Monadnock Moment No. 144

Era 7: Emergence of Modern American - 1890 to 1930

Keene's Record Holder

At 11:00 o'clock on Saturday evening August 24, 1929, Ellsworth F. Bent of Keene began his quest for a national record. At that hour the eleven-year-old Bent climbed onto his bicycle and began pedaling in his attempt to become the solo endurance bicycle rider champion.

During the first few hours Bent's father accompanied him as he traveled up and down Keene's Main Street. A group of young peddlers joined him during the day on Sunday. All day Sunday young Bent pedaled as family and friends brought him food to keep up his strength.

At 1:30 on Monday morning, Bent passed the previous Keene endurance record of 26½ hours. Soon thereafter he transferred his travels to Court Street because the cement roadway made pedaling easier. Bent continued on as the sun rose on Monday. Finally, at 11:00 a.m. he surpassed the national record of 36 hours set by another youngster in Nashua the previous week. Young Bent continued on for another hour and at noon on Monday returned to the center of town and stopped at the Keene Sentinel office. A crowd of local citizens welcomed the exhausted eleven-year-old. Photographs were taken and Bent's family took him home to bed.

Ellsworth Bent of Keene had become the new national solo endurance bicycle rider champion by keeping his bicycle moving for 37 hours straight. The young record holder remained an asset to the region, when he later moved to West Swanzey and become the local soil conservation officer for the United States Department of Agriculture.