Kevin Spradlin
CUMBERLAND — Two BMX bike riders’ latest trick is cycling from a Pittsburgh suburb to a Florida town in an effort to raise money for a community skate- park in Dormont, Pa., in honor of some fallen friends who shared their passion for hops, over-doubles and cancan grinders.
Jeff Smee and Bryce Toole are on a two-month hiatus from their jobs as a bartender and landscape architect, respectively, to ride the Great Allegheny Passage, the C&O; Canal Towpath to Georgetown, then ride along the Atlantic Coast to the Sunshine State.
The pair rode into Cumberland on Sunday for a night’s rest at a local hotel. After lunch Monday, Smee, 25, of Pittsburgh and Toole, 23, of Orlando continued their southeastern journey, which began Sept. 15 in Mount Lebanon, Pa., and could end by Halloween nearly 1,000 miles later.
Smee said a long ride on his BMX bike, which has no brakes, is a feat he has considered for some time. But he received the motivation to start planning such a trip last summer, when friend Vince Pitcher and his brother Stephen drowned while camping with family and friends.
“We’re trying to get better parks for the community as well as making a memorial to their sons,” Smee said. “It kind of started out as a joke. I’m an outdoors-type person. I thought, maybe this would be possible. Really, as long as it’s going to take us, we’ll keep trucking.”
So much the better, Smee said, that their ride now benefits a cause to which they have a connection.
The two are posting observations of their adventures, as well as accepting donations and selling commemorative T-shirts through their blog, www.flatland2florida.blogspot.com. One of the early online posts notes a wrong turn before righting themselves in Boston, Pa.
Smee said both riders are largely self-sufficient. They plan to camp wherever possible along the towpath and other distant places and are carrying with them a host of items to see them through any more wrong turns. Their backpacks and trailer include cookware and food such as dehydrated beans, vegetables and rice, sleeping bags, a tent, a global positioning system, books, a solar charger, a knife, bike locks, a hammock and flashlights, among other essentials and extra creature comforts.
Smee recruited Toole, a longtime BMX rider and friend, to join the trip.
“I’ve been wanting to do a wild cycle triple,” Toole said. “I’ve met people all around the world with the same passion. It’s an awesome hobby.”
Toole said he lives rather spontaneously. He recently shaved his head from a record length — but now might regret the act.
“It was just getting in the way of eating food,” Toole said. “It was the longest hair I ever grew. Actually, I’m kind of missing it.”
For more information on Pitcher Park Memorial Skatepark, visit www.pitcherpark.com.
Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.
