Mary Madison Biker Mary's Great Adventure by Evelyn Boswell Mary Madison, '92 M Nurs, had never attended any of her high school class reunions. So when Folsom High School announced its 50th reunion to be held last September, Madison decided it was finally time to go. And it was an occasion calling for unforgettable measures. Madison, 68 and a two-time widow, decided to ride her Trek 7700 bicycle from Wolf Point, Mont., to Folsom, Calif., a 3,400-mile journey. Although her son joined her for a week, and she met other bicyclists along the way, most of the time she rode alone. "I find it easier to bike by myself because I can go at my own pace," Madison said about her latest adventure since giving up smoking 18 years ago and taking up serious biking. "I don't have to try to keep up with someone, and no one has to keep up with me." Madison had gone on weekend bicycling trips, and she had bicycled 700 miles with a group in New Zealand. But the reunion trek was her longest trip. The 3,400-mile adventure carried her over 16 mountain passes, ruined several tires, took her through thunder and lightning, and set her in the middle of a pack of coyotes. She left Wolf Point on June 10, made it to California about three weeks before her Sept. 13 reunion and arrived in Missoula to pick up her car on Oct. 20. To reach California, she biked across the northern tier of the United States and down along the West Coast, hauling 70 to 80 pounds of gear. On the way back, she took a more direct route to beat the winter weather. Along the way she talked to people about diabetes and how to prevent or manage it. Madison retired in 2002, but she is still a certified diabetes educator. "I didn't try to push myself," Madison said about the trip, where she averaged 45 miles a day and rested days and sometimes a week at a time. "It was leisurely, except on the way back." Despite her classmates' amazement, media coverage and hearing from bikers all over the world, Madison said, "I guess I didn't think I was doing anything that phenomenal." She saw lots of older men bicycling by themselves, and followed maps prepared by Adventure Cycling of Missoula. The trip was enjoyable enough that she would do it all over again, she added. Her next adventure, though, will be to lead diabetes educators on a 300-mile trip following the Lewis and Clark trail in Montana. That excursion will occur sometime in the spring. Photo Credit: Mary Madison