Brockton man rides for the ages and a new record

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On backroads linking Boston, Springfield, Hartford and New York, a cyclist will race to establish the fastest known time between Boston Common and Times Square next week.

Sébastien St. Hubert, a father of three, is riding to “imprint myself into history.” His feat of endurance, also recorded for a documentary, will “prove to myself what was possible,” he said.

A carload of friends will record the ride. Carrying nutrition, water, rain gear, spare parts and first aid kits between checkpoints, they’ll ensure his safety.

“We are bringing a bike shop in a car,” said Ronald Pitton, the group’s bike mechanic.

With a vow, St. Hubert convinced one voyager, Josh. “I told Carla, and once I tell her, I kind of got to do it,” the biker said.

St. Hubert’s entourage includes his brother, Jeffandy, and Jenny, “an amazing photographer,” the Brocktonian impressed.

The route retraces Jeffandy’s trips to New York to play guitar.

At 28, St. Hubert lives in the same home where Haitian parents raised him by a disciplined maxim: “You go to home, you go to school and you go to church,” he recalled. His family taught him “anything is possible.”

Now, he’s “chasing the best version of myself” while showing “that discipline, vision and heart can take you anywhere.”

“I’m not superhuman. I’m just somebody that didn’t give up,” he said.

That competitive spirit impressed Pitton. The two friends met at church. “Seeing how hard he goes, it’s inspiring,” the mechanic observed.

Formerly a musician, St. Hubert started distance running during the pandemic. His cycling journey began at Life Time in Westwood, Massachusetts. He bonded with an instructor, George Georgenes. St. Hubert was “hungry” to improve, Georgenes said, “he was always picking my brain.” St. Hubert said Georgenes “gave me respect for just showing up.”

Riders can display their statistics on a big board, Georgenes said. But “to a certain degree, they’re competing with themselves.”

“A lot of his success is determined by his energy,” the teacher said of his pupil. “He’s a positive force” with “a great attitude.”

From adjusting the seat in class to loaning over cycling shoes, Georgenes offered assistance.

Georgenes “nurtured me within the bike world,” St. Hubert recalled. Soon, he was watching the Tour de France, cycling documentaries and shopping for equipment.

At first, St. Hubert rode a fixie, a simple single-gear bicycle, to explore beyond Brockton. He converted its pedals so cycling shoes could clip in.

“I didn’t have a bike computer, nothing fancy,” he remembered, “just a good playlist and the wind.”

Last year, venturing out until his phone battery died, he traveled about 90 miles. Accidentally, it was his longest ride to date. St. Hubert said, “I was just riding everywhere listening to music.”

Now, he’s preparing for a route of about 215 miles. Aiming to maintain a 23-mile-per-hour pace, St. Hubert hopes to finish in about 10 hours.

On May 25, he will ride a carbon fiber Canyon Endurance bicycle with Pirelli racing tires, Pitton said. The bike is “extremely light.”

St. Hubert has been biking to Worcester and Springfield to climb Massachusetts’ great hills. For work, he bikes to Boston. He trains at home.

The inclines, he said, are “a scary task.” He expects 9,000 feet of total elevation change.

“Once you pass Springfield, getting into the Hartford area, all the way down to almost Bridgeport,” he said, “there’s some serious hills.”

Describing some road conditions as “rougher,” Pitton anticipates swapping tires enroute.

“Riding inside is one thing,” Georgenes explained. “Being outside is a whole different ballgame.” Indoors, “the only resistance is the flywheel,” he said. “Outside, you’ve got rolling resistance on two wheels,” and “wind is a huge factor.”

Georgenes anticipates mental challenges. “Your mind will start speaking to you,” he said, listing off self-doubts. “You have to push through it.”

After a prayer, St. Hubert’s wife Carla, son Slater and daughters will say goodbye in Brockton. He will depart from the Boston Common at midnight.

He’s anticipating deep ruminations “without any distractions for 10 hours, without any noise of the city.” He proclaimed, “I’m a Christian, and I know that nature was made for me to enjoy.”

Live tracking through the Strava app, St. Hubert will update his followers on Instagram. “If you happen to be a late-night owl and you’re up at 3:00 a.m.,” he said, “you’re going to be able to see me moving in real time from Boston to Times Square.”

A sense of history informed his chosen origin and destination. He’s tracing a “connection between the old lifestyle of how things were and almost this new age of Times Square, of all these billboards.”

The landmarks possess an essential permanence. He picked “two places that’s not going to disappear within the city planning.” He dreams of revisiting each with his son twenty years hence.

St. Hubert is working on his playlist. He’s sure to include Ms. Lauryn Hill, SZA and Allen Stone. Plus, the King of Pop. “Michael Jackson: 100%,” he said.

Rhythm and blues, like Boyz II Men or Sophia James, helps him focus on breathing. St. Hubert queues up 135 BPM house music when he’s “hitting that hard hill and I need that driving force.”

Last week, Georgenes and St. Hubert went riding for final preparations. The elder cyclist is “super proud” of the aspirant. “It’s quite an endeavor,” Georgenes said.

“Our bodies can endure much more than you would typically imagine,” Pitton believes, “once you put your mind to something, there’s not much we cannot do.” He advised, “Be about the work.”

If successful, St. Hubert will surely finish first. That mirrors America’s foremost cycling superstar, Major Taylor, a Black man from Worcester.

Outside of athletics, St. Hubert works for Brockton Interfaith Community. “I’m a chief marketing officer and I didn’t go to college,” he said proudly.