50 Plus: Activities, climate made Lynchburg an easy choice for bicyclist

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Nero, 61, began his retirement in June, coming to the Hill City from Akron, Ohio.

Beyond its ample opportunities for outdoor activities, Lynchburg also has a much milder climate, Nero said. He can continue supporting his love of trails in the area, even in the winter.

“In Ohio, you can just sort of forget it,” he said.

But Lynchburg holds a bigger draw for Nero — it’s the home of his wife of almost one year, Laurie Foot.

The pair met years ago in Barberton, Ohio, where Nero worked at Babcock & Wilcox with Laurie’s late husband, Bill Foot.

In 1983, Bill was transferred to Lynchburg, but the Foots stayed in touch with Nero when he came to the area on business. They also introduced Nero to the bicycling and hiking opportunities in Central Virginia.

“The very first weekend I came down, we hiked one day and biked the next,” Nero said.

Laurie remembers the group’s hike along the Blackwater Creek Trail.

“He was amazed to think we were in the city when you feel so removed,” she said.

Nero also drew inspiration from Bill and Laurie’s long-distance outings. In 1997, the pair became the first people to hike and bike the 5,000-mile American Discovery Trail from Cape Henlopen, Del., to Point Reyes, Calif.

A couple years later, at age 51, Nero decided to set out on his own cross-country trip.

For a year, he bicycled across the nation, carrying only what would fit on the bike — a small tent, a sleeping bag, a cooking stove, spare clothes and food, a camera and a laptop. He traveled 20,600 miles through 42 states and stopped at 43 “full-fledged” national parks.

“It kept my interest; either I was in a great place, or I was on my way to a great place,” Nero said. “It was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life.”

In summer 1999, Nero traveled west from Ohio through the northern states. That fall, he headed southwest through the desert.

Then in the winter, he traveled through the South.

“I got a map of the National Park System and kind of connected the dots,” he said of the planning process. “They are in every corner of the country.”

On the last leg of his journey in the spring of 2000, Nero stopped in Lynchburg on his way up the Blue Ridge Parkway and visited Bill and Laurie.

About a month later, a day after Nero made it back to his home in Ohio, he heard the news that Bill had died of cancer.

Nero planned to write a tribute of a man well-known for his efforts to build a pedestrian-only bridge on the Appalachian Trail spanning the James River. When completed, the 623-foot bridge just north of the intersection of U.S. 501 North and Virginia 130 in Snowden was named the James River Foot Bridge.

Nero hoped to memorialize Bill Foot also, and began corresponding with Laurie to write and publish the tribute.

He started visiting, and although he still lived in Ohio, Nero joined the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club. He and Laurie drew closer.

By then, Nero was working at the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio.

In 2007, he began alternating working two weeks in Ohio and two weeks in Lynchburg.

In October, Nero and Laurie married.

This year, Nero was told he could no longer work away from Ohio. Although he originally planned to retire around age 65 or 66, he instead decided to finish early.

“I wasn’t about to take a step backward,” he said. He retired June 5.

“Now I’m here full time, and I love it,” he said.

Laurie, who retired 12 years ago from her position as a psychologist in Campbell County Schools, also is happy with the transition, she said.

“It just seems more settled,” she said.

The couple hike a couple of times weekly, often on the Appalachian Trail and its side trails, or closer to home on the Blackwater Creek Trail.

Nero also continues to bike about twice weekly, and he chairs the Hiker Miles Committee of the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club.

Although he’s still “getting his feet wet” in the realm of retirement, Nero said he couldn’t picture a better place to live.

“I don’t think I’ll have any trouble keeping busy,” he said.