Spring break by bike

Members of the Maryville College Spring Bike Trip 2010 pose for a photograph before leaving for a ride across last Friday. Members of the group include, front row, left to right, Wendy Guillaume, Emily Guillaume, Ashley Murphy, Joe McBrien, Michae Musick, Catie Cardwell and Gemma Perkins. Back row, left to right, are, John Girdle, Jack Piepenbring, Bruce Guillaume, Mary Steger, Steve Ride, Traci Hayden, Jan Taylor, Tyson Murphy and Dana Davidson.

Photo by Elizabeth Smith Shinn

Mountain Challenge director Bruce Guillaume, wife Wendy and daughter Emily.

Eighteen intrepid souls affiliated with Maryville College headed south for Spring Break last week, but the destination definitely wasn’t Margaritaville.

A collection of students, professors and administrators planned to spend the week cycling across Georgia. The trip is led by adventure cyclist Bruce Guillaume, the school’s Mountain Challenge director, and will consume seven days.

The trip, in its 22nd year, comes with only a basic set of rules, Guillaume said. No alcohol and no drugs and commitment to “relentless forward progress.”

“You just have to keep moving forward,” he said.

There are no exceptions to keeping a clear head, Guillaume said.

“Obviously, alcohol and drugs don’t have a place on a trip like this,” he told the group before last Friday’s departure.

Riders who violate the code, Guilluame said, will be immediately sent home.

“You’re done right there,” he said. “We’ll get you to a bus station and get you home.”

The group is expected to return to campus Saturday morning.