Grit, Gravel & Commitment: Cycling with Larry at the Maine Lighthouse Ride

Robert Pease (host)

We’re at the starting area of the 20th Annual Maine LIghthouse Ride in South Portland where 800 riders will cycle various distances from 25 to 100 miles, including portions of the Eastern Trail, the dedicated bike path for recreation and commuting that this event benefits through the Eastern Trail Association.

Robert Pease (host)

A cloudy and cool late summer (or is it early fall?) morning near the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse looking across to House Island. Cyclists slowly gather within a few hundred feet of the starting point, but not crowding up to it. Since this is very much a ride, not a race, with safety, not speed, the top priority.

Robert Pease (host) 

In small waves, a hundred cyclists gradually head out on this 40 mile route, which will visit 8 lighthouses in South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and surrounding towns. But we’re closely following one particular rider: Larry Langmore in his effort to complete this distance today. 

Larry

Oh, well first wrong turn. We’ll get back on it. Whatever. Yeah. Hello? Hey, we got a flat tire. I dunno if you can help out with that. We’re on the, uh, you know, the, the gravel section out to the marsh. It’s okay, it’s there. I mean if I go over bumps and laugh, feel it, but it’s good.

Robert Pease (host)

Wrong turns. Flat tires. Bumpy roads. They can cause problems for any cyclist at any point along a ride like this one. But they pose much more of a challenge for Larry today because he’s only three months out from completing chemotherapy. 

Larry 

Well, I was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. So I’ve had four treatments of, um, chemotherapy. And they, they do in fact get worse. But during that period, I was able to ride, uh, a hundred miles a month during that, that period.I gotta admit, the, the fourth treatment, the last 30 miles I had on June 29th and 30th, were a difficult 30 miles. But I, I did ’em. 15 a day. And then, uh, just last month I rode 255 miles and then we’re into September. 

Robert Pease (host) 

Larry is quick to smile and laugh even during discussion of his cancer. He’s approximately 70 years old, graying hair, thin face and a lean physique, having been active throughout his life, with seasonal attachments to skiing, cycling and kayaking. These activities were often shared with a close friend and college classmate, who died of Prostate Cancer just a few months before Larry’s diagnosis. 

Larry 

And so Dick passed away in June. And actually, two weeks ago we had sort of a memorial service at Higgins Beach where I live with, uh, five of the fraternity brothers came up. And I was honored enough by his ex-wife who flew in from Minnesota to spread his, some of his ashes there in, in the ocean at Higgins Beach. So it’s come full circle. 

Robert Pease (host) 

It was Larry’s friend Dick who had urged him to get tested, just as Larry now does for friends, colleagues and fellow cyclists.  

Larry 

Yeah, um, Dick Shady was my, um, college. Sorry. He was a dear friend, obviously. So he and I were college roommates, fraternity brothers. Uh, he and I, uh, over the years stayed connected. And I remember when I first, uh, started having elevated PSAs, you know, he kept telling me, and he was a lot further along, he said, “Go get a biopsy. Go get a biopsy”. 

Robert Pease (host) 

Larry now dedicates much of his time and energy to raising awareness about the disease. With daughter Katy and friend Dan, they have formed a team to raise money for a nationwide effort to cure Prostate Cancer,

Larry 

The name of the team is “A Wee Ride”, which comes from our time together in New Zealand, where everything’s a huge understatement. So you go on a, “we hike”, well, it’s a 2000 foot hill, right? So she came up with that.  And I also use this event to help leverage a fundraising goal for Prostate Cancer. I found an organization called ZERO Prostate Cancer, and they were incredibly helpful. 

Robert Pease (host) 

Cycling is very much a central part of Larry’s own recovery process. According to the American Cancer Society, Prostate Cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in the U.S., affecting 1 in 8 American men. In a season one episode also on cycling with cancer,  the exercise oncologist Dr. Kathryn Schmitz, she described the importance of an exercise program for cancer patients.

Dr. Schmitz 

And what we can guarantee is that if somebody does zero exercise while they’re going through the entirety of their treatment, during the 3, 6, 9, 12 month period, they will come out in much worse shape. They will have aged functionally…

Robert Pease (host)

All of these elements have come together to motivate Larry to complete this 40-mile distance today on the Maine Lighthouse Ride. But that goal has been complicated by an injury on a training ride just a few days ago. 

Larry

And of course, the, the, uh, journey never ends because yesterday I was out riding, I was just gonna have a small ride and I fell off my bike onto a set of railroad tracks. So my side is a little bit sore right now. The doctor said, “You should be all right. I’ll give you a 20, 30% chance of riding”. So I may not do the full 40 miles.

Robert Pease (host) 

I’m Robert Pease and we’re talking the rewards and challenges of cycling with cancer this episode on My Body Odyssey, the first in a series of three on that theme. This time, our resident audio and cycling guru, Kevin A. Kline, will ride along with Larry, Larry’s daughter Katie and friend Dan, on most of these 40 miles, assuming Larry can complete that distance. Which is an open question this morning. 

Kevin 

Larry, it’s good to see you this morning on the ride. I didn’t expect to see you this early. 

Larry

Well, you know, “early bird” as they say. 

Kevin

And we’re not even at the start. And katie’s here too, so, good to see you as well. 

Robert Pease (host)

Kevin helps Larry mic up for the ride. Just a small pocket-sized recorder with a lapel mic attached to Larry’s collar. 

Kevin

Yeah, just hit the record button. We wanna make sure the counter starts going and you’re all set. All set. And you throw that in a pocket and forget about it. 

Larry

Forget about it.

Katie 

No swearing.

Larry

Well you can, that’s why Kevin’s here. He can edit, right? 

Robert Pease (host) 

Having formulated their swearing strategy, the WeeRide team and Kevin head out after just a brief detour. 

Larry 

Huh? Oh I think down there. 

Kevin

And we’re just trying to figure out where the course goes. Larry’s getting some extra mileage, he kind of missed the turn.

Larry

Oh wrong turn, we’ll get back on it. We go first to last in a nanosecond. That’s the last time I lead. 

Robert Pease (host)

The group settles in on the first 10 mile segment, which includes several miles of the Eastern Trail. This passes through greenspace and also residential neighborhoods in South Portland, a mix of stately, older Victorians and newer construction. At mile 5, the conversation turns to the grandkids, with Larry asking Katy about the start of their school year.

Larry 

So the girls are doing good in school first, first week? 

Katie

Yeah. 

Larry

They both love it? Good. And James really loves it, too. James really loves it. That was a big, that was a test. 

Robert Pease (host) 

At Mile 8, Larry takes stock of the fundraising effort the WeeRide team has undertaken for Zero Prostate Cancer.

Larry

So what are we up to 13,465 was it? So Dan, I’m up to 13 thousand four hundred. 

Dan

Incredible 

Robert Pease (host) 

And at mile 10, the subject turns to how Larry’s feeling with 30 miles to go as they approach the first designated spot where Larry could give in and end the ride early. 

Larry 

I don’t think I’ve ever ridden on this. Oh, this is a nice hill. Going by Highland Farms. Nice downhill section. Coming up soon on my first bailout option, which will be 10 miles. But I think, uh, I’m feeling very good, so I think I will continue and just continue to play it by ear. This is a game day decision.

MIDROLL

Robert Pease (host)

This is My Body Odyssey riding along with Larry Langmore, a prostate cancer survivor on the 40 mile option of the 20th Annual Maine Lighthouse Ride which benefits the Eastern Trail.  And whether it’s adrenaline, Ibuprofen or pure tenacity, or all of the above, Larry decides to keep on going past his first bailout option at 10 miles in. Kevin then catches up with them around mile 15 where the route turns toward the winding shoreline at Nonesuch Cove and Prouts Neck. 

Kevin

Alright. How we doing? 

Larry

We’re doing good. I made a game, game time decision to not bail outta my first bailout stop, so. 

Robert Pease

Larry informs Kevin about a family cheering section that awaits them roughly ten miles ahead, which is another of Larry’s bailout points. 

Larry

Yeah we’re gonna be, we’re gonna go to be at Ferry Beach. So I’m at Higgins, that’s where I live. We’ll have a cheering squad there. 

Robert Pease (host) 

And then it’s back on onto a somewhat bumpier section of the road.

Kevin

So how about the soreness from earlier, from yesterday’s tumble? 

Larry 

It’s okay. I mean, it, it’s there. If I go over bumps or laugh I feel it. But it’s, it’s, it’s good.

Robert Pease (host) 

There’s a narrow section of gravel trail here. But it is alongside stunning natural views that help distract from the vibration and instability of the bike.

Larry

Now we’re going across the Scarborough Marsh, which is beautiful, the largest salt water marsh in Maine. And, uh, a lot of birding people out, passing the, uh, people who’ve already turned around on the trail.. 

Robert Pease (host) 

Just under 20 miles and  the first rest stop comes into view. Here’s another example of the planning and organization that goes into a ride like this one. There’s volunteers along the way, directing cyclists at turning points with police at major intersections. And here at the rest stop, half a dozen volunteers provide snacks, drinks and directions and information about the Eastern Trail Project.  

Kevin

Still looking for Larry and Kate, who unfortunately haven’t rolled in yet. 

Robert Pease (host) 

Kevin gets to the rest stop well ahead of the WeeRide team and becomes concerned that Larry’s had to stop and call a family member to pick him up. Then he sees the WeeRide jerseys come into view.

Kevin

Alright, so I’m seeing 3 riders all with teal blue jersey, which looks a lot like Larry and Kate, so, that’s awesome. 

Kevin

Hey Kate, how are you?

Katie

Great

Kevin

That’s awesome, how’s the team feeling?

Larry 

Good. Had little flat tire.

Kevin 

Oh, no way.

Larry

That’s why we had to wait. We had to call the SAG group and-

Kevin

Oh, did you really? Yeah. Yeah. Oh wow. That’s a bummer.

Larry

Yeah. 

Kevin

But that’s nice. So did they come and just change it out for ’em? 

Larry

Yeah.

Kevin

Oh, that’s awesome. That’s great. So how you feeling? I’m feeling pretty much the halfway point. 

Larry 

I’m feeling good. You know, I think what I might do is I’ll let them, and you too, if you wanna go out to the end of Prouts and back… it shaves off, I dunno, a couple miles. Not much, but just rest a little longer here and then continue on then down into Higgins Beach for the cheering section. 

Robert Pease (host)

Here at the halfway point, we have the first indication that Larry is tiring or feeling that injury from his training fall. That’s probably unclear, even to Larry. But a few miles later, around mile 23, he recommits to continuing the ride. 

Larry  

I was gonna have someone pick me up at Higgins and take me out, but I’m feeling good.

Kevin 

Perfect.

Larry

You know, we’ll just take it slow. So I figured I’ll be slow here and-

Kevin

Yeah, listen to your body and yeah, see how you feel and-

Larry

I mean, if it isn’t 40, it’s whatever.

Kevin

It is what it is. Yep. It’s still a great day. Yeah. Awesome.

Larry

Good. So I will meet you guys out at the end of this road.

Robert Pease (host) 

Back in the saddle and on the road, the team passes through the cheering section at Higgins Beach. Which includes friends, neighbors and, of course, his family. This is also the spot where, just a few months ago, Larry led a memorial service for Dick, his long time friend. 

Larry

We did sea kayaking. We used to kayak the, the islands of off Deer Aisle and other trips. Then we got into biking more recently, when I got back into it in 2019. We did some, some bike rides there, and he didn’t, he had, uh, stage four Prostate Cancer as well. 

Robert Pease (host) 

On the road at Mile 30, the  final rest stop comes into view at Kettle Cove State Park. Pine trees leading down to a black sand beach, a wide ocean vista and cormorants drying their wings on the rocks and piers. Kevin arrives first, but Larry and the team pull up soon after. And several hundred calories into the ride, they all survey the snack table. 

Katie

I’m the only one that’s eating unhealthy chips. Everybody.

Dan

Oh boy. Bananas.

Kevin

I did the same thing.

Katie

Sandwiches. I’m like literally nobody else is eating. 

Kevin

All I ate at the last rest stop was peanut butter cups. Me too. And a bar.

Katie

I like you because I’m riding 40 miles today. I knew I liked you. 

Larry

You deserve it.

Robert Pease (host) 

Calories consumed, it’s time to head back out on the road. But thinking ahead to a steep hill on the horizon, Larry decides to shave off a bit of that elevation.

Kevin

Yeah. So the last leg. 

Larry

I’ll probably cut out ’cause I’m gonna try to, I’m gonna avoid the big hill out by the Lobster Shack. Have you ever been down there? The view is unbelievable.

Kevin

Oh, excellent.

Robert Pease (host) 

But Larry can’t avoid all the hills on this final leg back toward the finish area at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, a school with an ocean view dining hall by the way. And he’s breathing noticeably heavier on these hills than at the start of the ride.

Robert Pease (host)

Mile 35, and the team is reunited for the push toward the finish, which is generally uphill. And talk turns to the art and science of shifting gears, which becomes so much more important as you tire, and even though small rolling hills, you take on additional gravity.

Larry 

One where I’m like, oh, I should probably put it in like the other gear on the button. Yeah. Not worth it. Well that’s, yeah. You have what the, the three in the, the two gears? Yeah. So that’s what I like about this. ‘Cause there’s only one, it’s one by 10. And so I don’t have to worry about shifting the, you know, 1, 2, 3, and which is a pain in the neck.

Robert Pease (host)

Mile 39 plus and Larry can see the finish line archway ahead. It’s 5 hours since he and the team set off on that small detour before the 40 mile ride. Four hours of that were on the bike, averaging 10 miles per hour. And that’s a good long ride for anyone, but at age 70, with bruising  from that fall, and with stage 4 cancer, it’s an ultramarathon.   

Katie

You did it dad.

Dan

You did it.

Katie

You did amazing.

Larry

38 miles. 

Katie

Never thought you were gonna be able to do all 38 or 38 out of the 40. I thought you were gonna be lucky to do maybe 10 or 15.

Larry  

Right. Right. Dan, come on up. Let’s go. Crossing the line. Wee team. Woo. Alright, good job. Good job team Wee. 

Robert Pease (host)

Ride completed. More photos are taken and the bikes are put away. Larry comes over to the My Body Odyssey tent for a final chat after lunch. We asked him how the ride went and how he felt with those 40 miles behind him.   

Larry

It went well and a lot better than I had was anticipating. I mean, I had, uh, because of the injury I had two days ago falling off my bike, I had, uh, bailout contingency plans starting at 10 miles in. And we stopped at the house where I would’ve had people bring me back and I said, “I’m going”. So I made the whole thing. So it felt good.

Robert Pease (host)

And, uh, was that, do you think adrenaline? Or are you just over the injury you had a couple of days ago bouncing around on railroad tracks?

Larry

I was feeling better and the doctor said hopefully I’d feel 80% better after day one. And I did. So, yeah. So I felt pretty good. It’s a little sore, but nothing unusual.

Robert Pease (host)

All in all, the ride today went far better than feared a few days ago, when Larry had that training accident. He made some modifications here and there, but maintained his commitment to the ride as he does to exercise as part of his overall treatment plan. Unfortunately though, not all cancer patients have either the access or commitment to exercise that Larry has displayed today and these past few months. Dr. Kathryn Schmitz feels that poses a central challenge to oncologists, cancer patients and to their families.

Dr. Schmitz 

So, I still think that it is important to do research to understand the physiologic underpinnings by which exercise will have benefits for people living with and beyond cancer. But I think that, we know enough. And we need to make this happen in the lives of patients and caregivers. And so, to me, it is a crucial question, crucial and central question to ask, “How do we make it standard of care? How do we, how do we shift this so that people see this as being as important as their chemotherapy?”

Robert Pease (host) 

And that ends this chapter of Larry’s Odyssey- or so we thought… And then Larry called a few days later to tell us about a visit to the emergency room the morning after the ride, when he woke up with a lot of back pain. 

Larry

So finally a doctor came and he said, “Okay, well, I’m gonna send you for the X-ray. I don’t expect to see anything, and then we’ll do an ultrasound just to make sure the internal organs all look good and I think we should be fine and send you on your way.”

Larry

And then he comes back a little while longer. And, um, he said, “Well, you know, unfortunately, there are two fractured ribs- ribs nine and 10, which are the lower ones”. And he said they’re, you know, they’re flexible, um, but they’re fractured. So, after seven hours, I got released. And he said, really, the only thing you can do is, uh, just rest, take it easy.

Larry

And I kept pushing him, well, what about bike riding? And my wife’s of course over there saying, “Just tell him no, tell him no”, which is the right, the right answer for sure.

Robert Pease (host)

And how about your wife and daughter? 

Larry

Um, I mean, they were obviously surprised that they were broken. Maybe they weren’t so surprised, given my sort of determination to meet a goal and to get things done.. 

Robert Pease (host)

Wow. Well, um, that’s quite an accomplishment then. Not long after chemo and with broken ribs, you know, that is real dedication, uh, to the event and to cycling. So you should be proud of that. But we do agree with your wife that you should probably stay off your bike for a little while. 

Larry

Certainly I will take that advice from you and her and anyone else. But, you know, I was concerned also with the cancer, it makes your bones more brittle. So I take a shot for that, but that didn’t, you know, didn’t seem to me. And so, you know, maybe some of the determination of riding the a hundred miles a month during the chemo, you know, that just kept me going, and kept me physically enabled to do all this.

Robert Pease (host)

Next up on My Body Odyssey,  a bonus episode with another cancer survivor, Rebecca, who is two years out from chemotherapy, nursing a bad knee, yet hoping to complete the 100-mile option of the Maine Lighthouse Ride for the first time in many years.  

Rebecca

Yeah, I started riding, uh, last summer, the summer of 2022. I started up on my bicycle again. I got a late start ’cause I had covid in May. And then I had another health crisis completely- well nothing is separate, right? My body was already compromised from everything else. So this other thing hit me really hard and I ended up in the hospital for five days and wasn’t able to do the route right before the ride. 

Robert Pease (host) 

We hope you’ll stay with us for that bonus episode, share My Body Odyssey with friends and relations, and give us a review on Apple Podcasts. Very Special thanks to Larry, Kate and the WeeRide team for making this episode possible. A major shout out to Kevin A. Kline for very literally riding along with Larry on this episode. And thanks to the Eastern Trail Association and Lana Wescott Events for putting on another great ride this year. My Body Odyssey is a Fluent Knowledge production. Original music by Ryan Adair Rooney.