Cyclists endure heat to finish benefit trek

BELFAST – Trek Across Maine cyclists huffed and puffed over hill and dale from Sunday River to the sea on a steamy Father’s Day weekend before rolling into the soothing mist and ocean breezes at the Steamboat Landing finish line.

“Oh, it was hot,” said Harley Lee of Yarmouth, who covered the 180-mile, three-day trek with his 13-year-old son, Travis. “I never drank so much water in my life.”

High temperatures, humidity and the grueling overland course took its toll on the more than 700 bicyclists who made the annual ride from the western mountains to the sea in support of the American Lung Association of Maine.

Scores of riders were forced off the course by the heat, but many of those managed to saddle back up Sunday for the final cruise to the finish line on Belfast Harbor.

“We had a number of people who ran into problems with the heat,” American Lung Association staffer Jane Ann McNeish said Sunday. “Some needed IVs, some were taken off the route in buses, but nobody was seriously injured. We planned for the heat. We have a backup plan for the cold, and we have a backup plan for the heat.”

Even those experienced in riding in hot weather were taken aback by this weekend’s weather. McNeish said that one rider from Houston was used to the heat, “but she never encountered anything like the hills in Maine. The hills are a problem in any weather.”

The highest point on the trek is 1,325 feet above sea level, and the lowest is 30 feet.

Cyclists from 28 states and the Canadian provinces saddled up early Friday for the first leg of the 17th annual trek. After covering the opening 67.7 miles, the cyclists spent their first night at the University of Maine at Farmington. Saturday’s leg covered 55.2 miles and finished at Colby College in Waterville. The last leg was 47.6 miles and came to a close at the waterfront Steamboat Landing.

The participants needed fuel to keep them going and the American Lung Association was ready with 8,000 slices of pizza, 2,500 baked Maine potatoes, 12,000 granola bars, 15,000 bananas, 4,800 pounds of ice, 6,000 bagels, muffins and cups of coffee, 200 pounds of carrots, 20,000 pieces of fruit, 10,000 candy bars, 3,500 servings of ice cream, 4,000 gallons of water, 13,500 bottles of sport drinks and 8,000 cans of cola products.

Rest stops were set up every five miles or so, and more than 300 volunteers put in more than 9,000 hours to make the whole thing work.

“The volunteers are just amazing,” said cyclist Liz Terwilliger of Biddeford. “They do more work than we do. They had to stand out in that heat; at least we were moving and could catch a breeze.”

This year’s trek was the third for Terwilliger, who said entire event was “just great. It’s like childbirth. You kind of forget the pain after it’s all over. The hills are something, but when you finish, you feel great.”

The event raised nearly $1 million for the American Lung Association of Maine. Funds raised by the trek support Lung Association work to improve indoor and outdoor air quality, reduce Maine’s high smoking rate, provide asthma education, along with other programs to improve the lung health of all Maine residents.