Torben Engbjerg, 49, held his Trek road bike and smiled. His three boys were around him with bikes just like their father's. All of them have blonde hair and tan skin.

After biking 150 miles from Vernal, they were finally in Provo.

"It's the longest I've ever gone in my whole life in one day," Torben said.

They had come through rain and wind with no special gear, just their red and white biking jerseys, which resemble Denmark's flag.

"We keep going," Torben said.

They were a long way from their home in Copenhagen, Denmark. However, Torben and his sons, Christian, 22; Thomas, 20; and Mikkel, 17, still were not done with their trek that started in New York City on June 21 and will end in San Francisco around July 25, a journey spanning about 3,300 miles over 30 days.

The whole purpose of the trip was to build a great memory that Torben would share with his sons.

"With a job and a church calling it takes a lot of time," Torben said. "This was to try and make up for that."

At the beginning of their trip, people did not believe them when they said they were biking across the United States. When they told one lady in Ohio about their trek, she said, "Holy jumpin' jehosephats." But the further they got, the more people started to believe them.

Torben got the idea for the journey from their family friends who went from Copenhagen to Paris and then from Copenhagen to Rome. The enthusiasm they had sparked the idea for Torben.

They originally planned to do the journey four years ago. However, the family unexpectedly had to move. Then Christian went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Berlin, Germany, so they waited for him to come home.

Torben's wife, Anette, 46, said she is supportive of her boys and husband going on this trek. However, she does worry about them.

"I've been frightened they would be hit by a truck or something," Anette said.

Torben's daughter, Maria, 12, didn't join her brothers and father on the trek.

"I'm jealous because I wanted to be tan," Maria said.



Copyright Brigham Young University 19 Jul 2004