Niagara cyclist completes second Great Lake circuit with Lake Erie ride

Vince Mayne recently crossed another item off his list of tasks to do before he turns 75.

Mayne, a retired CPA and IT Consultant and who resides in St. Catharines, has now ridden his bicycle around two of the five Great Lakes.

“I have three legs to go and I've got four years to go,” he said.

To add to the accomplishment, Mayne circled Lake Erie on some of the hottest days of the year so far, when he departed on June 18, temperatures reaching above 30 C, and feeling like 40 C with the humidex.

He said his ride around Lake Ontario, which he said was around 890 kilometres, was ridden over the course four days with 42 hours in the saddle. The route around Fort Erie, noted Mayne, was a little bit longer at 1,030 kilometres.

Mayne said he was drawn to cycling longer distances – those over 100 kilometres – roughly 10 years ago. He had participated in a two-day Ride to Conquer Cancer event that travelled from Niagara to Hamilton and then back again to Niagara Falls, in memory of his deceased wife.

“It wasn't particularly long, probably about 240 kilometres,” said Mayne, but he explained how he learned a number of lessons about his bike and the required stamina.

“I just decided 'Well I kind of like the long distance cycling,'” he recalled.

Mayne then did a six-day 500-kilometre journey exploring the hills of Tuscany, and also long-distance cycled a 900 km trek along the Danube River which began in Germany and ended in Hungary.

Mayne said he did the 1,030 km ride in 43 hours and 54 minutes in the saddle, stretched over the course of seven days.

Due to the heat, he noted, the shortest day he rode was four hours and 20 minutes. The longest day of riding saw Mayne pedaling for almost 10 hours.

He noted that the heat made it impossible to stay hydrated, leading him to loose about eight pounds over the week.

Mayne said the only way his rides were made possible was due to his support van, driven by his partner, Mary Ann Enns. Followed by the camping van, Mayne was able to carry just a couple of bottle of water while he rode.

It also improved his time by avoiding stops at motels.

“She would drive above 20 or about 30 to 50 km ahead of me and she would stop and then I would cycle up to it, get more water and nutrition and then keep going throughout the course of the day,” he explained. “So it was sort of a leapfrog approach around Lake Erie.”

The ride was ride in part to raise funds for World Bicycle Relief, a US-based charity that delivers buffalo bicycles to students, health care workers and entrepreneurs in lesser developed regions in Africa and South America.

A buffalo bicycle is a bike designed for heavy loads, long distances, and rugged terrain. Mayne said he first observed them while doing work in Tanzania.

He raised a total of $1,119, just shy of his $1,250 goal which would enable World Bicycle Relief to purchase five buffalo bikes.

Next up on his list, said Mayne, is to ride around Lake Michigan. He noted his three remaining lakes – Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan – all are around the same distance of 1,500 kilometres to ride around.

He said he plans to leave earlier in the year to avoid the blistering heat he faced this year, but still joked he was not looking forward to riding through Chicago.

Mayne also guessed that the most difficult of the lakes to circle would be Lake Huron, pointing to the need to take the ferry to Manitoulin Island and the relative lack of trails or more cyclist-friendly roads which may force him onto busier roads.