Today was not so much about an 85 mile ride from Ottumwa to Burlington in Iowa but more about a single rider from amongst the bike adventure team who achieved a lifelong ambition.
Dan Sheridan from Marion in Ohio has been one of the most consistent riders on this year’s trans-America bike adventure and, along with Gary Schroeder, he has cycled every mile so far in 2019, which means that he has covered 2,605 on this trip already.
However, today Dan achieved something he set out to do when he started cycling back in 1991 and that was to cycle the enormous target of 100,000 miles!
That is an massive challenge and represents cycling round the world more than 4 times or travelling more than a quarter of the way to the moon! That’s a pretty lofty achievement as we celebrate 50 yrs since the first moon landing!!
During this challenge Dan has also been rediscovering the sounds of the world as by the age of 27 he had totally lost all his hearing. That was until 2005 when he had surgery to have a cochlear implant to try to restore his hearing. Hallelujah, the operation was a success and Dan is continuing to enjoy the sights and sounds of America as he cycles his way through life.
Whilst all of us were sweltering in the heat of Iowa as we cycled today, all our hearts warmed to this gracious gentleman as he crossed to 100,000 mile mark as we celebrated this fantastic achievement. Congratulations Dan!!