Kicking into High Gear
Sixty five is a magic number for Bob Lee. Back in 1965, he and his wife Anne tied the knot. And last spring at age 65, Bob completed a 6,500-mile bike trip. The goal: to raise money for cancer, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and hospice.
By Laurie Herr
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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To be sure, Bob loves biking—"it's my yoga," he says. But that's not what kept him going on a two-part trek that went first up the East coast from Florida and then from Seattle to Bar Harbor, Maine.
What motivated him was "someone going through chemo, or not having the ability to get out of bed [from ALS]." He rode for hospice to honor not only the caregivers who tended his mother, but all hospice workers. "They are angels," he says.
Bob biked for 117 days, averaging 54 miles a day. A nor'easter in Virginia delayed him a day, but luckily there were no major mishaps—save for a broken wrist from a fall, which he dismisses as "not important." "I didn't even take an aspirin for the first 4,400 miles," he recalls.
At night, Bob posted blogs on his website, 3reasons.org. "I didn't ride solo," he says firmly. "There were hundreds of people on the website riding the journey with me."
Bob made more friends along the way: farmers, fellow bikers, and plenty of curious onlookers. In Washington, D.C., his daughter, Laura, biked with him to Philadelphia to mark her 40th birthday. The two decided to make the trip a total of 6,540 miles—65 for Bob, and 40 for Laura.
Bob wasn't always this passionate about helping others. A self-described workaholic, he suffered chest pains in his 40s because of stress. At 58, he retired as president of Eastern Standard Corporation, a job in which he commuted from his home in Barrington, Illinois to Baltimore. His original retirement dream: He and Anne would buy an RV and hit the road, leaving corporate life far behind.
Then Bob read Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom's story of Morrie Schwartz's long battle with ALS. The book changed him. "I started thinking, what am I doing with the rest of my life, and am I on the right track?" he recalls. And the plan to pedal for a purpose was born.
Today Bob stays busy fund raising. With $375,000 raised so far, he's working with individual and corporate sponsors to reach his goal of $500,000. That's in addition to running his own window-covering business. And he continues to take care of himself:
A survivor of colon cancer, he attends Spinning classes, lifts weights, and watches his diet. "I'm not the greatest fish eater in the world," he admits, "but I know it's good for me." Often he speaks to groups, urging people to "get out of their comfort zone"—even if that means just trying a new grocery store—and find their passion.
"We're all wondering about long life, how you get it," Bob says. "Really, it's all about giving."
Want to help?
Donations to "A Ride for Three Reasons" go to The American Cancer Society, the Les Turner ALS Foundation, and the National Hospice Foundation. Visit 3reasons.org for more info.
Plus!
Check out Bob's list of inspirational reading >>
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