Avid cyclist Mark Junge, 61, is a retired historian and photographer from Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Beginning in 1971, Junge served as historian for the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office and later became Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer. When he retired from state government in 1995, he was Wyoming State Historian and editor of the state's quarterly history journal, Wyoming Annals.

His photography work includes coverage of sports and the performing arts for the Wyoming State Tribune-Eagle. Junge photographed the Denver Broncos football team, the Denver Nuggets basketball team, and the University of Wyoming football and basketball teams from 1975 to 2002.

In the winter of 2002, blood clots developed in Junge’s lungs. Because the problem was atypical, its cause was not immediately recognized. As a result, the clots caused permanent damage that reduced his lung capacity, requiring Junge to now use oxygen for sleeping, walking and exercising.

Having dedicated his professional career to preserving history, Junge is now looking to make his own by being the first man requiring liquid oxygen to cross the United States on bicycle. On June 12, Junge will begin a 3,400-mile trek from San Francisco to New York City along the historical Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental roadway built specifically with the automobile in mind.

Staring down adversity, Junge refused to let his lung condition shake his long-held desire to attempt this journey. “By going forward with this trip, I hope to inspire those who, like me, want to live their lives as they envision they should be lived,” Junge says.

Also an accomplished author, Junge's books include Wyoming: A Guide to Historic Sites (1976), J.E. Stimson: Photographer of the West (1985), Wyoming: A Pictorial History (1989), The Wind is My Witness: A Wyoming Album, (1997), and A View From Center Street (2003). He also produced "25 Years of Cowboy Basketball,” a year 2000 photographic calendar.

Junge lives with his wife, Ardath, who retired in 2002 following a thirty-year teaching career. Ardath will play a key role during this three-month odyssey by driving Mark’s support vehicle and providing logistical assistance. Together they have two sons. Andrew Junge is an art instructor at the University of San Francisco. Dan Junge is a documentary filmmaker and partner in JustMedia, a non-profit filmmaking company in Denver, Colorado.