Hill cyclist who crossed the U.S. looks for more challenges

Posted 8/16/17

Hill cyclist Mark Croker reaches the Continental Divide during his cross-country ride. by Brendan Sample To most people, just the prospect of traveling across the country on a bicycle would likely be …

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Hill cyclist who crossed the U.S. looks for more challenges

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Hill cyclist Mark Croker reaches the Continental Divide during his cross-country ride.

by Brendan Sample

To most people, just the prospect of traveling across the country on a bicycle would likely be too much to handle. The endurance needed to accomplish such a feat is simply something that not many possess. For one Chestnut Hill resident, however, such an event was not only doable, but served as the culmination (for now) of years as a biker.

Having moved with his family to Chestnut Hill from London in 2014, Mark Croker has been an avid biker for the past six years, reigniting a childhood interest. When his wife’s business received an investment from Philadelphia, the move would ultimately put him on a path toward competing in a race that stretches more than 4,200 miles.

Established in 2014, the Trans Am Bike Race follows the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail established in 1976. The event features self-supported racers and was the focus of the 2015 documentary movie, “Inspired to Ride.” Considering that this race would be the longest one he had ever attempted, Croker’s training had to be rigorous enough to ensure that he would be prepared.

“It was essentially a matter of putting in the hours, about 20-25 per week,” Croker said. “I’m a stay-at-home father, so one of my motivators was taking advantage of the time I had, as I’ll be getting back into the workforce sometime soon enough. There were a lot of long, lonely hours just riding my bike.”

In addition to putting in the necessary hours himself, Croker also received plenty of help from the Wissahickon Cyclery bike shop on Germantown Avenue. He became a regular customer when he first decided late last summer to do the race, and since then he has credited the shop with helping him choose the right bike, picking out bags to carry the materials he needed while riding, and repairing his bike, as it would break down on a regular basis from constant use.

“We decided on a strong, upright and comfortable bike as opposed to a purely fast one,” Croker explained. “I’m always about getting to know the local bike shop, as I can develop quite a strong relationship with the shop – there are a bunch of great guys there.”

Croker finished the race in 37th place out of 131 riders that started and 61 that finished, with a time of 27 days, 13 hours and 44 minutes. Though the race could be equated to a cross-country road trip, the contestants ultimately did not have much time to stop and take in the sights from Virginia to Oregon. Even with a single goal in mind, however, Croker still had a number of opportunities to experience some memorable locations.

“Some of the memories that jump out at me include getting to see Yellowstone Park, the Rocky Mountains, a giant open plain in Kansas and the Appalachians, which completely blew me away,” Croker said. “The people I ran into were also incredibly affluent and very much interested in what I was doing.”

Though it might be easy to see an accomplishment of this magnitude as being almost impossible to top, Croker plans to keep pushing himself further in his biking. Calling the event more life-affirming than life-changing, he acknowledged that completing this race has certainly changed some of his attitudes on what is actually possible to achieve.

“A can of worms has been opened, absolutely,” Croker affirmed. “There’s a transcontinental race that I’m looking into - western Europe to eastern Europe – a race around the Australian coast and a ride around the world that would take around 120 days. I’m definitely interested in the next challenge.”

While deciding on what that next big race will be, Croker is also beginning to write a book about his experience during the Trans Am. Combining daily reports with an in-depth analysis about how the race affected his life, the book is still in its earliest stages, but it appears to have plenty of potential.

“I always felt that there was a book in me,” Croker said. “I’ve got plenty of material in my head, and so I just need to get it out in book format.”

Despite the fact that biking has certainly made his life quite mobile, Croker and his family still manage to take things slow in Chestnut Hill, which was one of their main reasons for picking the neighborhood in the first place.

“We wanted something similar to what we had in London,” Croker explained. “Chestnut Hill was the only place we saw in Philly that was very walkable. A lot of good restaurants and shops are within walking distance, and it’s a nice looking place as well.”

For more information about Mark Croker and updates on his future biking endeavors, visit www.mamilcyclist.com.

Brendan Sample can be reached at brendan@chestnuthilllocal.com

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