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Putting their lives on hold, a young Massachusetts couple and two friends have completed a three-month, 4,000 bicycle ride across the country.
Riding for the American Lung Association, Jonathan and Jenny Emlet and Carrie Ahlquist, with support from van driver Autumn Bills, completed their 12-state odyssey Saturday, Aug. 23, by dipping their tires in the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Henlopen State Park.
Jonathan founded Steps for Stanley in honor and memory of his father, Stanley Emlet, who died from emphysema in 2006, after a 24-year battle with the disease. He formed the organization six months before his father passed away to raise money for research and education on pulmonary diseases. In his first fundraising adventure, a 2,000-mile hike of the Appalachian trial, he raised more than $7,000.
“I never knew of him as a healthy man,” Jonathan said. “But he taught me to be a real man, to take care of my family, never complain and to do more than you think you can.
“And he told me he was proud of Steps for Stanley.”
Family, friends and representatives from the American Lung Association were on hand Saturday morning at Zwaanendael Park in downtown Lewes to greet the riders at the end of their journey. Lewes Mayor Jim Ford was there to welcome the riders and present them with Lewes city flags.
Memories of the journey
Jenny said she and Carrie started planning what they would do at the end of the journey back in the cornfields of Iowa. “We thought about doing handstands or flips or something as a grand finale when we finally reached Delaware,” she said. “But it’s not the end; this is not over. It’s been an incredible adventure full of memories that will last a lifetime.”
She said other Steps for Stanley events are sure to take place once they return to their new home in Maine.
Carrie said the trip has reaffirmed her faith in humanity because of the people she met in the many towns and villages they visited.
She broke down in tears when she talked about her grandfather and uncle who died of lung cancer. “I was never able to share my life with them the way my siblings were,” she said.
Jonathan said lung diseases are not big news that attracts national media attention, yet they affect more than 3 million Americans. “This is everyone’s story,” he said.
Bills, who is an asthma sufferer, said she was honored to be part of the team. “They care about people like me. They have touched my life,” she said.
Sleet on the fourth day
All agreed the worst day was only four days into the ride on June 4, which happened to be Jenny’s birthday. As they rode up an Oregon mountain pass, cold sleet and rain made conditions miserable.
“We were not prepared and we were freezing,” Jenny said.
She said their hands were so cold, they had trouble putting on the brakes as they came down on the mountain pass.
“They are doing the trip for those who can’t,” said Deborah Brown, vice president for community outreach and advocacy, American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic.
Bernadette Toomey of Lewes, CEO of the American Lung Association, said efforts like this draw much-needed attention to lung-related diseases.
“In the United States, 55 percent of us are touched by respiratory illness, and there is still not a sense of urgency,” she said.
“You have not only inspired everyone here today, but hundreds more,” she told the riders. “It’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things that makes America great.”
Trio rides to raise money for good cause
The trio’s trip started June 1 in Florence, Ore., as they dipped their bicycle tires in the Pacific Ocean. Jonathan said he had visited Cape Henlopen State Park once before and wanted to end the journey there.
Averaging about 80 miles per day, the trio funded the ride themselves without using any donations to cover expenses. Donations are still coming in, and they hope to raise $200,000.
Along the route, they camped as much as possible, stayed with friends and family and in hotels when camping wasn’t available. Their route took them through Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
To donate to the cause, e-mail stepsforstanley@gmail.com. For more information about lung diseases, go to www.lungusa.com.
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