Senior Cyclist Shares Stories from the Road at Aberdeen Bike & Outdoors in Chelsea

Since 2009, Chelsea resident Al Newman, 67, has cycled from coast to coast, from Maine to Florida, and down the entire length of the Mississippi River.

Newman was a self-described “very casual” cyclist when he decided in 2008 to sign on for a cross-country ride. Four and a half years later he’s traveled across more of the United States by bike than most people have by car.

Newman will share tales of his long-haul adventures March 6 during a 6:30 p.m. presenatation at Aberdeen Bike & Outdoors, 1101 S. Main St. in Chelsea.

“If you float a seemingly unintelligible idea around for 15 or 20 years, it becomes a matter of 'when?'" Newman’s wife, Roddy Wares, posted on his blog, whereislance.com, before the first ride, which went from Los Angeles to Boston.

That ride covered 3,415 miles in 50 days and included mountain descents, hail, food poisoning and at least one dead chicken thrown from a truck.

“I didn’t know what I was doing when I started that ride,” Newman said. “I didn’t have a clue. By the time I was done I had ridden in almost any situation you can ride in. You get to see the country in a way you don’t get to see it in a car. It was an absolute blast. You’ll get more fit than you’ll ever be in your life.”

But the unexpected benefits, Newman found, were the friendships he forged with the other riders who made up his pace line. These men spent the better part of 43 days riding with their tires inches apart. They learned to depend on each other for their safety and their sanity, and when the opportunity came to ride a reunion tour from Maine to Florida in 2011, they all signed up again.

More recently, Newman set out with his brother, cousin, and a friend from Ann Arbor to set a route from Minnesota to New Orleans for cycling musician Mark “Mr. B” Braun and his Joybox Express.

“When I decided I was going to do (the cross-country ride) I had an old bike, and I took it out and rode 40 miles, came back and told my wife it couldn’t be done – I didn’t think I could ride twice that far, every day,” Newman said. “But in fact, anybody can do it. The determining factor is, you have to want to do it.”

For more information about the free presentation, visit www.aberdeenbike.com.