Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 10 : Fall 2011 | Page 17

Ride Aroostook is a new,
annual, fundraising, two-day bicycle
tour event created to benefit children’s
health, specifically to support and
expand Camp Adventure, a regional
summer camp for children aged 12-17
with Type 1 Diabetes. Ride Aroostook
took place this past July on the 16th and
17th on two beautiful rain-free days.
Each day consisted of two routes which
began and ended in the Star City at the
University of Maine at Presque Isle
(UMPI). The event was designed like a
four-leaf clover with a route looping out
in each cardinal direction: north, south,
east and west. At the end of the event,
riders choosing to participate in each
available route traveled approximately
134 miles. Each day was split into
two rides with full SAG support, rest
areas, first aid, and mechanical services
provided to all riders. A small army of
over 95 volunteers was also on hand to
make sure riders stayed on course and
had everything they needed throughout
the ride.

The roots of Ride Aroostook
began in 2009 when Bill Flagg and
Karen Boutot met and came up with the
idea of a bicycle tour along the lines of
(actually scaled somewhere in between)
the Trek Across Maine and the NMMC
Tour de la Vallee to be used as a
fundraiser for Cary’s Camp Adventure.
Karen and Bill ran it by local bike
enthusiasts, mainly Melanie Stewart,
former owner of Mojo in Presque Isle,
who helped spread the word among
dedicated locals. A small group of
dedicated local bikers decided to take the
project on and it sprang to life. Bill and
Karen both agree that they “could have
done nothing without the experience
and expertise of this dedicated group.”
The newly established Ride Aroostook
team traveled together to experience
the Trek Across Maine in June of 2010,
and upon returning got serious about
planning Ride Aroostook, kicking off
FALL 2011 Ride Aroostook 17