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It was a beautiful, crisp morning last Saturday when a sold out crowd of 200 amateur and professional bicyclists waited patiently behind the starting line at West Middle School to participate in the Elk River Valley 100. Each had agreed to cycle either a timed 31, 62, 80 or 100 miles in support of Pedal for Alzheimer’s.

The annual event was hosted by the Highland Rim Bicycle Club, which has hosted the grueling event the past 52 years. The ERV 100 is the longest running cycling event in the Southeast US.

Participants came from twelve states and Germany. The youngest cyclist was 16 and the oldest 82.

Seventy-seven cyclists tackled the 100 mile route. They rode up Monteagle Mountain to Sewanee, down to Sherwood and back up Monteagle Mountain to finish at West Middle School.

The winner of the 100 mile route was Michaelee Bowes of Nashville Local Cycling who finished in 4:54:17 hours.

A member of the Highland Rim Bicycle Club and Tullahoma resident, Matthew Neuharth, participated in the 100 mile course. According to Neuharth, “it was fun but challenging in a few places. Riding through Sewanee was nice and riding through areas I was not familiar with and enjoying the scenery was nice. I appreciated the great volunteers who manned the seven rest stops.”

Although Neuharth had ridden 100 miles on his bike before, this was the first time in a timed event. “I expected to be relatively sore for three or four days but I felt pretty good Sunday and Monday, ” he said.

Neuharth made it to the finish line in just under seven hours.

Pedal for Alzheimer’s is a nonprofit committed to organizing cycling events to raise money, create awareness and provide education toward finding a cure for Alzheimer’s.