Bicycling 48 states in 48 days to battle cancer

Facebook Twitter More...

What did you do for your summer vacations in college? Here's a bicycling adventure so amazingly unique that it will likely appear in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Graduating senior Phil Nagle plans to ride his bicycle to 48 states in 48 days this summer and has mapped out a route that does the deed in about 8,000 miles.

The University of Cincinnati senior isn't doing it for publicity, however. He's trying to raise $48,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to pay for research to fight blood cancer, the disease that took his uncle's life at age 16.

The grand bicycle tour loop begins and ends at his home in Tipp City, Ohio. As you can see from the map below, he'll ride his bicycle clean through some states, while others he just tags in passing.

Following Phil

You can join his “48 States in 48 Days” Facebook group page now, or follow his journey at his website, “Go 48 in 48.” He is scheduled to depart on July 6 and return before Aug. 23.

The 23-year-old graduate of UC's architectural engineering program was interviewed recently by the Dayton Daily News:

“This is definitely something I’ve been wanting to do for at least four years. I got the idea back in high school, but I think the timing is perfect.

“I’ve heard stories about his [Uncle Alvin Nagle] athleticism and ambition. He was very tall, kind of like me in a way. Family friends have told me I remind them a lot of him. So I wanted to do an athletic feat to commemorate his life.

“But I wanted to give it some type of big challenge, to push myself to my limits, to see what I’m capable of.”

Nagle won't be alone on the trip. He'll be followed by a small RV driven by friends Andrew O'Dom and Mehrtash Mostofi. He plans to eat, shower and sleep  in the RV; the rest of the time he'll be on the road clocking an average 167 miles per day.

He'll also be followed online by his supporters, who can trace his location by GPS.

Sponsoring and donating

Nagle has made several levels of sponsorships available to those who want to help support his trip. You can get details at the website or Facebook group page.

Also, you can make individual contributions at his personal fund-raising page at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

We wish him a safe journey and success in meeting his fund-raising goals.

Map above from 48 States in 48 Days group page on Facebook; photo at top from Phil Nagle's Leukemia & Lymphoma Society donation page.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/28/bicycling-48-states-in-48-days-to-battle-cancer/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.