Alna resident Jonathan Villeneuve completed his first 180-mile Trek Across Maine on Father’s Day weekend in memory of a co-worker tragically killed in last year’s race.
“It wasn’t as hard as I thought,” Villeneuve said June 18. “I’ll definitely do it again.”
The hardest part of the race was the first day, Villeneuve said. Not only was it the longest leg of the race, but it rained heavily, making it more difficult to ride the 67 miles from Sunday River in Bethel to Farmington.
“We rode 24 miles before the first break,” Villeneuve said.
Villeneuve was part of a team of 225 riders representing Athenahealth. Company employees came out big to honor the memory of their co-worker, David LeClair, who was struck and killed during the race last year.
LeClair, 23, was riding his bike on Route 2 in Hanover when he was struck by a tractor-trailer during last year’s Trek.
“It was a very special ride for the Athenahealth team this year,” Villeneuve said.
Team Athenahealth raised nearly $170,000, making it the top fundraising team, Villeneuve said. Besides the cyclists, nearly 80 volunteers from Athenahealth participated in the event.
“We finished ahead of L.L. Bean,” Villeneuve said. L.L. Bean finished in second place, raising about $86,000.
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the event, which benefits the American Lung Association.
Villeneuve did admit L.L. Bean bikes were better than the one he used for his first Trek. He purchased a 1981 cherry red Trek complete with 531 Reynolds tubing and a Brooks leather saddle bag just four weeks before the race.
“It was a wicked good find at the pawn shop in Damariscotta for $35,” he said. He credited Emile Lugosch, of Bicycle Repairman in Round Pond, for bringing the bike back to life.
Prior to the Trek Across Maine, Villeneuve said his longest bike ride was about 22 miles. He said he did not train for the event, but did run the 50-mile marathon in the Pineland Trail Running Festival on May 26.
“I want to thank my beautiful wife Jenny who enabled me to spend a weekend away doing something insanely fun on Father’s Day,” Villeneuve said.
His daughters Ella, 10, and Nora, 7, would like to ride in the race next year, Villeneuve said. “I guess I’ll be looking for a tandem bike,” he said.
