Locals ride across America for fundraiser

Cycling 80 miles a day is no problem in the grand scheme of things. That's what Gerry and Katie Nolan of West Glacier discovered as they rode across the country to raise money for a Mission High School scholarship this summer.

The father-daughter bicycle ride from Bay View, Wash., to Portland, Maine, covered 3,700 miles. Those thousands of miles in turn raised $20,000 to fund the Mission Scholarship Foundation, which provides financial assistance to all qualified graduates of Mission High School in pursuit of post-secondary education.

Gerry Nolan is a former West Glacier school board member and former superintendent of the St. Ignatius School District, where nearly 80 percent of students are eligible for reduced lunch and many struggle to pay for post-secondary educational opportunities.

"A small group of people said, 'How can we get more money for local scholarships?'" Gerry said, adding that he hopes the bike ride he and his daughter completed will capture the imagination of donors. Donations were made per mile ridden.

To qualify for Mission Scholarship Foundation scholarships, students must prove that they are good citizens with strong characters. They must be already accepted to an institute of higher learning (this is not limited to colleges or universities; students may use the scholarships to attend trade schools as well). Scholarship applicants must also show financial need.

THE NOLANS began their ride in Washington May 28. They rode between 75 and 80 miles a day on average. The shortest day's ride was 26 miles. But there were some 100-mile-plus days. The pair had support throughout the trip from Gerry's friend Gary Edington, wife Lisa and brother Tom.

"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time," Gerry said. "I did a 1,200-mile ride 25 years ago from Casper, Wyo., to Weyauwega, Wis. This ride had more purpose."

The duo didn't train much before the ride because Katie broke her shoulder a month and a half before the trek began due to a cycling accident.

"I've never been a cycler," Katie said. "I'd bike for transportation. I'd never done anything like 80 miles in one day. I trained on the way."

By the end of the trip, the last 20 miles each day was what Katie considered the homestretch. The trip began to fit nicely with the tattoo she has on her left forearm, which reads "Serve one another with love" in English, Kurdish, Hebrew and Turkish.

The Nolans said the most difficult day was one spent riding from Idaho to Thompson Falls. It was raining and 45 degrees.

"We shouldn't have done that," Gerry said. "The chances of getting sick, the chance of injury. Frankly, that was just miserable."

However, there were more pleasant days than bad.

"Every day there was always something new and different and so many different people," Gerry said. "My favorite stretch was Lake St. Claire, in Ontario, that connects lakes Erie and Huron. There were nice parks, houses and boats. And the color of the water, such blue water. It's just really beautiful."

Katie said she most enjoyed riding through Vermont and by Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho. She said she also enjoyed seeing a number of states for the first time — Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire.

The pair camped in state parks on the trip.

"I slept more in a tent those 50 days than the last 20 years combined," Gerry said.

Katie reported that she went longer without a shower on the drive back to Montana than she did the entire trip — many of the state parks and rest stops had showering facilities.

When the Nolans rode onto the beach in Portland, Maine, Katie said she felt like the trip wasn't really over.

"I felt like we would get up the next day and get on our bikes."

"It was different for me," Gerry said. "I felt elation that we got there. Relief that we did what we said we were going to do. And a little melancholy in that on the one hand I was ready to come home but I didn't want the ride to be done."

The long trip even haunts Gerry's dreams. On the trip home, Gerry would wake from naps disoriented, demanding that he and Katie get on their bikes and get going.

"I have dreams about it every night. Last night I dreamed about arguing with my brother about how far we had to go."

Katie Nolan lives in her parent's house in West Glacier. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in May. Gerry and wife Lisa are relocating to Dubois, Wyo., where Gerry will become superintendent of schools in the fall.For more information about the scholarship fund, visit missionscholarshipfoundation.org.