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This is a lot of riding even for Lance

Phil Nagle, of Tipp City, will attempt to ride his bicycle in 48 states in 48 days this summer. His trip will start on July 6 2009 in Tipp City.

Ron Alvey/Ron Alvey Phil Nagle, of Tipp City, will attempt to ride his bicycle in 48 states in 48 days this summer. His trip will start on July 6 2009 in Tipp City.

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8,000 miles and 48 states in 48 days — on a bike!

University of Cincinnati student Phil Nagle plans an 8,000-mile bike ride touching all 48 states — in 48 days. His original plan was to begin his journey from Tipp City, his home town, on July 6, but he hasn't raised enough money yet.

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By Ken McCall, Staff Writer Updated 10:42 AM Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Talk about a bike ride.

Phil Nagle is planning a doozy.

He’s getting ready to hammer his brand new Felt Z25 carbon fiber bike on an 8,000-mile loop touching every state in the lower 48 in just under seven weeks. To do that, he’s going to have to average close to 170 miles every day.

Put another way, his ride will be the equivalent of more than 3½ Tours de France — in only a little more than twice the time the pros take to race around central Europe. Even if you’re Lance Armstrong, that’s a lot of bike riding.

But the 23-year-old University of Cincinnati student has done his homework, and he’s full of confidence.

“With riding all day, it’s very feasible,” Nagle says. “As long as I’m conservative with my energy and get the proper nutrition. This is obviously something I’ve never even come close to attempting before. But I think have the capacity to do it. I just want to challenge myself.”

And when you look at him, you can see him hanging in there for the long haul. He’s 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, not the typical whippet-like Tour de France winner, but a rider who is strong enough to endure what inevitably will be a lot of misery.

He’s been putting in the hours, doing long rides on the weekends of up to 200 miles and training indoors on a stationary bike during the week. He’s cross-training with swims and runs.

He also knows how to research a subject. Nagle is graduating with honors in June and was named student of the year in his architectural engineering program. He’s going to return next year to complete his second major in construction management.

How much time has he spent planning this project?

“It’s hard to say really, just countless hours,” he says. “At least 150 hours researching bike equipment, mapping, routing, feasibility, nutritional needs. It goes on and on. It just interests me so much that I keep doing it and don’t really think much about it.”

A big part of the planning is in the route.

First, he had to see if anyone had done it. He couldn’t find any evidence, and neither could Guinness World Records. Nagle says if he completes his route — within two weeks of his planned itinerary — Guinness will give him the record.

He’ll start in Tipp City on July 6 and head northeast toward Maine, then south, touring the nation in a clockwise loop. Unlike the Tour, he won’t have the Alps or Pyrenees mountains to negotiate, but he will have the Appalachians and the Rockies.

Nagle says he’s tried to find the path of least resistance, but there’s no getting around some serious climbs. He’s going to have to ride straight over the ridge of the Appalachians in Tennessee, and he’ll have some tough days in the mountains in Nevada and Utah, where he’ll get close to 9,000 feet.

He plans to ride mostly on state routes because he can count on them being reasonably well-paved. He says he’s not really worried about the traffic.

“I usually like to ride on state routes, so I guess I’m used to it,” he says.

One of his favorite rides is from his place in Cincinnati to his parents’ house in Tipp City, riding on Ohio 42 and 48.

“I come right by here a lot,” he says during an interview at the Dayton Daily News offices.

One of the benefits of ultra-marathon bicycling: You get to eat. A lot.

Nagle’s menu includes more than 10,000 calories a day.

“I have a nutrition plan laid out, and it involves about three pounds of meat a day, two pounds of pasta, and tons of fruit and vegetables,” he says. “The breakfast has, like, 14 pancakes, seven sausage links, four eggs, and it just keeps going and going.”

He’s planning to eat turkey sandwiches, and lots of bananas and granola bars while he’s riding.

Unlike the pros, he won’t have the coaches, chefs, doctors, mechanics and “soigneurs” to take care of his every need.

He will, however, have a couple of architectural design classmates, Andrew Odom and Mehrtasch Mostofi, to follow him around in an RV, cook his meals and set up fundraising stations along the route.

Well, he’s still working on the RV. If anyone has one for the team to borrow, he’d like to hear from you. Also, he’s obviously looking for donations to cover his expenses, and to reach his goal of $48,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

He’s got a Web site, www.go48in48.com, where folks can donate and keep track of his progress during the trip. He’s been doing public training sessions where he’s raising money. He also can accept checks through the university’s Construction Students Association.

Dawn Berryman, donor development manager for the Southern Ohio Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, said they are excited about Nagle’s plan, which is unlike any other with which they’ve been associated. The society has 68 chapters around the country, and they’re hoping to enlist everyone Nagle passes to help promote his cause.

“He’s so young to be taking this on, and we’re just very excited for him to get out there,” Berryman says. “Hopefully, he’s going to feel proud of what he accomplishes, whether he reaches his $48,000 fundraising goal or not. We want him to know that the awareness that he’s helping us gain is just as important.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2393 or kmccall@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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