Sports

’09 Grads Bike Across Country

Many high school Seniors spent their summer before college crashing graduate parties or working. Others spent their entire three months sleeping after a rigorous four years at Phillips Academy. But Andover graduates Trevor Gulick-Stutz ’09 and William Thompson-Butler ’09 sought much more adventure. They spent their summer biking across the United States, from the East coast to the West coast. “We were up late one night finishing our term papers, and when we got tired of writing we began discussing all the exotic adventures we would rather be doing than our homework,” said Gulick-Stutz. “Will had a map on his wall, so we began pinpointing all the places in the U.S. we wanted to visit. We decided right then and there that we were going to bike across the U.S.” Despite the spontaneity of the decision, the two Andover Seniors maintained their enthusiasm, confidence and determination to follow through with their goal. When asked how his friends reacted to their plan, Gulick-Stutz laughed a little and explained, “Of our closest friends, no one really believed in us. They told us we wouldn’t make it past the first two weeks. In fact, it wasn’t until we got to Colorado that our friends started believing that we were going to make it.” He continued, “When people told us we weren’t going to make it, we were shocked. Why wouldn’t we make it? We had confidence in ourselves, and knew we would follow through.” Determined to fulfill their goal, the two even joined the Andover cycling team this spring in order to prepare for their trip. On June 14, just three days after graduation, the two boys embarked on their two-month journey from Yorktown, Virginia to Florence, Oregon. They followed a well-known bike route that was originally developed as a course to celebrate the bicentennial of the United States in 1976. Hundreds of people bike this route every year, and Gulick-Stutz and Thompson-Butler met many cyclists along the way, some of whom they traveled with for days at a time. Traveling along such a well-known route made the trip significantly easier and more fun for the two cyclists. People who live along the route are accustomed to seeing cyclists, so they were very friendly and often welcomed travelers in need of accommodations into their homes. Gulick-Stutz and Thompson-Butler stayed at the home of woman who has been housing travelers for over thirty years. Her walls are covered with post-cards, mementos and gifts from travelers who have stayed there. The boys spent a majority of their adventurous nights at campgrounds in a tent they carried with them. They also spent three nights in a motel. Gulick-Stutz and Thompson-Butler stopped at grocery stores and gas stations for most of their food, living off of pop-tarts, cereal and peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. They biked for seven to eight hours a day, and averaged ten to twelve miles an hour. On August 10th, the two boys arrived in Florence, Oregon, about four hours outside Portland, Gulick-Stutz’s hometown. “We were so happy when we arrived in Florence,” said Gulick-Stutz. “My family and friends all came to meet us. We felt so relieved and accomplished to have completed the entire journey.” Thompson-Butler returned on August 22 to the East Coast, where he will attend Harvard this fall. “I gave myself as much time as I could when I bought the ticket before the trip,” said Thompson-Butler. “I wanted to make sure that I finished.” Gulick-Stutz said, “The main challenge was finding the motivation to wake up and get on a bike. The first few weeks we really had to push ourselves, but it eventually became a routine.” He continued, “There was never a time when we felt doubt or regret in our decision. People either quit in the first two weeks or they make it the whole way. Ninety percent of the challenge is mental.” Gulick-Stutz admitted that they did take a wrong turn on their second day, but fortunately the mistake only cost them six miles. When asked about any future cycling endeavors, Gulick-Stutz said, “We have definitely talked about doing another similar trip. We probably won’t do the same route again, but right now we are planning a trip along the Pacific coast trail.”