Insights from someone who never really hopped on a bike before
Philly to Atlantic City | Level: Challenging fun
Let me start by saying I am not a cyclist. I found myself in this position by having very athletic friends that like to take on various challenges and new things.
Prior to 2023, I really hadn’t ridden a bike before. I bought a hybrid mountain-road bike in the pandemic thinking I’d get into it. I rode it one time for an 8-mile loop. And that’s only because I got lost and couldn’t find my way back or else it would’ve been a 3-mile loop.
My friends had done the Ben to the Shore Bike Tour (the Tour) last year, in 2022. I didn’t sign up but went down with another friend to the finish line to greet them when they were done. The atmosphere was like nothing I had experienced before. After the half marathons I’ve done, most people look defeated when they cross the finish line—even if they’re happy, all of the stress they put on their body shows (or at least it does for me). The riders crossing this finish line had fun team uniforms, were playing music, waving and cheering. You could really feel the excitement they had for being there and the sense of accomplishment a 65-mile road race brings.
I wanted to tap into that energy and try something new. Biking had always caught my eye – the freedom you feel when on a bike, the distance you can cover in a short amount of time and of course, getting to finally scope out one of those beautiful bikes I always see in Instagram posts.
About the Ben to the Shore Bike Tour
The Ben To The Shore Bike Tour is a charity event to raise funds for Families Behind A Badge Children’s Foundation, a group dedicated to financially helping the families of fallen or critically injured first responders. The route covers 65 miles from Philadelphia, PA to Atlantic City, NJ. This year there were over 2,000 riders, including one guy who did half the ride on a unicycle.
Training
When my friends sent out a group text letting us know they were signing up for this year’s race-I got amped. I wanted to sign up but held off because I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them. But a month or so later, my other friend said she’d do it with me, so we signed up together.
The Wheelie Good team was officially made of 4 amateur riders ready to Tour the Shore.
I have to be completely honest, training for us wasn’t that intense. It should’ve been, but it was hard to find time to get a long ride in. We first got our hands on bikes that weren’t rusted hand-me downs.
Individually, we would ride short distances between 2-17 mile stretches about once a week, starting at the end of May. But when we could meet up with someone else, we’d do a longer route.
The first was 21 miles along the Delaware Canal Towpath. We went from Washington’s Crossing up towards New Hope and back.
The second was 26 miles along Cape May’s Cold Spring Bike Path and Middle Township Bike Path. We started near my friends place in Cape May, NJ and biked on the trail to a Starbucks and back.
The third was 38 miles along the Schuylkill River Trail. We went from Conshohocken to Phoenixville and back.
That was all. We only did three longer routes before the big day.
As for other ways we prepared—I didn’t really do too much else aside from the shorter rides (about 1-2x a week), taking long walks (about 3-6 miles 3x a week) and trying to eat healthy. My friends did some cross training with running and lifting. I should’ve tapped into strengthen training as well.
Safety check & bib pick-up
When I bought my bike, it came with a free 30-day tune up. About 2 weeks before the race, I brought it to Fairmount Bikes and an hour later it was back in my hands. I could’ve printed out a form for them to sign-off on for the mandatory Safety Check but I knew I wanted another look at it closer to race day. I rode it another 20ish miles before bringing it to an authorized Safety Check dealer.
3 days before the Tour, I brought it to Bike Works in Doylestown. Within 10 minutes, they did what they had to do, slapped an orange band around the handlebar stem and it was ready for race day.
You could pick up your bib packet starting on the Thursday evening before the race.
My friend picked all four of ours up on Saturday with no hiccups. In the packet were:
- Instructions
- 2 bibs: one for your shirt and one with live tracking
- 2 bracelets: one for the after party worn on your wrist and one with an emergency number that went on the bike
- Your shirt
If you had a safety check done by a retailer not authorized by the Tour group, you needed to bring the form they filled out. Then, you got a 3rd bracelet that went on your bike.
Night before and morning of
The night before the Tour I prepped my bike and everything I was bringing with me. I had 2 water bottles/cages on my bike along with a hydration bladder pack. I stuffed 3 energy packets, $40 in cash, my ID and sun screen lip balm into the pockets.
Then I met up with my two teammates for a nice Italian meal. I had bacon brussel sprouts and chicken francese over linguini pasta with a water bottle filled with Liquid IV. When I got back to my apartment, I had to wait for my other teammate to come over before heading to bed. We didn’t fall asleep until midnight but thankfully, got a good night’s rest.
Day of the Ben to the Shore Bike Tour
We woke up at 5am to get the day started. I had a banana, water and a stinger waffle. My friend had a banana and a bagel with peanut butter. We took Ibuprofen and applied body glide to wherever we could. Once we were ready to go, we headed towards City Hall and then made our way to the starting area at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Man oh man, was it packed. We were nestled on Race Street where we stretched, took some pics, chatted with fellow riders and filed into the starting gates.
Fun fact: Race Street was originally named Sassafras Street but was renamed in the 1800s because it was regularly used for horse racing—how fitting for the day.
It’s go time
My two teammates peeled off and went ahead while my other teammate and I stayed together. The first stretch takes you across the Ben Franklin Bridge, then into some hills throughout Camden and Haddonfield areas before bringing you through the Pine Barrons and dumping you in Atlantic City. It was about 75 degrees when the Tour began at 7am. The temp was expected to climb to a cool 88 degrees as the day went on.
The Tour had 4 rest stops, all complete with water, Gatorade, fruits and granola bars. They had halved bananas and little cups of blueberries, which was an unexpected treat.
We stopped at rest stop 1 to quickly adjust ourselves and check-in with each other. We got back on the road and as we approached rest stop 2, I knew it was time to stop. There were some hills along the way that were bigger than we anticipated. As we pressed on, we passed rest stop 3, hoping to gain some ground until rest stop 4. During these 9 miles, I realized how much I’m going to really have to push myself. My body was shaking, left leg was burning from lactic acid build up, right leg felt off (a sprained ankle and recovery ACL will do that) and I wanted to puke. I had to stop myself from thinking too into it and the only thing keeping me going was knowing I had rest stop 4.
At stop 4, I binged on ice, gatorade, blueberries and the tastiest Smucker’s peanut butter and jelly Uncrustable I’ve ever had in my entire life. After a 5ish-minute rest in the shade with ample nutrients back in the system, we started into the coastal headwinds eager to complete the ride.
That rest stop was the pick-me-up I so desperately needed. You could feel spirits being lifted knowing we were about 10 miles to the finish line. Groups of cyclists would be cheering each other on as we waited at traffic lights.
You could see Atlantic City appear over the bay and I think everyone that I was with got a second wind in their system. With 5-miles left and stand-still traffic to our left, I told my friend I had to play music to get that extra bump of motivation going to peddle faster.
As the road straightened into the arch over the finish line, we began passing people. Shortly after 12pm, we crossed over and completed the 65-mile journey from Philly to AC. Our elapsed time of 5:14 and moving time of 4:39 was better than I thought I’d do. My original goal was to complete the ride by 1pm, 12:30pm if I got lucky. My teammate and friend totally could’ve completed it ahead of me, but I’m thankful she stayed by my side. I can’t say for certain that I wouldn’t have been able to do as well as I did if it weren’t for her company, but I can say that her presence helped me continue onward.
The after-party was at The Showboat parking lot. They had some of Wawa’s best packaged food items like wraps and pretzels, Termini Bros cannoli’s, water, iced tea, cold beer, merch and music. For anyone that wasn’t a rider, it was $20 to get in. They also had a trailer with pictures of fallen police officers and first responders to remind everyone why they were riding.
Take away
I viewed this race as an opportunity to challenge myself, doing something I never thought I would actually get into—cycling. Even though I’ve completed other races, this was the first time I felt a real sense of accomplishment. I cried at rest stop 4 (into my uncrustable) because I knew I was going to complete this ride, pushing through saddle soreness and the aches and pains of my body.
In total, we raised $1,360 for the Families Behind the Badge. I already plan to sign up again, with more training next round. I believe registration will open in February 2024.
If you’re interested in signing up, but aren’t sure if you’d be able to do it. Please know that you can do it. People of all ages, fitness and preparedness levels were out there along side you. At the end of the day, it’s all for a great cause. Enjoy yourself, listen to your body (there are emergency vehicles and guides along the route if needed) and don’t stress. You’ll have a wheelie good time.
Eastbound & Out 