Willks

While the ride may be over, there's still $1,645.00 to raise. If you haven't done so already and wish to do so, you can learn about & contribute to the cause here: Christine's fMRI Brain Scan Fund.

For those of you who've already donated, THANK YOU! Christine has left you a message.

On 9/29/11 at 6:52 AM a friend of mine and I set out to cycle 255 miles in 24 hours from Bristol, CT to Portland, ME to help raise funds for Christine; a dear friend who suffers from Prolonged Post-Concussion Syndrome — a “mild” form of Traumatic Brain Injury.

It was a mild 65° outside with a storm front looming to the west. Luckily most of the heavy rain had passed overnight and the remaining showers stayed to the west for the majority of the ride. We only had to contend with the occasional sprinkle and one down-pour around Nashua, NH. Otherwise the weather for the entire ride remained overcast and soggy; I don't remember seeing a dry section of road at all.

Total ride time was 22:13:47 with a moving time of 14:02:15. I had planned 5 rest stops; one for every 50 miles with the main rest stop for dinner/sleep being at 150 miles. We ended up stopping for an hour at mile 111 to meet up with our sag support. We continued on for another 50 which brought us to Nashua, NH where we had planned to stop to eat and rest. We decided to pedal 10 more miles to The Common Man Restaurant in Windham, NH for some grub and a beer. It was on our way there that we got dumped on by rain.

We had made such good time getting to our 160 mile checkpoint that we decided to take a long break and enjoy ourselves. We took 2 hours to eat and reflect on the miles past and took a welcomed 4 hour nap (really 1 1/2 hours, I spent the rest of the time tossing and turning in the backseat of a van).

We awoke at 10 of 11 PM and got ourselves and bikes ready for the last 95 miles. By 11:40 we were back on the road, lights blazing the path ahead of us. I hammered the first 50 miles of the remaining 95 averaging 19.3 MPH and the last 45 miles 1 MPH slower at 18.3. I pulled into our final destination - the Allagash Brewery just after 5am, my friend about an hour later.


I felt great the entire ride. Not once did I feel fatigued or cramp up. Nothing hurt. Mentally I was psyched the whole time. It was only the last 30 or so miles where I was getting ready for the ride to be over. The last 58 miles right before reaching Portland was all on Route 1 which was mostly straight with very little turns. It started to get monotonous. I had no music to keep me company because 15 miles into the last leg my headphones fell from my ear and got entangled in my front wheel - instantly ripping them to shreds.

There were a few road closures to contend with. One of which we ignored and headed down anyway. It wasn't too bad. Just some washed out sections of road. The other closure was the bridge on Route 1 heading into Portland, ME from Portsmouth, NH. That one we had to find our way around but it wasn't too big of an obstacle. Other than that, it was "smooth" sailing. I say "smooth" because NH & ME really need to fix their damn roads! I'm blessed to have only received 2 flats. One of which was my fault for not thoroughly checking the tire after fixing the first flat as I flatted the second time less than a mile down the road.

All said and done, it couldn't have gone better. I felt great, I had great company and support, and it was all for a great cause.

petalpower

Awesome work for a great cause. Props to ya!!

I love New England, and we tried our best to re-locate to New Hampshire. It just never panned out.

kbro1986

Nice Ride! What's most impressive is that was done in 24hrs! Epic. I've always wanted to do something Epic like bike across the country or something like that.

bengreen79

That red bike is filthy, just the way it ought to be after 255 damp miles. $10 donated.

radshark

Nice ride. That's amazing. Good Job.

Phil85207

Congrats on the ride. Great job.

Willks

Thanks everyone. It was a blast.

Awesome. Thanks!


I've got 2 coupon codes good for a full year premium membership to Strava. If anyone had planned/is planning to purchase a premium membership, I can save you a couple bucks if you point your dollars toward my fund-raiser. PM me for details.

There's always this as an incentive for the locals/those willing to travel - https://ppcs.tumblr.com/post/10164892...r-balloon-ride

Willks