By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Jamie White knows exactly how many miles she rode her bicycle last year: 351.7.

The 11-year-old Biddeford fifth-grader also knows exactly how many miles she has ridden as she prepares for her longest bike trip yet. Since April, she has logged 209.6 miles during weekly training rides that have brought her from Biddeford to Alfred and towns in between.

Jamie and 49 other riders with the Community Bicycle Center Charity Cycling Team will pedal 180 miles June 18 to 20 in the Trek Across Maine to raise money for the American Lung Association. Participants will ride from Sunday River in Bethel to coastal Belfast in three days. This marks the 11^th year the center has participated in the Trek and the first with so many riders as young as 10, according to Executive Director Andy Greif.

The Community Bicycle Center team has 50 members, including 13 riders younger than 18. The Charity Cycling Team has raised more than $146,000 to support American Lung Association initiatives in the past 10 years.

The team already has exceeded this year’s fundraising goal of $10,000 by more than $6,000. Each rider must raise at least $400 to participate, Greif said. While participants are dedicated to raising as much money as possible, they also are expecting a ride full of fun and memories.

Riley McNeil, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at Biddeford Intermediate School, decided to do the Trek because she likes riding and wants to help the lung association. She also has a friendly competition going with Jamie to see who can ride the most miles. Riley currently trails Jamie by 31.5 miles.

For 10-year-old Sophia Hibbard and her 12-year-old brother, Devyn, the Trek presents an opportunity for new experiences. Both are asthmatics and said raising money for research for a cure for asthma is important to them. Also important is proving wrong the sister who said they couldn’t do it, Sophia said.

Caleb McGuire, 12, said he was looking for ways to be more active when he heard Greif talking about the Trek Across Maine.

“I said ‘oooh, that might be something I want to do,’” he said last week, shortly after trying on his bright yellow team jersey and hat for the first time.

Greif said it is unusual for a group of young riders to commit to riding in the event, especially when it requires early Saturday morning training rides. They must prepare to ride 68 miles the first day, 58 miles the second day and 52 miles the third day. On the first day, riders will power their way up a 4-mile hill, he said. All riders 12 and younger are required to ride on a tandem bicycle with an adult.

“They collectively decided they wanted to do this,” Greif said. “They’re showing up every Saturday. They don’t complain, they work through when they’re struggling. They really understand whatever emotions they have will pass. They’re supporting each other.”

The young riders rode 45 miles during their last training session, a trip that took them on roads some of them had never seen before. Devyn said the ride – the longest for any of them – was “pretty easy.” The kids recently challenged Greif to a “drag race” on the quadruple bicycle he rides in the Trek. He lost.

“Andy’s an old (man) so he couldn’t do it,” Jamie said.

Though she sometimes teases Greif, Jamie and the other riders said he is a role model who teaches them a lot about fixing and riding bicycles.

“Andy is an inspiration. He’s awesome,” Riley said.

Riley and the other riders can rattle off the lessons they have learned from Greif – everything from the proper clothes to wear to how to prepare for big hills by drinking water and concentrating. Jamie, who rides on the quad bike with Greif, said he also has shown her how to understand her limits and communicate with team members. More importantly, she said, Greif showed her how to be patient while riding.

The riders said they also find inspiration for their rides in family members. Nearly all of them have a family member affected by lung disease and said they think of their loved ones while they ride.

Caleb said he thinks of his aunt Nancy, who had an asthma attack while riding her bike as a child and was lucky to survive. He surpassed his personal $500 fundraising goal and has given extra money to other riders to meet their goals.

“Whenever I think of biking, I think of my aunt,” he said. “She thinks it’s a good thing for me to help other people.”

Riding in the Trek is very personal for Sophia and Devyn. Logging hundreds of miles together has made them feel closer and both use their late grandmother and uncle as inspirations to keep going when riding gets tough.

“What I’m thinking about all the time is my grandmother and my Uncle Bob,” Sophia said. “They’re probably out there wondering why in the world we’re doing this because we’re asthmatic.”

Jamie said she often thinks of her grandfather, who has asthma and is unable to ride a bicycle.

“When I’m biking I usually think of my grandfather. My mom thinks it’s pretty amazing a little girl like me can do this,” she said.

The riders said they already are looking forward to the moment they cross the finish line in Belfast. Riley said she’ll throw her arms up in the air and yell “I did it” – as long as she’s not too tired.

“I know I’ll be feeling really tired,” Jamie said. “But I will be proud of myself.”

Grief said he, too, will be proud of the riders for their commitment to training and riding hundreds of miles.

“They’re learning a lot more than just biking. They’ve established goal persistence. They’re incorporating what they’re learning into their lives,” he said. “They’re experiencing things they’ve never experienced before that will be with them the rest of their lives.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.