About JD
I fell in love with cycling when I was around 13 years old, which was about the same time my sister Davida began to notice her vision deteriorating. I remember one night when we were on a family vacation in the Adirondacks and we were out stargazing. Someone made the comment “would you just look at all of those stars” and Davida said, “what stars”. I think that comment went unnoticed, but something was clearly happening to her vision, even at that young age.
A bicycle was freedom. You could hop on your bike and go wherever you wanted. You still can, that’s one reason why I am riding my bike across country. As a kid, biking back and forth to Jones Beach on the bike path soon led to week long trips with American Youth Hostels. I’ve been riding bikes ever since, but they somehow got pushed down the list of priorities, as school, work, marriage, children all took over.
Heidi, Mara & Ellie
The Ladies, the loves of my life. I had to figure out how to work biking into our family vacations. First it was Acadia National Park in Maine, with a tandem and trailer bike and then multiple family biking trips with Backroads (an amazing tour company). I even convinced Heidi to ride the GAP and C&O and then to circumnavigate Lake Champlain.
The Proverbial Bucket List
So, I am 61, recently retired, and about to embark on a major bucket list item – my cross-country bike ride. For years it’s been on my mind – do an epic bike ride across the country. Do it while you are young and healthy. I would regret it if I did not do it, so to steal a line from We’re the Millers, “no ragrets.”
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Riding for the Foundation Fighting Blindness Research to Cure Retinal Diseases.
My sister Davida and my niece Rachel suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa, which causes a breakdown of the cells in the retina, leading to vision loss. RP is a genetic disease that people are born with. Both Davida and Rachel are legally blind. Davida gave up her driver’s license at 40, Rachel gave up hers at 25. Both use a white cane, and Davida uses a guide dog (Chubb, who was named after Nick Chubb, as Chubb was raised at the University of Georgia when Nick was playing there).
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While doing this cross-country ride is a bucket list item for me, I could not just make it all about me. I wanted this ride to have a bigger purpose. So, I will do this ride to bring awareness of retinal diseases and to raise funds for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the leading research foundation for retinal diseases.
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Learn more about the Foundation Fighting Blindness >>
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