Lynchburg man, 78, estimates he's pedaled 600k miles since retirement

Harold Peters of Lynchburg rode his bicycle 100 miles a couple of weeks ago to raise more than $600 for multiple sclerosis research.

It wasn’t an unusual feat, in bicycling circles — except that Peters’ age is pretty close to his mileage.

Peters, an Amherst County native, is 78. And he’s quick to say he’s not any sort of hero for riding that distance.

But he does hope he’s an inspiration.

A few of the younger people in the 2,000-rider event at Greensboro told Peters they had trouble matching his pace, he said.

When Peters crossed the finish line with a group of riders, “This guy in his mid-20s rolled up and said he’d tried to catch me and couldn’t.

“He was a heck of a nice guy, and hopefully that will help him to train more. At his age, he should be able to ride circles around me,” Peters said.

And for less-active people, Peters said, he hoped to “inspire someone to get off the couch.”

For the record, Peters wasn’t the oldest participant in the Greensboro event, which was held Sept. 27-28 in pouring rain. Another rider was 86, and one was 79, making Peters the event’s third-oldest cyclist.

He may well have been its most determined rider, however.

Peters said he’s had a few heart problems, and a surgeon inserted a stent in an artery in January. After rehabilitation therapy, Peters resumed riding his bike in June.

Sometimes he has to take rest breaks on hills so his heart can deliver oxygen to his leg muscles.

“But I’m not going to let that stop me,” Peters said. “I can’t just sit down. I can’t watch TV. I just like riding my bicycle.”

He got his first bike when he was 64. It was a retirement gift from Rock-Tenn Co. executives in Columbus, Ind. The company makes paper products, and for five years it needed the sales-and-service skills Peters had developed in a career with Mead Corp.’s Lynchburg operation.

It was a mountain bike, and four years later he rode it the 469-mile length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. That trek fulfilled a goal he’d set for himself, inspired by a photo of the Peaks of Otter that used to hang on his office wall.

“At the time, I didn’t know the difference between a mountain bike, a road bike and a touring bike,” Peters said.

He estimates he’s ridden 60,000 miles since he retired. Peters also was a runner for 20 years, and credits Denny Fringer, a former boss, for inspiring him to take up the activity.

On many mornings, Peters meets several riders on the Blackwater bike trail. “It’s an informal group,” Peters said. “We call ourselves the Medicare angels.”

Sometimes he does a longer ride, starting from his Lynchburg home and riding north toward Big Island on U.S. 501 and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The route brings him back to the city by way of Virginia 130 and River Road in a 40-mile loop.

The training served Peters well in the Greensboro event’s rain, where the MS organization raised at least $700,000 through riders’ sponsorships.

Peters rode in honor of an MS victim, Cindy Pulliam Haines, 49, of Bellaire, Texas. Haines is the daughter of Peters’ high-school friend, George Pulliam.

Both Haines and Peters said they wanted to thank everyone who contributed to the $656 in donations he raised, mostly through Internet contacts.

It was enough to qualify Peters to receive a special MS bike jersey.