LUMBERTON — During a dark, stormy hour, Maria Parker battled a wall of wind, soaking rain, and fatigue that arrived after hours of rotating her legs — and she still had hours of cycling ahead of her.

“I stopped by the kids (her crew) for food, and they asked me what I needed,” Maria said. “I said, ‘I need this to be over.’”

On July 11, Maria and her husband Jim rode their recumbent bicycles in 32-mile loops for 12 hours in the the Saratoga 12/24 course along the Hudson River in Schuylerville, N.Y. — an event that was both a competition and a chance for the Parkers to promote their recumbent bike business.

By 8 p.m., despite “less than ideal conditions,” Maria completed 211 miles, rolling in as the first woman and soundly beating the 199.5-mile female record for the 12-hour Saratoga race.

“I got off the bike and didn’t know if my legs were going to work,” she said. She had averaged 17.6 mph — a mile every 3.4 minutes — during the 12-hour race..

That record-breaking race was a preview for September, when the Lumberton resident will attempt an official record on her recumbent bike, the Silvio, which is manufactured by Cruzbike, the company she and her husband own.

Last year, UltraMarathon Cycling Association, recognized worldwide as an endurance cycling authority, certified 42 records, said Records Chairman Drew Clark. According to the organization’s records, there is no women’s 12-hour road record; the only recumbent bike record for that category is a man who rode 241.47 miles — 20.12 mph — in 2000.

At the end of September, Maria plans to again ride more than 200 miles during 12 hours — this time in Robeson County — in an effort to set a world record. She will be followed by UltraMarathon Cycling Association official.

The Parkers figure there is no promoter like world-record making.

Maria, 46, and Jim, 45, a radiologist, have long biked for fun, but have become increasingly active as they test the limits of their Cruzbikes.

The business dates back to Jim’s search for a bicycle alternative: He wanted to start biking again, but without the discomfort he felt five miles into a ride on a diamond-frame bike.

Research led him to recumbent bikes, most of which are slow and goofy-looking, with a small front wheel, large back wheel, and a long chain required to avoid “heel strikes,” when the rider’s foot — by the wheel because of the reclined seat — hits the front wheel spokes. But Jim discovered a design that uses a front-wheel drive, so the wheels and chain are the same size as a regular mountain bike’s, but still with the reclined seat.

After a few weeks of practice — at night, “so people couldn’t see me wobble,” he said — Jim was steady enough to go for a ride with Maria, a longtime athlete. She asked to try the bike — and then liked it so much she wouldn’t give it back.

From a doctor’s perspective, Jim said, diamond-frame bikes put pressure on a rider’s wrists, hands, back and buttocks, while recumbent bikes support a rider’s back without putting pressure on the wrists and hands.

“You have a good view of the road, and you’re in a comfortable position — sort of the position you’re in when you watch TV,” Jim said.

Jim went into business with the creator, John Tolhurst, based in Perth, Australia, and in 2006, Cruzbike Inc. was born. Three types of bikes and a conversion kit are manufactured in Taiwan and shipped to the United States, Australia, France, and the Netherlands. Sales are enough to support the company, and have been increasing annually, the Parkers said.

Rather than advertising, the couple share their Cruzbike experiences, like hours- or days-long bike tours, on message boards.

“There’s no way we would’ve been able to ride that long or that far on regular bikes,” Maria said.

They wrote on the bentrideronline.com message board that their bikes are faster than other recumbent bikes on their tours; posters were skeptical and challenged the Parkers to prove their claims in an official race.

The Parkers chose the Saratoga 12/24 in Saratoga, N.Y.

Even after Maria trained 150 miles and Jim 135 miles, “my stomach dropped when I saw the course,” Maria said. Additionally, they were the only recumbent bikes among 26 other bikers who appeared to be pretty serious, with their time-trial helmets and disk wheels.

They arrived at 8 a.m. with ambitious goals: Maria hoped to beat the race’s women’s record, and Jim wanted to clock 200 miles, his first “double-century.”

The long, narrow course extended south to north for 16 miles and looped back another 16 miles, with two steep hills at a 10-percent grade.

“The hills were so intimidating to me,” Maria said. “When you have momentum, our bikes take hills really well, but the first hill was right at the beginning.”

Maria’s first 50 miles went well; her trick was to stay hydrated and eat enough, she said. Her crew, two of her three kids, kept her stocked with Gu packs and sweet tea at two points along the route.

Jim was ahead of Maria for the first 80 miles. “I knew he would be, because he’s fast,” she said, “but I knew I’d catch him.”

Ten minutes before the race, Jim gashed his finger and popped his tire, and his bad fortune continued when he veered five miles off course before finding his way again.

At that point, Maria pulled ahead — just as a storm rolled in. Wind picked up, bending trees and creating a severe headwind.

“It takes a huge amount of energy to fight wind, and you don’t make up for it with tailwind,” Maria said.

Then it rained.

For an hour during the storm “it got really dark,” Jim said. “I was afraid cars couldn’t see us, and I didn’t have a light.”

Between the weather and the traffic, “I was afraid I’d be killed,” Maria said.

Even so, Maria reached 200 miles before her 12 hours was up, besting the 199.5-mile women’s record for that course, but she kept riding until 8 p.m. She completed her sixth loop and officially clocked 211 miles, four miles better than the second-place female finisher.

Jim made his goal of a double-century, or 200 miles. “My official distance was 195 miles, but counting the five miles I took off into the wild, it was 200,” Jim said.

Potential buyers from Montreal were there to view the Cruzbikes, so after 12 hours in the saddle, Maria and Jim gave a sales pitch before relaxing.

“We felt pretty good, but then we got to the restaurant and conked,” she said.

Less than a week later, the couple was gulping water after a 27-mile bike ride. They planned to go 40 miles the next day.

The Parkers ride their Cruzbikes all over Robeson County, where they’ve watched corn grow from 6 inches high to well over their heads, and have prompted comments from the locals.

“You put the pedals in the wrong place,” one said.

Jim rides two or three times weekly, and Maria is training four to five days weekly for her record attempt. She cruises on the Sofrider or the Freerider, complete with a saddlebag to carry things, and trains on the Silvio.

“Bicycling is a great speed to see the world,” Jim said. “A car is too fast and walking is too slow.”