April 2011 - Spokes Magazine

It was a day that pretty much finished me. He was
very proud because he said ‘I damn near killed Jerry
today.’ But he made it. It was the longest ride he’d
ever done.
“Every day was emotional. These are heroes we were
riding with. It was a very emotional experience, both
for the riders and for the towns’ people and farmers
supporting us along the way. I think we had no one
on the ride other than me who’d ever ridden a century.
And we had a couple of back to back centuries in
Nevada, one of which was a 120 mile day. Most of us
will remember that as one of our most difficult days,
because the last 93 miles were straight into a 40 knot
wind. It was a very rough day.”
Bremer, a self-professed sports fanatic, got involved
a few years ago in World TEAM Sports, a 20 year old
non-profit that hosts athletic events for disabled
citizens. The events include biking, mountain climbing,
white water rafting and a growing number of
other challenges.
Growing up in New England, Bremer was primarily
a downhill skier, which he’s been doing for 65 years.
After graduation from Yale in 1963, then Harvard’s
MBA program in 1966, he moved to Paris to study
political science.
“But I didn’t ride there then. I used the Metro or
walked most places.”
He joined the Foreign Service and was stationed in
Afghanistan. Bremer eventually went to work for
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and then was stationed
in Oslo, Norway in the late 70s. It was there
that he became a passionate cross country skier, having
completed a number of long distance races.
When transferred back to Washington to work under
Reagan’s Chief of Staff Alexander Haig, he got into
marathon running. “You’re lucky if you get one day
a year when you can get on your cross country skis
here,” he explained.
Running became his passion and he completed 20
marathons, including five Bostons. His final marathon
was at the 100th running of the Boston Marathon in
1996. His best time for a marathon, 3 hours, 34 seconds,
was also in Boston.
“Those 34 seconds will go with me to my grave unfortunately.
I know exactly where I lost the 34 seconds...
in the first mile. I couldn’t run at my pace because
the crowd wasn’t moving at my pace.”
After his final marathon, Bremer underwent knee surgery
and he turned to bicycling which he had begun
some years earlier to compete in triathlons.
“I have no cartilage left in either knee; it’s basically
bone on bone. So, I went over to riding and after that
I said to my wife (Francie) I don’t know why I wasted
14 years running. I ruined my knees and bicycling is
much more fun.”
In 1983, President Reagan appointed Bremer
Ambassador to The Netherlands, which all bicyclists
know is bicycle heaven.
“No, I couldn’t ride in The Netherlands because security
wouldn’t let me. I had a 24 hour security detail
and it was hard enough for them to cover me when I
ran, so they were not keen at all on my riding. I rode
a couple of times but basically it was not easy to do.”
In the years since leaving public service, Bremer and
his wife have taken several upscale bike tours including
tours of California’s Napa and Sonoma valleys,
and a variety of bike tours of France. He also enjoyed
riding from a home they own in southeast Vermont.
He owns two carbon fiber Trek road bikes, the one
heroes continued on p.8
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