‘I’ve definitely been called crazy many times,’ says Joel Wenham, the Velorution bike shop manager who averaged 220 km of riding every day for 20 straight days
That’s all it took for 30-year-old Sault cyclist Joel Wenham to complete the nearly 4,400 km-long Tour Divide race, which is widely regarded as North America’s toughest test for biking enthusiasts.The Velorution bike shop manager began his adventure of a lifetime in Banff, Alberta on Jun. 9 before crossing the finish line at the U.S.- Mexico border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico in the early hours of June 30.
Out of the 185 cyclists at the Tour Divide, Wenham finished 40th overall, and was one of just nine riders who raced with a single speed bike. “It ranged anywhere from country roads where it was gravel, to single-track trails like what we have at Hiawatha, to mountain passes where it was big boulders you couldn’t ride your bike on, and you’d have to walk your bike for long distances,” he explains.
“One of the things I was blown away by were how good the people around were,” he says. “The people I interacted with, whether it was the racers or people in the towns – they’re just good humans.” Despite some mechanical issues along the way, Wenham crossed the finish line in New Mexico last Friday where he shared a warm embrace with his fiancée Katie, as well as his parents and future in-laws.
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