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| ON THE ROAD AGAIN - Jim Snyder, 80, of Seattle, Wash., will celebrate his birthday today by tackling the Harvest Festival Bike Race. Snyder is a former Milton resident and a 1945 graduate of Milton High School. |
80 and still peddling
Published in the Standard-Journal on Friday, September 7, 2007
By Jeff Shaffer, Staff writer. Reprinted with Permission.
MILTON - What's another 28 miles for Jim Snyder?
Twenty-eight miles, the distance of today's Milton Harvest Festival Bike Race, is just about 1 percent of the distance Snyder traveled to be a part of the annual event. The former Miltonian now lives in Seattle, Wash.
The 1945 Milton High grad still has family in the area, and enjoys visiting his roots.
He's not a stranger to biking or the festival's bike race. He participated from 1989 to 1995 - back when he was in his 60s.
"I thought it would be a fun thing to do for my 80th birthday," Snyder said.
He said his goal is just to finish the race. In 1989, it took him 1 hour and 45 minutes. Today, he'd be happy if it took him even an hour longer.
Snyder said he's really not looking forward to the grueling climb of Former's Hill along Broadway Road, east of the borough. He's hoping to make it at least halfway up the hill.
"I've been practicing for a couple of months," Snyder said.
When asked about the support from his family, he jokingly said, "They tell me 'you'll never make it.'"
Snyder is a firm believer that it isn't how old one is, but how they feel.
"I feel 49," he said, after saying he couldn't get away with 29.
A few decades ago, it seemed as if nothing could stop Snyder from keeping the peddles moving. He and his daughter, Angie - 13 years old at the time - rode across the country together during the nation's bicentennial. They peddled with a group called Bikecentennial.
"We rode in a group of 15 people," he said. "We slept in barns along the way."
Having seen much of the country, nothing compares to the Susquehanna Valley, he said.
"You can't beat this for beauty."
That's why Snyder enjoys living in Washington - it reminds him of Pennsylvania, just with bigger mountains, but still plenty of green.
Would you like to peddle along side Snyder and many others? Registration for today's race is from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., when the race begins. Participants may sign up at the borough building along Filbert Street.
Jeff Shaffer: 570-742-9671
jeff@standard-journal.com
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