Frost Heave Fondo draws more than 100 riders
Safety crew volunteers Meredith Currier and Darby Urey stop at a photo booth at the top of a ridge. (Photo courtesy Stacey Keefer)
Group photo at start. (Photo courtesy Stacey Keefer)
Slipping Gears Cycling, a club from the Bangor area, stand on Appleton Ridge. (Photo courtesy Stacey Keefer)
Riders from Community Cycling Center, in Biddeford. (Photo courtesy Stacey Keefer)
Safety crew volunteers Meredith Currier and Darby Urey stop at a photo booth at the top of a ridge. (Photo courtesy Stacey Keefer)
Group photo at start. (Photo courtesy Stacey Keefer)
Slipping Gears Cycling, a club from the Bangor area, stand on Appleton Ridge. (Photo courtesy Stacey Keefer)
Riders from Community Cycling Center, in Biddeford. (Photo courtesy Stacey Keefer)
SEARSMONT — The Midcoast Maine Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association partnered with One Community Many Voices to host the first annual Frost Heave Fondo (big bicycle road ride) on Sunday, April 7, beginning and ending at Threshers Brewing Company in Searsmont.
More than 100 riders of all ages from as far as Massachusetts, Bangor, and Bar Harbor turned out for the 29-mile adventure ride, with a shortcut route available for those riders still feeling a bit slugglish from the long winter.
The course carried riders over a challenging variety of roads including smooth pavement, rough tarmac, and rutted, muddy, icy dirt. There were bikes of all types – knobby tired gravel bikes, mountain bikes, tandem bikes, and fat tire bikes – but no bike was the right bike for the whole ride. That’s just one of the things that made this unique event such a blast for everyone involved.
Since the ride was not a race there were fun stops along the way, including a photo booth at the top of the ridge, a rest stop halfway with bonfire and refueling treats, and a card game for prizes.
The ride concluded back at Threshers with live music, whoopie pies, chocolate covered waffles, burgers, fries, beverages, and many laughs and smiles.
Organizers would like to extend a huge thank you to all those who made the event such a success. Special thanks go to presenting sponsor Sidecountry Sports, supporting sponsors Snow Sport & Spine, Bagel Cafe, Ghost Cat Bags, Maine Gold Maple Syrup, Monroe Country Store, Threshers Brewing Company, and more than a dozen volunteers who helped make it happen.
All proceeds from the ride go to the Midcoast Maine New England Mountain Bike Association, building trails and promoting all things related to mountain biking in the Midcoast, and One Community Many Voices, focusing its efforts on providing gap funding to help overcome barriers related to youth aspirations, elderly independent living, well-being, and employment/skill development.
For more images from this year’s event and information on next year’s event, visit www.facebook.com/frostheavefondo.
Event Date
Address
United States
