James Raia has been a full-time journalist since 1976. Following a decade of staff writer and columnist positions on daily newspapers, he's worked as an independent writer, editor and publisher since 1987.

A contributor of sports, fitness, travel, business and human-interest articles, Raia's byline has appeared in myriad publications and new services from The New York Times to Runner's World, People Magazine to the Los Angeles Times News Service and The Associated Press to the Miami Herald. He's written the syndicated car review column, The Weekly Driver, since 2004, and he publishes and edits the web sites JamesRaia.com and TheWeeklyDriver.com.

Raia, 59, is co-author of the book Tour de France For Dummies, and he's appeared often as a guest on National Public Radio and its regional affiliates and as a guest on several television news programs. A nearly 40-year resident of Sacramento, California, Raia has traveled to more than a dozen countries on assignments ranging from the Tour de France to the Olympic Games in Albertville, France, and the Cross Country World Championships in Northern Ireland to the Cycling World Championships in Japan, Germany and France.

A long-distance runner since 1983, Raia has completed more than 90 marathons and ultramarathons.