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Alumnus celebrates 65th year of life with cross-country bicycle trip
To celebrate his 65th year of life, William Gaither crossed the United States on a
recumbent bicycle last summer. The 3,750-mile trip began in San Francisco on June 7 and
ended 52 days later in Portsmouth, N.H.
The 1956 civil engineering alumnus even managed some engineering to assist his trip. He
designed a rear faring that supported yellow strobe light above and behind his head. It
also supported a slow-moving-vehicle sign and accommodated cargo and saddlebags.
High-density foam was used to fashion the pattern. A Bristol, Pa., company then made the
mould and fabricated the faring from fiberglass. It weighed 10 pounds. He expects to make
a lighter version (maybe seven pounds) out of carbon fiber and offer it commercially. He
already has initiated the patent process.
Gaither traveled with a group of 41 people, ranging in age from 17 to 72. The tour was
fully supported and operated by America by Bicycle, a New Hampshire company. The group’s
first challenge was the Sierra Mountains with altitudes reaching 9,000 feet. On the high
desert in Nevada and Utah, the group traveled on interstate highway shoulders, averaging
about 80 miles a day.
Another tough climb was over the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass in Colorado. “It
took me three hours pedaling up a steady nine-mile grade to reach the summit at 11,312
feet,” Gaither recalled. “The long down grade into Salida was my reward. I hit a
top speed of 51.9 miles an hour.
The group also had to contend with 100-degree temperatures in Colorado and Kansas, along
with flat tires throughout the trips. Ever the engineer, Gaither kept statistics and found
that the riders could count on a flat every 400 miles.
Gaither already is planning another bicycle trip. “All this is preparation for riding
from my home in Philadelphia to a Rose reunion,” Gaither said. “I want to be in
shape to ride to my 50th (reunion) in 2006.”
 
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