By Terry Karkos,Staff Writer

NEWRY – A blue-sky day swathed in a fleeting patchwork quilt of cumulus strands greeted Sunday-River-to-the-Sea cyclists Friday on their first leg of the Lung Association of Maine’s three-day bicycling fundraiser.

Starting earlier than scheduled from the Newry ski resort, they wanted to beat the anticipated afternoon heat.

Between 6 and 9:30 a.m., an estimated 1,600 to 1,800 bicyclists streamed out of the Sunday River Ski Resort, flowing in a river of color down Route 2 toward Rumford, and the first of three respites between Newry and day’s end at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Rest stop No. 1 at the PACE Local 900 union lot on Route 108, a small army of volunteers hurriedly offloaded bags and bags of cubed ice from a large rental truck. Others carried boxes of hundreds of bananas, fruit, granola bars, snacks and cases of bottled water, soda and sports drinks to tables under a large canopy inside a fenced-in enclosure.

Ten minutes later, more volunteers arrived, lugging boxes and bags of Hawaiian-themed decorations: tiki torches, flamboyant felt parrots, shimmering metallic palm trees, gaudy floral displays, Aloha banners, hula-dancer dolls, and straw skirts.

Amidst the organized chaos and “What do you need?” staccato of questions competing to be heard over nearby heavy equipment operators moving culvert segments, volunteers filled small plastic cups with trail mix.

On tables, bags of chips, Chex Mix, granola bars, peanuts, cheese-and-cracker packages joined small cups of carrots, red grapes and cartons of large strawberries.

Oranges and apples were quickly quartered and arranged in easy-to-grab layers. Bananas were separated from stems, some sliced in half.

“No, not the peaches, they turn brown when you cut them,” one seasoned volunteer said to a newbie.

Biting mosquitoes, stirred by the frenzied activity, were ignored, although increasing aromas of aerosol and lathered-on bug repellent fought fruity smells for nasal attention.

“This is a great operation!” volunteer Greg Fraser of Newry said, hair matted with sweat.

“Our son is riding in this thing. It’s his fifth time,” eight-year volunteer and three-year trek-rider Rodney Kuhl of Rumford said of his 18-year-old, Jonathan Kuhl.

“This is basically my Father’s Day present – to do the trek, one way or another, either as a volunteer or riding it,” he added.

Friday was Fraser’s eighth year as a volunteer, too.

At 7:20 a.m., the first two women riders arrived, immediately seeking a sports drink.

Greg Fraser started water boiling for tea and hot chocolate.

Pete Theriault gathered volunteers at 7:30 a.m., telling them, “Whatever the trekkers want, let’s find a way to get it to them.”

Scores of Trek Across Maine volunteers do everything that needs doing. This includes, checking in riders, setting up and breaking down at facilities and rest stops, serving meals, pouring water, making sandwiches, picking up trash, fixing bicycles, picking up exhausted riders, wrapping sore knees, cheering on riders, giving directions, hanging signs, marking the route, and more.

They also get up very early and go to sleep very late. Today will find the Rumford group tending day two’s respite in Norridgewock; Sunday, they will be at a rest stop in Somerville on Route 105, just east of Windsor.

At 7:35 a.m., a third bicyclist, Bob Nault, 63, of Lincolnville, arrived.

“It was a piece of cake,” he said of the first 24 miles of the 65-mile day.

Under the canopy, beside a crate of peaches, Don Ho croons from a stereo.

Wheelchair-bound Merle Phelps, 76, of Rumford, a four-year volunteer now stricken with cancer, filled cups with trail mix.

“Thank you for riding,” he said to riders, an expanding smile stretching his leathered face.

Fifteen-year veteran Roger Emmons of Belgrade said Friday’s weather was only the second or third time that it hadn’t rained on the trek in 15 years. He rode for 10 years, then became a volunteer when health problems curtailed his physical activity.

“Last year, we were trying to cook water, and the rain was cascading from the tent straight down our backs,” Fraser recalled. “It was horrible. But, even when it was miserable, the camaraderie was just A-plus, and, we were heroes, because we had hot water and coffee,” he said.