News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Six of the seven cyclists visiting Alpena are pictured, from left: John Schaefer, Chris Henry, also known as “Papow,” Dave Campbell, Beth Knight, Kitty McCartney, and Ray Henry.

ALPENA — A cross country road trip takes long enough in a motor vehicle — now try a bicycle!

A group of seven cyclists made their way to Alpena on Wednesday, the 48th day of their 4,000-mile cross country bike tour from Burlington, Washington to Portland, Maine. Their route was approximately 40 miles Wednesday, from Rogers City to Alpena. They started at 8:30 a.m. and arrived at the Big Bear Lodge around noon, each cyclist going at their own pace.

The cyclists have a weekly rotation for who drives the van, which provides rest for the driver that day and mid-ride relief in the form of snacks and drinks for the rest of the cyclists. John Schaefer was the van driver Wednesday. Schaefer is 69 years old and hails from Virginia.

The oldest cyclist in the group is 80-year-old Gregg Gerber, who is blind in one eye.

The youngest is 56-year-old Beth Knight from South Carolina. Kitty McCartney, 62, and Ray Henry, 65, are from Florida. Chris Henry, 74, is from California and 65-year-old Dave Campbell is from Texas.

Ray Henry planned the tour along the Northern Tier bicycle route.

“It’s a fairly common route that people are riding across the northern part of the country,” he said.

The group met through different bicycle tours they’ve done. Schaefer said this is his ninth bicycle tour.

“Once I did my first one, I said, you know, I love it,” he said. “Now when you just slow things down, you get out of your car and you get on a bike … It’s been a lot of fun.”

Trips that the cyclists have done include a ride around the Great Lakes, down the east coast, down the west coast, and across the southern tier, which stretches from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida.

The cyclists have averaged 65 miles a day on their Northern Tier bike tour. The longest stretch they will complete in one day is 98 miles. The 40-mile stretch on Wednesday was one of their shorter days, although Knight commented that it was more difficult than she expected.

“It was 40 miles of a headwind,” she said.

“The other important thing about this rain is this traveling circus goes whether it’s nice or not,” Chris Henry said, as it started to rain while three of the cyclists finished their ride. “Tomorrow, if it’s raining, it won’t matter. We’ll still drive the van, we’ll still get on our bikes, we’re still riding.”

In 48 days, Knight said she had three flat tires, and Schaefer had one flat.

When flats happen, they fix them right on the side of the road and keep going. The cyclists told a story of having seven flats in one morning in New Orleans on a past bike tour. They said that some states have dirty shoulders which cause flats to occur more frequently.

Schaefer said he got interested in long distance cycling after adding it to his retirement bucket list. He joined his first one in 2018, and that’s where he met Ray Henry and Chris Henry.

“So we all start with kind of novices, and we learn as we go,” Chris Henry said.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.