By Denise St. Pierre, Cycle Hope
Cycling and the outdoors are among the few consistent passions in my life. My love for the outdoors has focused me on risks to the environment and led me for the past 10 years to become interested in understanding the effects of climate change and how we can be better caretakers of our planet.
I have spent most of my professional life outdoors as a collegiate golf coach. Over that time, I have listened to various ideas and theories of what we need to do to take care of the environment. The one that resonates most with me is the push to end our dependency on fossil fuels and move toward clean energy sources, such as solar and wind.
We can make a big impact on our CO2 emissions if we can get more people on board, more electric vehicles on the road and less “red tape” to get these sources to more people while making them affordable and equitable for all. This past summer, I got involved with a group called Third Act to advance these efforts.
Third Act is a national organization made up of volunteers over the age of 60. Group members are working tirelessly to safeguard our planet, amplify voices for justice and ensure that the transition to a clean energy future is rooted in freedom, equity and shared responsibility.
I paired this passion with cycling and my dream of riding the East Coast Greenway and created Cycle Hope. The Greenway is an initiative that began in the 1990s to construct an off-road accessible biking and walking pathway to connect people to communities through sustainable transportation, active lifestyles and climate-friendly living.
Cycle Hope are two sisters: myself and my younger sister, both in our sixth decade! I spent my career coaching the women’s golf team at Penn State University and my sister Barb owns Trillium Sport and Fitness Club in Syracuse, New York.
Having coached many people through various challenges, we are about to take on one of the biggest challenges of our lifetimes: biking the East Coast Greenway route from Miami to Cape Cod, a journey of more than 2,000 miles. We are riding the Greenway to raise awareness for the mission of Third Act as well as the mission of the East Coast Greenway Alliance.
Along our journey, we will be holding “Cycle Stops” at various cities to bring people together and foster conversations around these important causes. The construction of the Greenway is a work in progress, so we would like to bring attention to this work and help the alliance toward its goal of completing the route by 2030. The organization and Third Act run parallel in their values and are the perfect motivation for these two sisters to pedal on.
During the course of our trip, we will meet with volunteers from different Third Act chapters as well as community members from various states to discuss the important work that these organizations are doing. All are welcome to join the “Cycle Stops” along the way, listed at https://bit.ly/cyclehopestops.
The 49-day journey is scheduled to begin April 10 and culminate May 29 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. For more information, visit our Instagram page (@cycle_hope_ride) or our Give Butter donation page (https://givebutter.com/1bP3Jm).
Denise St. Pierre is a retired women’s golf coach and a member of Third Act, a community of seniors working together to protest against the causes of climate change and protect our democracy. Banner photo: A cyclist riding a bike (iStock image).
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You ladies inspire me!
Inspiring indeed! Motivating as well. These ambitions of these ladies motivates us Third Actors in Florida to not only support their efforts (look a Cycle Stop in Hollywood, FL to kick off the ride), but also to continue to advocate for a healthy and sustainable climate for future generations.