Greg Langer, 16 of Rye prepares for second cross-sountry bike trip
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RYE – Sixteen-year-old Greg Langer will journey to Portland, Ore., this weekend to embark upon a month long, 3,500-mile bicycle trip to Savannah, Ga. – his second cross-country bike trip in just over a year.
“Last year’s trip was fun, but kind of easy,” said Langer about his six-week, 3,000-mile ride.
On this year’s trip, organized by the Pacific-Atlantic-Cycling Tour, or PAC Tour, which Langer found online, riders will average 120 miles per day and reach a peak elevation of 10,424 feet at Tennessee Pass near Leadville, Colo.
Langer, who will be a junior in the fall at Rye High School and the youngest person on the trip, will join 25 others Saturday to begin the ride through mountains, forests, grasslands and prairies. The trip includes 800 miles of the Oregon Trail and crosses the Ozark Mountains and the Mississippi River. “The reason he’s going is to ride away from mom and dad,” joked Nancy Langer, his mom. “I’m actually really happy he found this activity on his own. We looked for camps, but they were just too static for him.”
Three support vans will accompany the group, carrying food and extra supplies. The riders, most of whom are in their 40s, will carry only clothes and spare bike parts. Though they will occasionally visit museums and restaurants, particularly on Route 66, there will be no full rest days.
“Each of the (PAC Tour) owners has done this before, so they know the terrain,” his mother said in connection with the teen’s safety. “I spoke to (one of the owners) and she seemed like a caring parent, down to earth. I know they’ll watch out for him.”
Along with the typical bike gloves, jersey, leg warmers and spandex, the trip requires special biking shoes that lock into the pedals, allowing momentum from both the foot’s push down and pull up.
“We’ll probably wake up around 4 a.m., ride, snack every 25 miles then lunch at 70 or 80 miles,” said Langer, who rides his father’s Specialized Roubaix, a road bike made for speed.
“We eat a lot. Last year, if we had pizza, we had to order a whole pie per person. We’d eat and be hungry again 20 minutes later.”
To prepare for the trip, Langer must ride more than 200 miles per week, a venture he believes will be much easier now that school is over. This week, the program directors suggest two 200-mile rides, each in fewer than 14 hours.
“It’s just really cool to know you can go so far on your own,” Langer said. “I wouldn’t have thought I could be at home, then bike somewhere to see a cow.”
Additional Facts
This was writen by JournalNews writer, Chelsea Mitamura, you can email her at cmitamura@lohud.com
Please check back here at Cycling Central for periodic updates on Greg Langer’s cross-country trip.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 10:51 AM by Randall Wolf. 
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