After 7 days, 1 hour and 23 minutes, Lancaster bicyclist Mike Ridgeway and his TeamEndeavor reached the finish line of the Race Across America in Atlantic City, N.J., at 6:47 p.m. Tuesday.
The four-man team finished sixth of 16 in their category, with an average speed of just under 18 miles per hour over the 3043 miles. They started in Oceanside, Calif. on June 12. Riders from the Central Pennsylvania-based team took turns doing half-hour pulls in the saddle as the team moved across the country.
On Wednesday morning, five of the four-man teams, all but one of the two-man teams and 21 of the 25 solo riders were still on the course cranking out the miles.
It was the first RAAM ride for Ridgeway, who has coordinated the race’s Time 54 in Georgetown, southern Lancaster County, for several years.
Ridgeway, founder of the Dream Ride Projects bicycling safety and advocacy group, returns to Lancaster, where he will be coordinating the “Longest Day” ride this Saturday.
The Longest Day ride occurs the second full day after the summer solstice - the longest day of the year. Participating riders can pedal the 19-mile Lancaster County Heritage Bike Loop for 12 or 24 straight hours. Or, riders can do all of the Dream Ride tour rides in succession, for a total of 402.5 miles. Information and a link for registration is at: http://dreamrideprojects.org/LongestDay.html. Today is the last day to register.
Ridgeway has invited other participants from the Race Across America to join him for the “Longest Day.” He has offered to waive the $100 registration fee for all RAAM participants.
