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South Riding man biking home from Seattle
One of Mike McFarlin's dreams has been to bike from his home in South Riding to his hometown in Blooming Prairie, Minn. At 62 he is living that dream – sort of.He's just doing it in a more ambitious, roundabout fashion.
On June 23, McFarlin flew to Seattle, Wash. Two days later he got on a bike and started pedaling home. He will arrive at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 11.
McFarlin is one of 46 bikers making the cross-country trek in the American Lung Association's 11th Annual Big Ride. He is the top single fundraiser, bringing in $15,480.
When McFarlin first told his wife, Susan, about the Big Ride, “I didn't think he was serious,” she said. “But I should know better.”
Three years ago the retired Army colonel decided to get back in shape. He competed in triathlons, always placing first in his age group. He took 100-mile bike trips. He's been working out two hours a day, six days a week (losing 55 pounds). But this event is McFarlin's biggest yet.
“I wanted to do a ride that was close to home,” said McFarlin by cell phone as he took a break after riding through the Black Hills in South Dakota.
McFarlin is about halfway across the country and has had a safe ride so far. He says the trip has been “exciting and interesting” and at the same time “demanding.”
“I am a pretty good rider and have been real lucky,” said McFarlin, adding that he has “a little bit of a fire in the belly” that pushes him along and helps lead the pack.
The most exciting part of the 3,300-mile trip has been the 5,500-foot climbs and crossing the Continental Divide. The most trying is competing against the winds and missing his wife, he said.
Along with biking to raise money for lung disease, McFarlin will, within the next week, begin fulfilling his dream of biking from his hometown.
Susan will fly out to Minnesota and meet up with her husband at his hometown of Blooming Prairie. There they will visit family and make a stop at McFarlin's parents' grave site. Then it is back to the bike for the rest of the journey.
McFarlin has dedicated his ride to his parents, who suffered from lung problems, his wife's father, who recently died of emphysema, and a friend's mother who died of lung cancer.
Averaging six to seven hours of biking a day at about 15 to 20 mph, McFarlin says the journey is a job.
“It really is a job, just a little bit different out here. You get up ride, eat, go to sleep and get up and ride again,” he said. “But, I'd rather be doing this than sitting behind a desk.”
Contact the reporter at lwolstenholme@timespapers.com
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