Jay Zorn’s Fifty50Fifty Challenge

JZ during the 2016 Cross of the North. Photo by Dejan Smaic

Fort Collins ex-patriot, Jay Zorn is taking on the ambitious challenge of riding 50 miles, in 50 states in 50 days in his 50th year. The #FIFTY50FIFTY ride starts in Anchorage, AK tomorrow, September 1st. After those first solo 50 miles, Jay will hop a flight to Seattle where he’ll begin to ride all of the lower 48 states. On October 19th with only one state remaining, he’ll fly to Maui to finish the challenge atop Haleakala, which holds the world record for climbing to the highest elevation in the shortest distance of 35 miles. The plan has Jay driving his 2006 Yukon Denali from state to state, meeting up with friends, new and old, knocking out those 50 miles before heading off to the next dot on the map. He’ll have a steady stream of friends riding with him and joining him for the grand road trip. For instance, Tim Lynch will join him for CO, WY, MT, ND, SD, NE, IA, MN and WI. He’ll stay 28 nights in hotels 20 nights with friends and family and two days camping and will rack up a minimum of 2500 miles of riding along the way. After AK and WA he’ll head to OR, UT, CO, WY, MT, ND, SD, NE, IA, MN, WI, IL, IN, MI, OH, PA, NY, VT, NH, ME, MA, RI, CT, NJ, DE, MD, WV, VA, KY, TN, NC, SC, GA, AL, FL, MS, LA, AR, KS, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ, NV, CA and HI.

Jay will be riding in Fort Collins and Laramie on September 6th and 7th, respectively, before he heads up to Montana.

Jay is a former member of the 1st City Cycling Team and was the course director for Cross of the North from 2011 to 2016. He currently lives in Queensbury NY with his wife and son.