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Cyclist hopes 48-state ride ends tonight

Tipp City man said he’s been battling winds during the  cross-country trek.

Map of cyclist Phil Nagle's 56-day ride around the continental US

$Phil Nagle plans to finish his 48-state marathon ride tonight in Tipp City. It's been a long, hard road, and he's ready to be done, but he's happy he did it. Contributed photo\uFEFF$

Contributed photo Phil Nagle plans to finish his 48-state marathon ride tonight in Tipp City. It's been a long, hard road, and he's ready to be done, but he's happy he did it. Contributed photo\uFEFF

ENLARGE PHOTO

Phil Nagle, a 23-year-old recent University of Cincinnati graduate and Tipp City resident, rode his bike across the continental US in less than 60 days.

Staff photo by Ron Alvey Phil Nagle, a 23-year-old recent University of Cincinnati graduate and Tipp City resident, rode his bike across the continental US in less than 60 days.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Ken McCall, Staff Writer Updated 11:06 PM Saturday, September 12, 2009

Phil Nagle is stiff, sore, craving sleep and about eight days behind schedule, but the 23-year-old Tipp City cyclist is planning to complete his epic 8,200-mile bike ride around the country tonight, Sept. 13.

Nagle, who is attempting to be the first cyclist to ride through all the lower 48 states, said Friday from Dubuque, Iowa, that he was determined to get home by 7 p.m. tonight to Tipp City, where he started the trip July 20.

“I’m starting to get pretty sore,” Nagle said Friday morning before setting out across the Mississippi River into Wisconsin. “Like my wrists and fingers are pretty numb, and the arches of my feet are starting to get sore. But nothing too painful.”

Of course, Nagle should have felt sore. He’d just spent 15 hours riding the day and night before, finally getting off his bike at 1:30 a.m. By Friday morning, he’d ridden 7,650 miles in 53 days and bagged 44 states.

He was hoping to get to Chicago sometime early Saturday morning.

“I’ve got about 550 miles to go in two and a half days,” he said. “I just plan on riding most of Saturday night, and then I’ll be home by Sunday evening — as long as the weather cooperates.”

Bad Weather

Nagle had set out to ride the huge loop in 48 days, but detours and some bad weather — including perverse wind directions — held him back.

The new graduate from the University of Cincinnati was excited when he hit Walla Walla, Wash., because he figured he was turning east and was finally going to have the wind at his back.

“That hasn’t been the case at all,” he said. “We only had one good day in the past few weeks where we actually had a tail wind.”

Nagle said “the realization started to sink in” somewhere in Idaho, that he wasn’t going to make it in 48 days. “I started to feel that wind and it was getting progressively worse through the week.”

He’s been assured he’ll still make it into the Guinness Book of World Records, though, as long as he submits the proper proof of his feat, because no one else has tried it. To give some perspective about his accomplishment, the 2009 Tour de France covered 2,174 miles.

Thankfully, the weather and especially the wind, has improved in the last few days, he said.

“I get tired, but the closer I get to home, the more focused I’ve become on just staying on the bike and getting the mileage in.”

Homecoming plans

Nagle, and his parents are planning a celebration for his homecoming — a fundraising party this evening in the CVS parking lot on Main Street in Tipp City, where the whole adventure began 56 days ago. They’re planning to celebrate and sell pizza and soda pop to help raise money to cover trip expenses.

Nagel doesn’t expect to have much energy left.

“I don’t think I’m going to want to even stand up once I get back,” he said.

It may also be “a few days” before he gets back on a bike, he said with a laugh.

But he has no regrets.

“It’s really challenged me mentally and physically,” he said. “It’s really tested me, and I’m glad I did it, for sure. But I’m definitely ready for it to be over.”

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