Cyclists to cover region this weekend
by Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
PRESQUE ISLE — Ride Aroostook, a two-day bicycle tour with loops riding through Caribou, Easton, Fort Fairfield, Mars Hill, Mapleton and Presque Isle, makes its return this weekend.
The event, being held for the third year, is the brainchild of Bill Flagg, Cary Medical Center’s director of community relations and development. He developed the idea for the bicycling tour in 2011 after volunteering at the Trek Across Maine, a major fundraiser for the American Lung Association which takes riders from Bethel to Belfast.
“This is a great ride and it really brings people together,” Flagg said.
Proceeds benefit Camp Adventure, a week-long residential camp for children ages 12-17 with type I diabetes which is directed by Cary Medical Center.
Flagg said he is thankful for the many corporate sponsors of the ride, as well as “a dedicated team of volunteers who spend months planning this event.”
Loring Job Corps is providing more than 40 volunteers for this year’s ride, according to Flagg.
Participants doing the entire ride will travel approximately 150 miles Saturday and Sunday. Riders can also choose to do only shorter portions of the tour and some “family friendly” options have also been made available.
“Ride Aroostook has great potential,” said Brent Jepson, a member of the event planning committee. “It takes time to develop but we believe, with the ongoing support of sponsors and volunteers, that Ride Aroostook can become not only a major fundraiser for Camp Adventure but a major tourist event drawing hundreds of cycling enthusiasts and their families to Aroostook County in the summer.
“Previous participants have said that Ride Aroostook is one of the best, most beautiful rides they have ever participated in. We hope that people along the routes, local businesses and the entire county will welcome our riders with that unique Aroostook hospitality,” Jepson said.
Seventy-five registered for the inaugural ride in 2011, according to Flagg, with 90 participating in last year’s event.
Some special individuals have also signed up to join this year’s event. Col. Barbara Springer, U.S. Army retired, is the national director of Project Hero, which provides training and supports cycling programs at military hospitals, Army Warrior Transition Units, Marine Wounded Warrior Units and VA locations to help healing veterans overcome obstacles they face. Springer is the daughter of Darlene Higgins of Presque Isle and is a graduate of Fort Fairfield High School.
Also riding will be Navy Capt. Sandy Buckles, who was injured in the Iraq War and will be riding using a recumbent bicycle.
“It has been such a privilege for me to work with our nation’s healing heroes who have served this nation with such courage and dedication,” said Springer, who spent several years as a physical therapist leading rehabilitation programs for wounded veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.
“I am happy to come home to The County with one of our heroes, Capt. Buckles, and we are looking forward to participating in Ride Aroostook,” she added.
Three-time Olympian and U.S. cross country skiing champion Kris Freeman is also registered to ride. Freeman, who is a type I diabetic, has been a guest speaker at Camp Adventure in the past and has trained and competed at the Maine Winter Sports Center skiing and biathlon venues in Presque Isle and Fort Kent over the years.
Registration for Ride Aroostook will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9 in the Campus Center at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. There is a $50 registration fee and each rider must also provide $200 in pledges and donations. This covers two nights of camping/dormitory accommodations, five all-you-can-eat buffets (including and All-American barbecue to close out the ride Sunday afternoon).
A reception for event participants and sponsors is slated from 6-9 p.m., also at the Campus Center.
For more information, call Cary Community Relations at 498-1112 or visit RideAroostook.org.
