Harry ter Mors, Frank Benedetto, Jussi Kauppinen, and Thane Berg are cycling along the Southern Tier trail from San Diego to Jacksonville and made a stop in Milton. According to the cyclists, none of these riders knew each other when they started. Beginning the journey in early March, ter Mors and Benedetto each had a partner at the start but bailed in Three Way, Arizona. When they reach Jacksonville, Benedetto will be home, ter Mors will fly home to Washington, Kauppinen will go on to Miami and fly home to Finland, but Berg plans on biking north into Canada. Berg said he tries not to listen to the others talk about being close to the end of their 3,069 mile trip. Benedetto said, "It's been a humbling experience." He said if he knew what it would have been like he may not have started at all. According to Benedetto, he's doing this to mark his 70th birthday. Kauppinen said when he gets tired it's even harder to speak English. He said he had a friend who made the same trip so he decided to do so. He was happy to say his opinion of America and its citizens has improved on this trek. "It was nice to see a real American family," he said. The group was grateful for remarkably cool weather along the way, although some temperatures in the south dipped into the 30s. Harry ter Mors described his reason for making the trip like a Mount Everest climber. "I did it because it's there. I needed the challenge," he said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: A humbling ride across America