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Garrison Hilliard
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Rider goes solo on tandem bike
Cross-country trip to raise money in memory of lost friend
By Gregory A. Hall
The Courier-Journal
Riding solo across the United States on a tandem bicycle, Byron Linthicum Jr.
said he hears a common line from people who see him.
It's "you're missing somebody," Linthicum said Tuesday while in Louisville.
His standard response: "Actually, I am."
Linthicum, 23, of Richmond, Va., is riding to raise money for the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation in memory of Stephen Neller, his best friend when they were
growing up in the Virginia Beach, Va., area. He will ride east today from
Louisville on a route that will take him through central Kentucky.
Neller, who had the disease, died two years ago.
The idea for the one-man "2 Feet 4 Pedals" bike ride stems from a plan that
Linthicum and Neller had for a cross-country road trip.
"He'd love it," Linthicum said.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease in which the body produces mucus that clogs
the lungs and leads to lung infections.
Neller received a double lung transplant in 2000, Linthicum said, then died in
July 2003 after contracting pneumonia.
So far, Linthicum said, he has raised about $6,000 toward his goal of $25,000.
He has completed about 3,200 miles of his 4,200-mile journey, which began June 1
after he placed his rear wheel in the Pacific Ocean at Florence, Ore. The trek
will end with his front wheel in the Atlantic at Virginia Beach - he hopes to
make it on Aug. 27.
Linthicum said he rides five or six hours a day and keeps a journal on his
trip's Web site, www.4Pedals.com.
He arrived in Louisville on Monday and headed for Frankfort on Tuesday, ahead of
schedule.
While Linthicum said he has held up better than he expected, his bike has
provided some challenges, including more than a dozen flat tires.
Linthicum said he wasn't a serious cyclist before the trip, but rode about 200
miles in the months before his trip to prepare.
"You don't have to be Lance Armstrong to do it," he said.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050810/NEWS0103/508100387/1059/NEWS0102
Cross-country trip to raise money in memory of lost friend
By Gregory A. Hall
The Courier-Journal
Riding solo across the United States on a tandem bicycle, Byron Linthicum Jr.
said he hears a common line from people who see him.
It's "you're missing somebody," Linthicum said Tuesday while in Louisville.
His standard response: "Actually, I am."
Linthicum, 23, of Richmond, Va., is riding to raise money for the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation in memory of Stephen Neller, his best friend when they were
growing up in the Virginia Beach, Va., area. He will ride east today from
Louisville on a route that will take him through central Kentucky.
Neller, who had the disease, died two years ago.
The idea for the one-man "2 Feet 4 Pedals" bike ride stems from a plan that
Linthicum and Neller had for a cross-country road trip.
"He'd love it," Linthicum said.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease in which the body produces mucus that clogs
the lungs and leads to lung infections.
Neller received a double lung transplant in 2000, Linthicum said, then died in
July 2003 after contracting pneumonia.
So far, Linthicum said, he has raised about $6,000 toward his goal of $25,000.
He has completed about 3,200 miles of his 4,200-mile journey, which began June 1
after he placed his rear wheel in the Pacific Ocean at Florence, Ore. The trek
will end with his front wheel in the Atlantic at Virginia Beach - he hopes to
make it on Aug. 27.
Linthicum said he rides five or six hours a day and keeps a journal on his
trip's Web site, www.4Pedals.com.
He arrived in Louisville on Monday and headed for Frankfort on Tuesday, ahead of
schedule.
While Linthicum said he has held up better than he expected, his bike has
provided some challenges, including more than a dozen flat tires.
Linthicum said he wasn't a serious cyclist before the trip, but rode about 200
miles in the months before his trip to prepare.
"You don't have to be Lance Armstrong to do it," he said.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050810/NEWS0103/508100387/1059/NEWS0102
