Jim Hemig, USA

When I was 11 years old, I fell in love with Porsche cars. Delivering the morning newspaper on my Schwinn ten-speed bike brought me face-to-bumper with a white 911T each morning, and from there I was hooked. I spent my teenage years attending sportscar races and dreaming of the day I would buy my own Porsche.

Many years later, I have a garage full of Porsche automobiles and a plethora of Porsche paraphernalia, including everything from posters, flags, hats, shirts, sunglasses, scale models, wristwatches and much more; all the normal stuff any average Porsche Club member has collected.

However, some of my more prized Porsche possessions are my three Porsche bicycles. Yes, three. One is a 100% original 1996 Bike S. The other is a heavily modified 1998 Bike S I use for road and mountain riding. And the latest is a touring-style 2004 Porsche Bike X that I turned into a road bike. I have ridden these three bikes over 7,000 miles, with many years of enjoyment and adventure.

In 2016, I rode many training miles in preparation for a 53-mile ride in the California Sierra foothills, a 72-mile ride around Lake Tahoe and the “grand finale” ride of 100 miles at the Sacramento Century event. I believe the 100-mile ride is a world record on a Porsche Bike S.

Then in July 2017, I completed the 2017 Death Ride with the rebuilt and ultra-rare 2004 Porsche Bike X. The Death Ride is an extremely challenging 125-mile, 15,000-foot elevation gain bike ride that crosses five mountain passes in the California Alps near Lake Tahoe. I believe this was the first time a Porsche bicycle completed the Death Ride. Another record.


In the autumn of 2020, I rode the 184.5-mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath over three days on the 1998 Bike S. My first multi-day bike riding tour.

More recently in 2021, I completed my goal to ride the 360-mile Chesapeake and Ohio and Great Allegheny Passage on the 2004 Bike X. I converted the Bike X back to a hybrid bike for the six-day epic adventure. And in 2022, the Bike X also completed the 237-mile Florida Coast to Coast ride with eight other Porsche Bike riders.


All my Porsche Bike experience has led me to help others rebuild or refurbish their Porsche Bikes. I have now helped over a dozen other Porsche enthusiasts keep their Porsche Bikes riding strong. Each of these efforts has been shared on my personal Porsche Bike blog at http://porschebikeride.blogspot.com.