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| News > Maine Air National Guard Bicycle Team Completes 170 Mile Trek in Celebration of 60th Anniversary of Air Force |
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Maine Air National Guard Bicyle Team takes a break from their 180 mile trek at the Jay, Maine War memorial.
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Maine Air National Guard Bicycle Team Completes 170 Mile Trek in Celebration of 60th Anniversary of Air Force
Posted 8/17/2007 Updated 2/24/2009
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by MSgt Coral Ouellette
101st Communications Flight
8/17/2007 - Bangor, Maine -- It was a gray, rainy, pre-fall day when 18 hearty souls braved the early morning temperatures and precipitation to start their 170 mile ride from Bangor to Portland in celebration of the Air Force's 60th Anniversary.
The first leg of 14 miles took riders from the Bangor base to the Newburg Elementary School along Route 202 where two flat tires along the way were repaired quickly and the affected members soon rejoined the team as they regrouped at around 10:15 during a break in the rain. After leaving the school, riders were met by the challenging Dixmont hills, daunting to even the more experienced riders in the group. With most of the hills of Dixmont behind them, and passing road side signs of encouragement, they were greeted by cheers as they arrived at the "Field of Dreams" Park in Unity, where they were treated to freshly made sandwiches, pasta salad, power bars and fruit courtesy of Hannaford and prepared by the Brain Injury Association of Maine. After an hours rest, reenergized by the food and excited to see the sun shining, most changed into clean, dry socks and wrung out wet wearables before they left to conquer the remaining hills on the way to their next stop in South China. Along the roads, in some small towns, residents waved flags and shouted encouragement as the riders passed by. One rider had a shifting cable malfunction and rode the rest of the first day's ride using only one gear - not an easy task with the many rolling hills that remained. The team arrived in Augusta by mid-afternoon and stopped at a Veteran's Home to visit and discuss experiences both past and present. The end of the first day's ride tallied 73.7 miles.
Day two dawned sunny and cool, a good day to ride. Not a mile after the team left the hotel there was a short steep hill, a leg warmer of sorts. This was followed by many more short steep hills which I am sure tested the mettle of many of the team members. The team stopped for lunch at Freschettis, a small sandwich shop in Jay, whose employees processed numerous sandwich orders with military precision. Lunch was followed by interviews and photos for a local publication. Team members gathered their belongings and bicycles and were back on the road along Route 4 to Lake Auburn under mostly sunny skies and relatively flat roads. The efforts of the first day began to show up as second day casualties and amounted to mostly sore knees and ankles and a realization that "my bike is junk". All pressed on undefeated. The route was generally flat with some rolling hills and very scenic along the lake shores. Day two's destination was the Great Falls Balloon Festival in Lewiston/Auburn where the group was interviewed and pictures were taken for the local newspaper. The team was treated to the world famous Lime Rickeys served by Legion Post 153 and then met with Congressman Michaud, Mayor Gilbert of Lewiston and a group of local veterans . The entire team was treated to a barbecue at Lt Col Mike Girardin's home that evening. I should mention at this point that Lt Col Girardin was the driving force behind the coordination for this celebratory ride.
On day three the group left from Col Girardin's home. Not long after, the first mechanical breakdown, a flat tire, was quickly repaired while riding in the "blue caboose" the support van that traveled each day behind the last rider to make sure no one was left behind. The third day's route took the riders on quiet back country roads. Among the stops for the day were the Pineland Center (for fresh baked goods and photo ops), then Freeport where the group was met by the Freeport Flag Ladies, interviewed and photographed for an Air Force publication and given a police escort as well as being treated to lunch at the Harraseeket Inn Restaurant. From Freeport, it was a relatively short trip to the final destination of Hadlock Field in Portland. There team members had the option of staying for the game which honored the 60 years of Air Force history by having Brig Gen Frances Auclair throw out the first pitch. A KC 135 fly over as well as other Air Force centered events occurred throughout the late afternoon and early evening.
From this writers vantage point, the weekend was a huge success. It was well planned logistically with enough volunteers for support vehicles so that if riders had a problem along the route, there was never a long wait for assistance. It certainly was a fitness proving ground for all those who rode as well as a great morale builder between units as the Joint Forces Head Quarters, 101st Air Refueling Wing, 243rd Engineering Installation Squadron and the 265th Combat Communications Squadron all participated. I would like to extend my congratulations to all the riders for rising to this challenge |
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