Montreal 500

May 14

May 13-14, 2023

Since I was a little kid the thought of a 500-mile continuous ride had always lived in the back of my head. I have vivid memories of my father attempting to ride 500 miles; but he never quite got there. I remember picking him up when he was over 300 miles into a long ride. I’ll never forget how totally spent and tired he was. I was in awe at his effort on the bike and never dreamed I could ever approach his endurance. I always knew I would have to try to ride 500 miles when my body felt ready for it. At the end of the 2023 collegiate road racing season my form was better than it had ever been before and I knew I was primed to give a 500-mile ride a shot. Fueled by an abysmal performance at Road Collegiate Nationals in Albuquerque, New Mexico the week before, I set out on May 13 to attempt my first 500-mile ride.

I wanted to see Montreal. I’d never been but I had heard it was a beautiful city so I figured I might as well bike there. It was a beautiful morning and I made good time to the Canadian border. I had to explain to border control that I was biking to Montreal and back overnight, which they had trouble believing at first. I made it to Montreal and rode up to Mount Royal Park to look out over the city. Montreal is indeed a beautiful and lively city with fantastic cycling infrastructure. I headed out of the city via St. Helen’s Island and the Petit Voie du Fleuve path before heading southwest to the Chateaugay border crossing.

Once I was back in the United States the sleep depravation hallucinations began to set in. I was worried about falling asleep on the bike and the obvious consequences a resulting crash would have. It was relatively cold for a May night. The low was 35°F. In the moment, my sleep deprived mind decided the best way to keep myself awake would be to intentionally make myself cold. I took off my arm warmers and poured some water down the front of my jersey. This immediately had the desired effect but to an extreme extent. I obviously became very cold very quickly. Too cold in fact. I was wracked with hypothermia, Lacking the proper cold weather gear, I had no way to warm up. Since it was 3:00 a.m. in rural upstate New York there were no services open so I was on my own. On the edge of my limit, I found a 24-hour un-staffed post office that had an unlocked lobby. I sat on the floor leaning against some P.O. boxes and tried to warm up. Looking around I saw packing tape and immediately began wrapping it around my arms and chest. It was a form of insulation and I viewed it as my saving grace. Looking like a mummified disaster I emerged from the post office to continue my ride.

By the time I reached Grand Isle in Lake Champlain, the sun began to rise and my sleep deprivation fell away. From Burlington, I had about 150 miles to go and I began to believe in my ability to finish the full 500 miles. Passing through Richmond, VT my rear shift cable suddenly snapped. I was faced with the immediate realization that I would have to ride the last 140 miles with no rear shifting. I was able to rig my rear cassette into a moderate gear and maintained my front shifting. It was not an ideal setup, but it was manageable. With 80 miles left I met up with several members of the Dartmouth Cycling Team. They helped pull me through the last bit of the ride. With 40 miles left I totally imploded. 40 miles seems like such a short distance but the idea of riding for two more hours seemed to be the worst proposition I had ever faced. My mind was scattered, my legs were shot, and I was dealing with painful chaffing in multiple places. Thanks to the help of my teammates I managed to make it back to Hanover. I jubilantly ended my ride on the Dartmouth Green at 501 miles. I was thrilled and incredibly proud of myself from bouncing back from such a disappointing performance at Nationals the week before. At the same time, I knew this was just the beginning of ultra-endurance rides.

As I carried my bike up the four flights of stairs to my dorm I quietly asked myself “Would it be possible to ride 1,000 miles…?”