Inside Maine’s epic bike ride, Trek Across Maine

 Two cyclists approach the finish line of the 42nd Trek Across Maine on June 21. (Salomé Cloteaux / Staff Writer) Three Ironman 70.3s weren’t the hardest thing Gwen Simons has ever done.  It was Trek Across Maine.  At 7 a.m. Sunday morning, after biking 120 miles over the past two days and with 60 miles left to go, Simons thought about the reason she was putting herself through this: her sister, Jackie.  She and her husband, Ken, fundraised $1,200 to participate in the three-day bike ride raising money for the American Lung Association.  As a breast cancer survivor, Simons has participated in Maine Cancer Foundation’s Tri for a Cure — Maine’s largest fundraising triathlon — eight years in a row, but this year, she felt it was more important to do Trek Across Maine. In February, her sister, 53, passed away from lung cancer. Today, Simons was riding for her.  Advertisement “When it feels too hard, just think of Jackie,” Simons said as she began pedalling.  THE TREK Wheels whirred rhythmically as cyclists coasted. Bike radars beeped, alerting riders to approaching cars. Every few miles, smartwatches buzzed. The clicking of shifting gears signaled the beginning of the ascent up a big hill.  The first day of the 42nd Trek Across Maine began at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, snaked through Freeport and Brunswick, and finished at Bates College in Lewiston. The second day took cyclists up to Oxford before heading back down to Sebago Lake where they rested at St. Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish. Finally, trekkers headed to the coast in Falmouth and Yarmouth and then back up to Pineland Farms.  As cyclists rode up the grueling hills each day, their fight for every breath served as a reminder of what they were riding for: clean air. The event raised over $700,000 this year, helping fund research to defeat lung cancer and lung disease and clean air advocacy.  More than 600 people of all abilities and ages participated — from children riding for the first time to seniors who’ve participated in the event for so many years they’ve lost count.  There were gravel bikes, e-bikes, mountain bikes and road bikes ranging in value from $100 to thousands of dollars. A few couples and parent-child duos biked together on tandem bikes, and there was even a three-person bike — six legs pedalling in hypnotic unison.  Advertisement Many trekkers came as part of a team, wearing matching jerseys. But even cyclists who rode by themselves were never alone. The blinking red lights on the back of the bikes ahead guided the way, and it was impossible to bike more than a few minutes without hearing, “on your left!” as a cyclist passed.  Trekkers looked out for each other, warning if a car approached or calling out to cyclists stopped on the side of the road to see if they needed help. Strangers offered to pump up others’ tires or fix a slipped bike chain.  As they passed each other, cyclists complimented each other on their jerseys or riding, gave a word of encouragement, or cracked a joke.  “You got this, brother,” a man said as he passed a trekker on a particularly arduous hill.  Along the route, families supported the trekkers from their yards with music, signs and yells of encouragement. Holding his father’s finger with one hand and ringing a bell in the air with the other, a little boy cheered on the cyclists on Friday. On Sunday, a pair of cyclists stopped at a house to hug loved ones waiting in the driveway.  Advertisement The rest stops approximately every 15 miles split the long rides into manageable chunks.  There, trekkers reunited and chatted with their teams or people they met during the ride. By day three, even trekkers who came to the event knowing no one had made plenty of new friends.  Next to the collection of bikes laid in the grass, a rainbow sea of jerseys milled around, stretching, refilling water bottles and eating.  [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/unnamed-3.jpg) Cyclists lay down their bikes at a rest stop on June 19 during the 42nd Trek Across Maine. (Salomé Cloteaux / Staff Writer) “How’s your butt feeling, Kyle?” a trekker asked, waiting in the line to use the bathroom on Sunday. “Better than yesterday,” was the response.  “My helmet is fused into my head at this point,” another cyclist said.  Advertisement “Fueled and ready to go,” a woman said with more enthusiasm than most as she headed back to her bike for the last leg of the event.  On Friday morning, the members of the Black Bears Riding for Rollin team gathered to take a photo in front of the L.L.Bean Bootmobile at a rest stop in a parking lot in Freeport.  The six team members have been friends for 53 years. They met at the University of Maine, and although they don’t all live in Maine, they still meet up once a year for the Trek Across Maine. One team member, Bob Johnson, drove all the way from Florida for the event.  “We went to school in the ’70s, and now we’re all in our 70s,” Johnson said.  They’re riding to honor team captain Bruce Leavitt’s dad, John Rollin Leavitt, who died from emphysema.  For Tim Farnham, Trek Across Maine has been a family tradition for 16 years. The first two years, he participated with his wife, and now she volunteers at the L.L.Bean rest stop. His two children — now adults — have been volunteering for 14 years. They’re part of the 250 volunteers who make the event possible each year.  Advertisement “It’s been a great family adventure,” Farnham said.  He’s biked almost 3,000 miles as part of Trek Across Maine. One of the most memorable moments, he said, was the year he ran over a chipmunk, whose body then got entangled in the brakes. Farnham had to cut it free with a knife.  This year, Farnham rode with his 10 year sobriety chip in his pocket.  The first thing he planned to do after crossing the finish line?  “A burger and a nap.” THE FINISH LINE With sore legs and sunburnt arms, 180 miles later, the trekkers arrived back to Pineland Farms where the journey had begun 3 days earlier.  Advertisement It wasn’t a race, there was no winner. Each cyclist was applauded as loudly as the next, met at the finish line by little kids blowing bubbles and loud cheers from friends and strangers alike.  Three children ran to their mother as she crossed the finish line. A daughter held up a Father’s Day sign and a bouquet of flowers when she spotted her dad.  Trekkers smiled, pumped their firsts in the air, and danced as they arrived.  Around noon, Gwen Simons reached the finish line with tears in her eyes. She had only one thought in her mind: her sister Jackie. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [bikes](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/bikes/), [biking](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/biking/), [Trek Across Maine](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/trek-across-maine/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/salome-clotreaux) [Salomé CloteauxStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/salome-clotreaux) Salomé Cloteaux is a community reporter covering Scarborough and Westbrook. She was born in France but lived in Indiana for most of her life before moving to Portland in November 2025. Salomé has a degree. [More by Salomé Cloteaux](https://www.pressherald.com/author/salome-clotreaux)