My Riding Compatriots

I thought I’d do a separate blog about my fellow riders. There are 13 of us, and I’m the only female. On day one, our ride leader asked me if I could handle all the testosterone. I told him it wouldn’t be the first time and I wasn’t too worried. In fact, they are all terrific guys. All are glad to be here and have their own stories. Not one has made me feel like an outsider.

Admittedly though, they are much stronger riders than Rob and I. I’d say the group is divided into 3 — those who ride really fast — they start 30 minutes later than we do each morning, and still pass us about 5-7 miles in; those who are mid-level riders; and then a few of us stragglers. One of the riders has an e-bike that he uses for boosts. One is a bike racer who is really strong, but he is using this trip to slow down and smell the roses. He usually races ahead to grab a coffee or take pictures, let’s us pass, and then shoots by us again.

Most of them are retired and spent their careers running or owning a small business — a title agency, a small law firm, a CPA who broke off from Deloitte for a niche practice, a hairdresser, a wastewater management company, a few in commercial banking, an OBGYN, and then a few who worked for large companies. One of them works for Microsoft and is on sabbatical— his description of his job is that his team manages the “data” tab in excel. I love that!

Several of the riders are riding for important causes. The Microsoft employee and the Hairdresser are cousins. They are raising money for the American Cancer Society and they call themselves Cousins Cycling to Crush Cancer by riding C2C — how alliterative! Here’s their blog and website:

http://Www.cousinscycling2crushcancer.com

Another rider now lives in Florida, but grew up in Long Island. Sadly, he lost his sister in 9/11. He rides for a different person each day, and is raising money for Tunnels to Towers. Here’s his website:

https://www.aridetoremember2026.com/

Another rider is raising money for his Alma Mater, Kutztown University.  He is helping future graduates by paying it forward.  Here is his website:

https://give.kuf.org/epic-cross-country-norman-inkpen-s-ride-across-america

The final fundraiser is a man who lives in my hometown. His son was a state trooper who died too soon.   He is raising money for students pursuing a career in criminal justice.  Here is his website:

https://www.morrisedfoundation.org/what-we-do/scholarships/scholarship-overviews.html/title/capt-brian-j-mcnally-usmc-scholarship-5-000-1-000-per-year-for-3-years-and-2-000-for-the-4th-year-

They are all such amazing causes, and I hope you’ll support all of them!