Pedal pushers: Cyclists to finish 1,900-mile trek in Edinboro [Erie Times-News, Pa.]

June 29--Bicyclist Eric Hyde has spent most of the past month camping in city parks, churches, fire halls, hostels and cabins as he and a friend make a nearly 1,900-mile trek from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Edinboro.

Hyde, 42, a Warren native who lives in Colorado Springs, is cycling across a huge swath of the nation to raise awareness and donations for Lou Gehrig's Disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Hyde is scheduled to arrive in downtown Edinboro today between noon and 12:30 p.m.

Hyde is cycling to honor his stepfather and former Edinboro resident, David M. Burgett, who died from the disease in September in Lenore, Idaho.

Burgett was a police officer in Edinboro for 25 years. He was diagnosed with ALS -- a progressive disease of the central nervous system that causes the gradual degeneration of nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement -- in October 2007.

"Last year when I was helping to care for him, I told him I wanted to do something to raise awareness for ALS," said Hyde, a 1988 Cambridge Springs High School graduate.

Hyde's goal was to raise $2,000. He's raised about $3,800 and is entering the homestretch of his adventure, which he is sharing with his cycling friend, Jared GibsonColorado Springs.

"I'm really proud of what Eric and his friend are doing," said Hyde's mother, Dee Burgett, an Oil City native who lives in Idaho. "I'm proud of the fact that Eric had made a promise to his stepfather that he would try and raise awareness of this disease. He's honoring his stepfather."

Hyde and Gibson began their journey on May 30.

"We have special off-road touring bikes that we set up for on-road," Hyde said. "Our bikes loaded down weigh 90 to 95 pounds."

Their route has taken them from Colorado Springs through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

They have pedaled about 1,400 miles on the Trans-America Trail, a 4,200-mile route that stretches from Astoria, Ore., to Yorktown, Va.

Hyde and Gibson picked up the Trans-America Trail in Eads, Colo., and cycled it to Utica, Ky.

"These routes are very rural -- they're less traveled and a safer route," Hyde said.

Hyde described the hospitality and generosity of people he's met along his journey as "amazing."

The men have averaged about 80 miles per day. Their maximum daily mileage was 130, and their minimum 32.

"The weather at times has been hard -- hot, humid, pretty intense. The winds in Kansas were very difficult," Hyde said.

So were the hills in the Missouri Ozarks.

"The pitch and steepness of the hills, combined with the heat and humidity, was very taxing on us," Hyde said. "We climbed nearly 15,000 feet in elevation in one day going up and down hills in the Ozarks. That's a lot of climbing. When you're pedaling a 90-pound bike, it's a challenge sometimes."

Hyde has been cycling for about 25 years.

One of the coolest aspects of his trip, he said, occurred on the Trans-America Trail in Missouri.

"You cross many cyclists who are going west, and we ran across a father and his two sons who are from Warren, Pa., -- my hometown -- who were headed to Oregon," Hyde said. "It shows you what a small world it is sometimes."

A two-person tent has served as their home and shelter for most of their trip.

Since departing Colorado Springs, they have stayed in a hotel only three times, typically on rest days so they could do laundry and prepare for the next segment of their route.

Hyde isn't sure what kind of crowd will greet him in Edinboro today.

"It could be four people, or it could be 40," he said.

Hyde and Gibson gave up their jobs to pursue their cycling endeavor. Hyde had been working in the electronics and wireless industry for the past 23 years. Gibson was in the insurance business.

"I don't intend to go back to that job," Hyde said.

He plans to spend a couple weeks in Edinboro before he heads home.

The men will arrive in downtown Edinboro on Route 6N, he said.

"The end will be bittersweet," Hyde said. "Being away from normal society and away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life has been good."

Follow Hyde's progress on his blog at www.co2pa4als.wordpress.com.

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

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