Young At Heart and Living Life To The Fullest!
Some of the Your at Heart riders on a ferry crossing the Mississippi. Back row, l to r: Bruce and Yvonne Horton, Jan Galletly, Russ Carmichael, James Weil. Front row, l to r: Al Galletly, Kathleen Smith, Sharon Miller, Beulah Polley.
Life is a journey, not a destination.
Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching.
Happy Birthday Kathleen!
For her 70th birthday, Kathleen Smith wanted to do something special to celebrate her good health and happy life. What better than a cross-country bicycle ride? After a great deal of planning and training, she decided to join up with the Young at Heart Bike Tour.
The Young at Heart Bike Tour is a cross-country bicycle trip designed by Al and Jan Galletly for a group of "over 50s" to seek adventure on the open road and see America at its leisurely best (passing through eight states in 56 days.). The sojourn began April 4 in California and ended on May 29th, in St. Augustine, Florida. At each end, the bicycle tires were ceremoniously dipped into ocean.
While not a native Alabamian, Kathleen and her husband, Paul, lived in Auburn for several years while he taught at the University and in her words still carry a "…deep affection for Alabama." Part of the birthday celebration took place on May 20 on Dauphin Island, the southernmost part of Alabama.
Kathleen explains her reasons for traveling coast-to-coast as follows:
"Having enjoyed a lifetime of good health, I tried to think of a way I might thank God … I have always felt close to God on my bike, and I decided that one way of thanking God for my gift of good health would be to challenge my body by biking across the country.
In that way, I hope to honor God, to give encouragement to other seniors, and to honor the memory of my mother, 'Nannie' whose greatest joy on this earth was to travel. (We called her 'Our Traveling Nannie').
Finally, I am taking on this challenge as a message of Thanksgiving to my husband, children and grandchildren. If I have been blessed with good health, I have been triply blessed with a loving and supportive family and circle of friends - without whose support and encouragement, this trip would have been only a dream.
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You can contact Kathleen at kathleen.smith@support.net or Kathleen Smith, 3871 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA 94611
Published June 1999, Alabama Prime Times
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