LINDA NAGLE RIDES HER LITESPEED ARENBERG ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Do you think you’ll still be riding your bike at 75? How about riding across the country at 75? That’s exactly what Linda Nagle did this summer on her Litespeed Arenberg. With three friends, Nagle rode 4,057 miles from Seattle, Washington, to Portland, Maine.
“It's something I never dreamed I'd do, but I did,” she said.
For context, Nagle’s epic ride was nearly double the distance of the Tour de France route. Very few cyclists, even exceptionally fit ones, ever take on a riding challenge as big as this. I certainly can’t see myself riding this far or for this long. That’s why I sat down with Nagle so she could tell us the story of how she crossed the country and find out what advice she has for regular riders who want to accomplish big things.
Cycling Makes You Young at Heart
Linda Nagle (left) riding cross-country with her childhood friend.
I feel like I'm so much younger [...] because I'm out doing things all the time and being with people.
“I grew up riding bicycles. I always loved to ride bicycles,” Nagle explained. “I rode off and on through the years, but it wasn't until I retired, and I was looking for something to do in my leisure time that would take me outside, allow me to be social, and provide good exercise, that I thought ‘cycling’ would be perfect.
“I wanted to get fitter, after having had a sit-down job at the tail end of my career, and I have always loved being outside in nature. And I was missing my social life because so much of it had been wrapped up with work. I knew that I would meet people once I got out on the bicycle. That was when I was about 62, and I've been riding ever since.
“Each step of the way, I would say, ‘Oh no, I'm not going to do that, or that's more than I want,’ but I found myself getting more and more involved once I started riding. I went from a hybrid bike to a road bike. I started riding in clipless pedals. You know, the usual kind of transition that cyclists experience.
“I'm 75 now, and I feel like I'm so much younger than that because I'm out doing things all the time and being with people. It makes all the difference. It makes you feel young at heart, whether or not you are in body.”
Taking on Her Biggest Challenge
I may be the oldest woman to have ever ridden across the United States.
“This is the longest, biggest, most challenging ride I've ever done,” Nagle said. “I've ridden in Ireland. I did what's called the MizMal, riding from Mizen Head to Malin Head, the southernmost to the northernmost point along the western coast of Ireland. I’ve done the Natchez Trace Parkway (a 444-mile road through three states) and the Cabot Trail (a 185-mile loop on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia) in Canada. Seattle to Portland, Oregon, and Seattle to Vancouver. So I've done some long rides, but this was definitely the biggest challenge.
“I have a childhood friend—we've been friends since we were both seven years old—who lives in Seattle, and she had been riding with a man interested in riding across the United States. This was like a decade ago, when she first told me about it, and I told her I would love to join. As the years passed, I thought, ‘Oh, that's never going to happen.’ Last year, though, he finally said, ‘I'm going to do it next year.’ So I committed to doing it with them. That's how it started. I didn't know if I could. And my friend is not in the best of health. She didn't know if she could do it, and she actually did it on an E-bike.
“Then I invited a friend that I ride with routinely here in Florida, because I knew that he had been talking about riding across the United States, too. So there were four riders, my girlfriend and I, both in our 70s, and two men, both in their 60s. We had two sag vehicles, one driven by my husband and one driven by the wife of the guy who planned it. The ride started in Seattle on August 3rd and lasted 71 days. It was a very well-paced ride. It was not a race, and I approached it as a sightseeing adventure!
“My cycling friends and my husband say I may be the oldest woman to have ever ridden across the United States,” Nagle said. “I have not submitted anything to the Guinness Book of Records or anything like that, and I don't know that I will because that's not why I did it!”
Cross-Country Logistics and Nutrition
I ate nutritiously for the most part, but didn't hesitate to enjoy myself with desserts or fast food here and there!
“We originally planned to ride 4,100 miles, so we were pretty close, but we did make some changes to the route during the ride as well. We found out that Ride with GPS is not always reliable! We’d run into dead-end roads, and once ran into a road with a gate and a padlock across it. The guys lifted our bikes over, and I was not really pleased about that! I was like, ‘You’ve got to promise me I'm not going to get shot.’ Some loose dogs came after me there, and it ended up being all gravel, which I’m not a fan of. From that moment on, we were a little bit more careful!
“We camped for most of the trip, and then we stayed in motels on our rest days. We also agreed that if the weather was really bad or if we had any issues with a campground, we would stay in a motel. We had to find a motel a couple of times because of the wind. Setting up the tent in high winds was not a chore that worked too well for any of us. Between us, we had four tents. The two couples were in tents. The other two who didn't have spouses along were in their own tents.
“As for how we stayed fueled, when we were camping, we were also cooking. I did not hesitate to eat. I ate nutritiously for the most part, but didn't hesitate to enjoy myself with desserts or fast food here and there! I am a big fan of oatmeal. So my breakfast for a number of years on almost every morning that I ride has been oatmeal with fruit and nuts in it.
“I don't like to spend a lot of money on cycling-specific nutrition. It's gotten so expensive! So I try to find alternatives. I ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly and used powdered Gatorade mix anytime I felt like I needed some more carbs. I also really watched my protein because that's important, especially for seniors. I didn't want to lose too much muscle mass. I just kept eating, and I never bonked. When you don’t have the legs, that's one thing, but if you’re not eating, that's your fault!”
The Best and Worst Moments
I got into a routine. I got used to riding. And I knew it would take me a while to adjust to normal life again.
“Chinook Pass was the first big challenge in my mind because that was our first major pass,” Nagle said. “You have to go over a pass to get out of the state of Washington. There's just no going around it. I was worried because it was August, and it was still hot. I don't like hot weather. Coming from Florida, I really hadn't had much opportunity to do a lot of training on a real mountain. I was so nervous about whether or not I'd be able to make it up, but I did, and I actually enjoyed the climb, which was even more important. It ended up being one of my favorite moments! That gave me a lot of confidence once I conquered that.
“The hardest day, though, wasn't hard because the cycling itself was so difficult. It was because it was the first day when we really had a hard rain that lasted a long time. It was so cold. I'm used to riding in the rain. But when you mix it with cold, that's really tough. That was in Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula. We had more rain in Michigan than anywhere else.
“Maybe my favorite moment of the trip was in Wyoming. There were these endless rollers, and I was by myself going through this beautiful wooded area. It was just so curvy and rolling, and it just felt really good, like I could just sail along forever. I didn't have a headwind. I wasn’t fighting the road. The weather was perfect. The sun was shining, but it was cool. You just couldn't ask for a better day on the bike. I also loved riding through Badlands National Park. The views were just awesome. It was so different.
“You’d think that finishing the trip would have felt very good, but it’s funny, because it did and it didn’t. It felt good because it was over. But it was a cold and wet day. We got to the water, and it was really deep, cold, and gray. It definitely felt good to have accomplished it. But after 71 days, I got into a routine. I got used to riding. And I knew it would take me a while to adjust to normal life again.
“Then I floated the idea with my friend riding with us from Florida, ‘Why don't we just ride our bikes back home instead of hopping in the car?’ We couldn’t get enough! My husband wasn't too excited about it, though, so that didn't go over well!”
Good Advice for You and Me
If you plan things, they happen. That's the first step.
“Our arrival home was particularly inspiring because as we turned into our driveway, my daughter had put banners all over the front of the house. One of them said, ‘Holy ****, you did it!’ Being a role model or inspiration for my kids and my grandkids is the most important thing.
“My advice is to do what you can when you really have the chance. Don't be afraid to try something,” Nagle said. “I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever ride across the United States. And frankly, I wondered if I could make it. But if you plan things, they happen. That's the first step. You do need to do some training, of course, but an ordinary person can do so many things if they just put their mind to doing them. There's nothing outstanding about what I do on the bicycle. I just enjoy doing it, and I think that's a big key.
“I am already thinking about what to plan next. There's a ride in my favorite part of the world in Canada that starts from the Arctic ice fields and goes down to Jasper, to Banff, and on down. I’ve wanted to do a ride called the Selkirk Loop. I was going to do that last year, but my husband had surgery. The Selkirk Mountains are just absolutely gorgeous, so I might do that. My friend who went to Ireland with me wants to ride in Croatia. Someone else wants to ride in Italy. I don't know. There’s just so much!"
The Arenberg Titanium Endurance Bike
Of course, I had to ask Nagle about the bike that took her across the country. The Litespeed Arenberg is our endurance road model, designed to maximize comfort on rough roads and for long stints in the saddle without sacrificing speed or efficiency.
“I knew I wanted an endurance bike,” Nagle said. “Being a senior citizen, my comfort is important to me, and that's why I started looking at titanium. I had a bike fit several years ago, so I knew pretty much what geometry I needed to fit me, and the Arenberg fit me well, so I got an extra small Arenberg.
“I knew I wanted Di2 electronic shifting, carbon wheels, and the Litespeed carbon fork. Then I put a little bling on it with a gold headset and seat clamp. I also wanted to make sure I had enough gears. I like climbing as long as I can climb slowly and have the gearing to spin. The Arenberg had compact (50/34t) chainrings with an 11-34t cassette. It was perfect, though there were a couple of times I wished I had a little more when it got really steep!
“With the geometry and fit of the Arenberg, I was comfortable on my bike all the time. By the last half of the trip, I was so used to being in the saddle, I didn't even know it was there!”
Photos courtesy of Linda Nagle.
