by April Scheinoha
Editor
Cecil Elbert returned last week to finish a journey he started nearly 50 years ago. He began the journey where it ended last time – along Highway 59 in Thief River Falls.
Cecil is on his way to Portland, Maine. This time, he is accompanied by his wife, Anna, who is driving a support vehicle. This time, Cecil is wearing protective bicycling gear and taking other precautions that are more common for this era than in the 1970s.
Days before he and Anna embarked on the journey, Cecil came across a long-forgotten letter from the late Father James Bernauer of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. Father Bernauer had sent the letter shortly after the accident that ended Cecil’s first attempt traveling about 4,000 miles from the Pacific to Atlantic oceans. The letter also featured a copy of a 1976 Times article detailing the aftermath.
In 1976, Cecil and his three bicycling companions – all from Rainier, OR – decided their destination would be Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Olympics were set to occur there in summer 1976. For at least a year, the four of them were planning to take the trip. Cecil even took a year off from college to earn the funds needed to go on the trip.
All four would make the trip to Montreal. However, Cecil took a circuitous route that found him sidelined at Northwestern Hospital in Thief River Falls.
On June 2, the group arrived in Thief River Falls, staying at St. Bernard’s overnight. The following morning, they took off again. Fellow bicyclist Mike Gorthy was about a mile ahead of Cecil on Highway 59. Cecil’s younger brother Mark was about 20 feet ahead of him, according to a Times article at the time. Bringing up the rear was Phillip Cramer.
In front of the Country Kitchen restaurant (now El Loro), Cecil’s bicycle was struck by a Farmers Co-op Grain and Seed truck. Mark told late Times Editor Marv Lundin that he heard his brother leaving the highway, traveling onto the shoulder and then returning to the highway. Mark said he thought he heard a bump and then felt Cecil land at his back wheel. Cecil’s bicycle, undamaged, came to rest in a ditch about 40 feet away from him.
Two law enforcement officers were eating breakfast inside the Country Kitchen at the time. They immediately called for an ambulance.
Cecil doesn’t remember the accident. He remembered waking up at Northwestern Hospital about four hours later. The 1976 Times article indicated that he had suffered a fractured left shoulder and ankle, fractured ribs on his left side, and lacerations and contusions.
Cecil spent the next 16 days in the hospital. Caring for him were two ICU nurses, Margo Peterson and Anne Douville, and the late Dr. Jerome Bray. Margo and Anne would remain in Cecil’s life long after he returned home.
The other three bicyclists remained in Thief River Falls for about three days, staying with the family of the late Richard and Gail Bergland. Gail heard their story and invited them to stay at her house. Cecil recalled hearing that his companions played basketball with the Bergland boys.
Cecil said the others were nervous about continuing the trip, but they eventually decided to continue bicycling toward their destination.
Meanwhile, Cecil continued to convalesce in Thief River Falls. Once he was well enough, he often played cards with Margo and Anne to pass the time.
Before Cecil left, nurses purchased clothing for him since Mark had taken the clothing with him. “I had absolutely nothing,” said Cecil, who also had no money.
Cecil boarded his flight to the West Coast wearing hospital slippers and the new clothes. Once he disembarked from the plane, he was admitted into a hospital in Longview, WA. The second hospital stay was planned in advance as noted in the 1976 Times article. Cecil remained there for three days before finally returning home to Rainier, OR.
Cecil, who is now retired and living in Dayton, OR, figured now would be an appropriate time to finish the trip. After all, it had been 50 years. The year of 1976 was the bicentennial of the United States. This year marks semiquincentennial or 250th anniversary.
Beforehand, he and Anna traveled to Australia and New Zealand. While on the trip, they spoke with another American traveling with the group. She asked where they planned to travel next. They said Thief River Falls. Ironically, the woman was Dr. Bray’s daughter Laura.
Cecil soon began making preparations for another trip – the trip from Thief River Falls, to Portland, ME. He got his bicycle ready – the same bicycle he rode in 1976. Of course, he changed some gears because, as he put it, he’s not 20 anymore. Cecil also trained, riding 270 miles.
Then, on Tuesday, April 28, he and Anna arrived in Thief River Falls, where they spent time with Margo, his former nurse, and her husband, Gordy. Cecil hadn’t seen Margo in 50 years, but they’ve kept in contact since their first meeting.
On Friday, May 1, Cecil left from the same spot where his trip ended 50 years ago. He plans to average 57 miles a day. If all goes according to plan, he and Anna expect to be in Portland, ME, on May 29.