Bill McCourt, Academy Village Resident
Monday, December 5, 2022,
2:30-3:30 pm,
ASA Koffler Great Room & Zoom
Bill learned to ride as a child and started cycling again as an adult when his sons got involved in the cycling merit badge in the Boy Scouts. He joined the local bicycle club in Bellingham, WA, and found there a group with similar interests. Casual rides with the club turned into competitive rides several times a week and then challenging 100-mile rides around the northwest. That led to bicycle touring around the United States and eventually tours in Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and France.
Bill does like to climb mountains on his bicycle, including Mt Lemmon, Mauna Loa, and Pike’s Peak; and he spent three weeks in France riding the classic climbs in the Tour De France. He has slowed down quite a bit in retirement and emphasizes endurance now that speed is a thing of the past.
His talk will narrate his most recent adventure last spring, a ride cycling fans call the “Southern Tier,” which runs from San Diego, CA, to Saint Augustine, FL. The route was mapped out by Adventure Cycling, a bicycle advocacy group that provides detailed maps and route information in the US. The trip was just over 3,000 miles from start to finish, going through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and north Florida.
Bill’s wife, Judy, went along, providing support as she drove the route and handled the logistics of food and lodging. Bill will “show and tell” about some of the equipment used in bicycle touring, the beauty of traveling by bike, and the challenges he encountered. The McCourts have been active in Academy Village and Arizona Senior Academy community life since moving here in 2011.
Preview by Bill McCourt
You can connect to Zoom either by using the following URL: https://zoom.us/j/95456511620?pwd=OC9GcnJRNmJpMTdXdXFhaUpCUkx4QT09 or by opening a browser to zoom.com/join and typing in Meeting ID: 954 5651 1620 and Passcode: 85747