A cross-country ride

How far are you willing to pedal a bicycle?

A mile? 10 miles? Until your lungs start to burn?

Maine native Fred Rice joined a friend of his and the two of them took their bicycles across the country -- 3,773 miles! -- in less than two months' time. They hit snow storms, dust storms, lightning storms and tornados. They pedaled in desert heat and in mountain cold.

And they never stopped, reaching Lubec, Maine, last Tuesday after averaging almost 80 miles a day on the days they were riding.

Why’d they do it?

"Just something to do," said Rice, a 1979 graduate of Winthrop High School who now lives in Hawaii with his wife, Cathi, and son, Freddie.

CLICK HERE to read the feature story about the trip in Saturday’s Kennebec Journal.

One of the best stories about the trip, one that puts into perspective for me, was entirely physical.

Rice lost 15 pounds of body weight in the first half of the trip, struggling to keep up with the 40,000 calories a day he was burning. Things took a turn once they crossed the Mississippi River, though.

"We found Dunkin’ Donuts and Tim Horton’s," Rice said.

Pastries helped the riders put the pounds back on and fuel their rides.