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Dr. Keng-yu Chuang stood at the starting line of the 67-mile El Tour de Tucson cycling race gripping the right hand of his girlfriend Katherine Taylor.

She was confused. He shifted his weight from side to side.

Race officials handed the microphone to Chuang. He got down on his left knee.

"You are the most gentle person I've seen," Chuang, a native of Taiwan, said.

Taylor covered her mouth.

"Today we're starting a journey in front of our fellow cyclists and our family. I'd like to ride today and for the next 66 years with you," he said. "Will you marry me?"

Taylor nodded furiously. The 1,387 cyclists at the start went wild.

And the first starting-line proposal in the history of the 26 years of El Tour was a success.

Chuang, a gastroenterology fellow at University Medical Center, and Taylor, a native of Rio Rico and a UMC medical student, will likely get married in a couple of years, said Chuang, 32.

They met after he arrived in Tucson in July 2007. He got the idea to propose at the race after they trained for the last three months. The duo rode together and crossed the line in 4 hours 56 minutes 58 seconds.

"This is my favorite sport, and I want to share it with my favorite person," he said before the race. "I'm not shy about letting people know how much I love her."

Chuang's parents came from Taiwan for the event, and Taylor's dad and brother were also in attendance.

Taylor, 25, had no idea what would precede her race, her dad, George Taylor, said. "It's kind of romantic," he said. "But she's still my baby."

Fifth-place finisher, Eric Marcotte, who rides for Scottsdale Bicycle Haus, got some help from a teammate Saturday. Early in the 109-mile race, just after he got through the Santa Cruz River crossing at about seven miles, a spoke in Marcotte's rear tire broke.

His teammate, Kevin Kirkwood gave him one of his wheels.

"We were in the same pack, and he found me between the two river crossings," Kirkwood said. "I asked him how he was feeling and he said 'good' so I gave him my wheel."

After the equipment exchange, Marcotte caught back up to the peloton and was the top American finisher in the race in 4:25:22.

"Eric was the man; today was his day," Kirkwood said.

Many of El Tour de Tucson's youngest riders went out at 9a.m. Saturday, cruising around in either the four-mile race, which began at 9 a.m., or the quarter-mile ride, which started 45 minutes later.

Combined there were 405 cyclists, including 7-year-old Mellany Dillon and her younger brother, Jacob Dillon. Both took part in the four-mile ride and said they enjoyed riding downhill.

"It was fun," Mellany Dillon said. "I've been riding for five years. I was excited about getting on a bike and riding."

Other riders included brothers Kyle and Conner Dumont who managed to alter the appearance of their bikes. With the help of their grandfather, Bob Panter, Conner arrived at the starting line with a bike that resembled a rocket ship and was spray-painted silver and blue. Kyle's bike was fashioned after a gold-colored jet.

Even El Tour de Tucson master of ceremonies Matt Nelson took notice.

"It was super exciting to see," Nelson said. "There was a spaceship, one was decorated as a Christmas ornament, and it was cool to see all of them lined up."

Kyle and Conner's mother, Tanya Dumont, said it was Conner's idea to decorate.

"At first they were going to be twin jets, but Conner said, 'Isn't a rocket faster?' I told him I thought it was, so he wanted to be a rocket ship."

Some riders did not venture onto the course Saturday, but many of them still rode in the Indoor El Tour event on a stationary bike.

The program, designed to benefit the Arizona Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association, took place throughout the week leading up to race day and was sponsored by a number of local organizations including HealthSouth and Gold's Gym throughout Tucson.

"People with Parkinson's can't ride the regular route," said Ila Stadie, the director of development and finance for the Arizona Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association. "This helps them get involved. They can do Indoor El Tour anywhere — their home, hotel for however long they want."

On Saturday, El Tour Indoor took place under a large inflatable tent next to the finish line. One individual who spent his morning riding was Jerry Stutzman from Chandler.

"I'm just riding as long as I can," he said. "I have Parkinson's so this is a really good chance to give exposure to the other things that there are things you can still do during the race."