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Woman bikes 350 miles to attend family reunion
Sixty-five-year-old Marge Yonda arrived in the Town of Arcadia on Thursday, Sept. 2 after biking alone for 350 miles, from Ridgefield, Connecticut. Her son, Joe, and family live on Vollinger Road, about eight miles north of Newark. She left Connecticut on August 29 at 6:30 a.m. and travelled state and county roads, along the Hudson River, and through the Catskill mountains. She followed a dedicated bike route, which eventually includes Route 31 and Route 690 through Syracuse. She notched between 60 and 70 miles each day. Her overnight stays in motels were in Red Hook, Howes Cave, Herkimer and Cicero. She had a pleasant trip with no rain and occasional head winds. Marge planned to leave Wayne County on September 8, returning by way of Albany. She was hoping for tail winds on the trip home. Such a trip is not unusual or new for her. Marge and her husband Tony have been biking for 18 years, in the U.S. and around the world. For this visit, however, Tony drove their motor home and Marge hopped on her bike. To train for this trip, she put 1000 miles on her 21-speed TREK bike, including a number of hills and valleys. She is also a marathon runner and runs 10 miles a day, when she's not pedalling. This Labor Day weekend, the senior Yondas were among about 80 people attending the Yonda Hog Roast on Vollinger Road. In 1991, Tony and Marge biked 4650 miles from Washington state to Maine. In separate trips over the years, the Yondas have pedalled around Ireland, all through Europe, over the Tour de France bike route, across the Alps and Pyrenees, around New Zealand and across Mexico. On their agenda this winter is a visit to Australia. They have also parked the bikes and done some serious mountain climbing. Joe is impressed with the accomplishments of his parents. He realizes that any person's quality of life is much better, when he or she keeps the body healthy and in such good shape. This mother of five didn't have time to go to a gym while she was rearing the children, but she is a fitness guru now. Joe calls her a "real inspiration" to all who make her acquaintance. Copyright © 1999 |
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