Phil Dettmer, an Inspiration to All

Phil Dettmer looks for inspiration

Not only is Phil the oldest rider on the 2000 RadioShack Big Ride Across America, he is also the oldest person to have gone this far on any cross-country bike trip sponsored by the American Lung Association (over 1800 riders in 6 trips). There is little doubt in anyone's mind that Phil will cross the finish line in Washington, D.C. along with all the other riders on Aug. 5.

Gabrielle Brinton gets
an early start to the day

If anything, Phil has been getting stronger on the trip. Occasionally, he stops for a break, and he's not overly fond of hills, but he makes it in every day and he's only had to sag (ride the van) once, for mechanical reasons. A few adjustments by bike mechanic Harlan Krueger had him going again."He's amazing; he's an inspiration to us all," said one rider. "If I were just alive and well at his age, I'd be doing great."

Phil's energy seems to spring from a ceaseless drive and an overwhelming curiosity about the world around him. At meal stops or pie breaks, he'll often be found peppering either the waitress or fellow diners with questions, such as why the hay bales are round or what the local economy is like at the moment. "I just have to keep going," he said. "You have to live life to the fullest and take big bites out of life's cookie."

Phil's Big Ride is actually his second bike trip across the country. He loves recounting how he and his wife, Lucy, biked self-contained from Palm Springs to the East Coast some years ago and how friendly and hospitable folks can be, then and now. Back home in California, he plays tennis three or four times a week with Lucy, and heads off to the fitness center to lift weights. But his participation in the Big Ride isn't only about the physical challenge of seeing whether his body is up to the task of rising 3,250 miles across the country.

Pace lines help riders through head winds

"I watched my mother die slowly and painfully in an oxygen tent for 10 days due to smoking, begging for a cigarette," he said. He himself spent eight months in a tuberculosis center when he was 19, with little hope for survival."Now I'm trying to put something back into the hopper by supporting the American Lung Association's efforts," he said.

Rest in New Ulm

Phil and some of his fellow riders took full advantage of the rest day in New Ulm, Minnesota, a charming, well-trimmed town about 90 miles south of Minneapolis-St. Paul, originally settled by German immigrants in the 1850s. Meanwhile, others went through the rest-day rituals of laundry and E-mail, or visited local sights. Ray Gilden of Corvallis, Oregon, went off to see historical houses. Others went to nearby Flandrau State Park on the Cottonwood River, with a pond and a sandy beach. Herve Bauge, a hairdresser in New York, gave Kim Foland of Chamblee, Georgia a trim in the cafeteria of Jefferson School, where riders are staying in New Ulm. Sharon Basile shared a huge birthday cake, inscribed "Pedal Faster!" sent by her family in Douglassville, Pennsylvania.

Heritagefest

The annual Heritagefest attracted many Big Riders, who sampled the local August Schell beer, cruised the arts and crafts, ate bratwurst, sauerkraut, apple strudel and smearkuchen, and took in the gemutlicht atmosphere in the humid summer evening.

Polka dancing in New Ulm, Minnesota

When Phil started dancing to the toe-tapping polka tunes on Saturday evening, younger Big Riders flocked to watch, and then jumped in themselves. Few knew the actual polka steps for the music being played by bands from Slovenia, Germany, and Minnesota, but it hardly mattered. With whoops of enthusiasm as they careened around the wooden floor in a huge, white tent, riders traded partners and paired up with locals as well. Sweating but grinning with happiness as they fairly took over the floor, it was hard to imagine that they had just biked almost 90 miles through heat, humidity, and those ubiquitous headwinds. Uff da!

By Clem Work, riding reporter.

For more information about today's ride, check out the GORP Big Ride Log.