Ride Aroostook
This Weekend I drove back up to Presque Isle Maine to take part in the Ride Aroostook bike tour which benefits the children’s diabetes program “Camp Adventure.” I have worked with this camp on two occasions, going for a downriver canoe and participating in a run and shoot biathlon relay race. I was impressed with the organization and ambition of the camp.
Ride Aroostook is a two day bike tour that is advertised as being 150 miles total (by my measurement it was 62 miles the first day and 70 the second). I decided that it would be fitting for me as an Olympic skier and type 1 diabetic to roller-ski the event in order to drum up more donations and draw more attention to Camp Adventure.
I skated the first day and really enjoyed the well marked course that hugged river beds and meandered through rolling potato fields. The weather was nearly perfect at 68 degrees and blue sky. However a strong wind made some of the open sections a little slower than I would have preferred. There were three aid stations spread out evenly which meant I could ski with just a water-bottle belt and restock at each stop. Using Swenor skate skis with “2″ wheels it took me five hours and four minutes to complete the 62 miles. That evening the event organizers provided an Italian buffet for the riders. I was the keynote speaker and gave a short speech at the dinner.
Day two saw even better weather. A full sun and 70 degrees was complimented by a light breeze. The course consisted of two loops. The first was 33 miles long and the second was 37 around. I double poled the first loop on Swenor classic skis with “3″ wheels in 2:45 and realized that I would be out for six hours if I completed the whole course on my slow skis. So I switched to my Swenor “2′s” and continued onto the last loop which I double poled in 2:50 for a total time of 5:36.
Thanks to some generous donations I was able to raise nearly $1800 and I got two well supported over distance workouts in the process. I would say I had a successful weekend. Now I am going to take a nap.
