John participated in the eMoney Movement Challenge 2022, which helped him stay motivated with his cycling goals. Check out his story below!
While I have always enjoyed the great outdoors, most would not describe me as being an athlete or particularly fit. After a ‘family intervention’ of sorts several years back, I decided to start cycling as a way to get fit. To my surprise, I discovered it was enjoyable and offered a level of adventure I crave. I will tell you though – barreling down a hill at 24 m.p.h. on a bicycle having not ridden one for 20+ years was a frightening experience. Nevertheless I was hooked.
The USA has an amazing number of abandoned railroad tracks and canal tow paths. Over the past several decades, thousands of miles of these have been converted to recreational, multi-use trails. They’re great for people like myself who prefer to avoid cycling with traffic and fortunate to live near these trails. Some are only a few miles long; some are long enough that it takes multiple days to ride from end to end. A little over a year ago, I started bike touring & camping so I could ride the entirety of these trails.
In 2021, I completed multi-day, camping out and backs on the Perkiomen trail and Pine Creek trail. In September, I completed the Great Allegheny Passage/Chesapeake and Ohio trail end to end. For 2022, I set my eyes on another trail – the Erie Canalway Trail – officially 365 miles but really 400 miles since you need to get around a giant swamp that the trail does not cross. The Erie Canalway Trail starts in Buffalo, NY and extends to Albany, NY. It’s steeped in American history.
To keep in shape during the Pennsylvania winter, I started indoor cycling (Zwift). I also joined the eMoney Movement Challenge as a novel way to keep motivated and prepare for my July 2022 adventure. It is very fortunate that I did. For a reason I can’t explain (COVID fatigue? Zoom fatigue? Being home fatigue?), I had difficulty getting myself motivated to get on the indoor bike. My Movement Challenge team supported me tremendously – even on the week I sheepishly reported zero minutes. There were several days I got on the bike just for Movement Challenge minutes!
On July 17, 2022, I completed riding the Erie Canalway Trail. 400 miles over 8 days – camping each night. Unlike my previous rides (where I hauled my gear), I chose to do this with an organized event call Cycle the Erie Canal Bike Tour which happens every July. It was an outstanding event in which 750 people participated. It was so much fun, and I will do it again in the future.
I hope eMoney continues the Movement Challenge, and I encourage my colleagues to join. It is a great way to promote physical fitness and socialize with people in different parts of the company – especially in the colder winter months. To Dan Donahue, Salman Siddique and our team leader Maureen Carnakie-Baker – thank you so much for the support during the challenge – it made a real difference to me.
Great Job John!! Love your story, very inspirational! And I snickered at the ball of phone chargers. 🙂
Way to go, John! That last photos of the cellphones charging gives me a few business opportunity ideas.
The Hudson canal lock = awesome! You too-just for going downhill at the speed that you do!