There are people who challenge themselves to ride bicycles across their state, and even from coast-to-coast. But, Bob Barnes is a different man of determination.
The 52-year-old resident of Syracuse, N.Y., set a goal to bike in all 50 state capitols. Once there, he snapped a selfie in front of each capitol. He started his journey Aug. 1, 2021, and wrapped it up in Honolulu July 25, Fox News reported.
“It was harder than I thought it was going to be as far as weather, but the route was the route. It worked out,” he said.
His goal in completing the ride was to build awareness wherever he traveled of the need for people to donate blood.
In total, Bob cycled 16,661 miles in 359 days, from Aug. 1, 2021, through July 25, 2022, when he arrived in Honolulu, according to Fox News. He averaged 44 miles a day and camped overnight at truck stops and in parks.
For the 48 lower states, Bob biked non-stop on one continuous route to get through them all. For Alaska, he rode through Canada to Prince Rupert Harbor, where he caught a ferry that took him to Juneau so he could ride to the capitol before heading to the airport.
To knock Hawaii off his list, Bob had to pack up his bicycle, fly from Juneau to Honolulu, unpack and re-assemble the bike before traveling 5.5 miles to reach the state capitol. Then he biked back to the airport before pedaling to a bike shop where his equipment was disassembled flown back to New York.
“What I just did was crazy,” said Bob. “I feel incredible that I had that opportunity to do that — and I did it as planned.”
The full story is available at Fox News. From that page, there are several links to previous updates.
After closing his business and enduring several painful years of uncertainty regarding what to do with his life, Greg founded Forward From 50 to help men and women over 50 to live more purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. A Wisconsin native, Greg currently lives in Arizona.