jennifer Chinn, 36, and Mark Carroll, 38 - both from the Detroit area - rode a tandem bike for the 100-mile century ride for the second straight year, though they already had experience riding the 72-mile ride around Lake Tahoe. Chinn's uncle has successfully battled lymphoma in the past few years.

"He's doing fine now, and that's the whole idea for this," said Chinn, who tries to participate in at least one Team in Training event each year with Carroll, her longtime boyfriend. "If everybody gets treatment and they keep it in check, they can live healthy lives. My uncle ... something is going to take him in the end, but it won't be leukemia."

With the majority of cyclists coming from out of the area, the altitude often has an effect on the course's steep hills, particularly the climb to Emerald Bay from South Lake Tahoe and the pitch from Incline Village to Spooner Summit. Despite being from Michigan, where Chinn said "We ride the same three hills over and over," the couple breathed easy in Lake Tahoe.

"The altitude doesn't really affect us that much," Carroll said. "We do it just for fun, but always hope to see an improvement over the previous year."

Finishing a few minutes before Kirsch and Strugar-Fritsch, Chinn and Carroll completed the 100-mile century in 6 hours, 26 minutes. And just like everyone else at the finish line, they had smiles smeared across their faces.