Dothan Eagle: Grandfather arrives for reunion after bike ride from Oregon

After riding his bicycle through 10 states and 3,417 miles, Greg Pierce finally coasted into his daughter’s driveway late Thursday morning. His granddaughters, Maggie, 10, Callie, 8, and Harlee, 2, cheered him and ran to give him a hug. “That’s not the man I know,” their mother, Ingri Stephens, cried when she saw her father, staring incredulously at his wiry legs. “Dad, your legs look sexy,” she called out to him.

Pierce, 61, gratefully parked his Trek touring cycle in the grass, hurrying to embrace Stephens and little Sadie. Pierce left home in Monmouth, Ore., on June 19. Following close behind in a black pick-up with a camper, Beth Pierce, 57, cooked meals for them, washed their laundry when she could find a laundromat and generally kept the trip running as smoothly as possible. Their chocolate Labrador, Charlie Brown, made the trip with them. They stayed in RV camps at night, although the parks grew more scarce along the way.

Pierce admitted he couldn’t have made the trip without Beth’s help. Although Pierce said the people he’s met so far in Alabama have been “wonderful,” the drivers weren’t as courteous, and the roads aren’t very biker-friendly. Police stopped them a couple times along the way, including Dothan, when they escorted them to a nearby Chevron station to meet a crowd of people who wanted to see them.

The couple wore matching yellow jerseys with blue lettering on the back stating, “Riding for Sadie, Central Lions Club, Oregon to Alabama, Summer 2007.” Mission Riding for Sadie: Accomplished. The couple have been members of Lions Club International since 1957, and the shirts were donated by their current club, Central Lions Club of Independence/Monmouth, Ore., along with pins.

Part of the Lion’s Club mission is to work toward preventing blindness, and the Pierces used their trip to raise awareness about the Lions Club. Sadie was born Sept. 28, 2006, at Baptist Medical Center East in Montgomery four months prematurely, weighing just 1 pound, 7 ounces and blind. Doctors didn’t expect her to be able to see, Stephens said. Sadie was later transferred to the Medical Center South where there was better equipment to treat her underdeveloped lungs.

Beth came to visit with her sister, but Greg wasn’t able to leave his criminal justice teaching job. He retired in May, and the trip was also a way to celebrate his new phase of life. After two operations, Sadie is able to see now, and doctors think she will be nearsighted at worst, although she could have some developmental delays. The Pierces planned to arrive in time for Sadie’s birthday, but he pedaled faster than expected, so they came a few weeks ahead of schedule.

“She’s had a difficult time,” Pierce said of Sadie shortly after he arrived, “and we’re doing the best we can to show we love them all. This is what it’s all about.” Stephens said she couldn’t believe it at first when her father said he would ride his bike to see her. He started riding for his health about two years ago, logging around 30-to-50-miles a day. As a criminal justice instructor, it helped relieve the stress.

But when my dad says he’s going to do something, I can’t remember a single time he hasn’t followed through,” she said. “My dad’s an awesome father.” Want to know more? An account of Greg Pierce’s ride on a blog by his daughter,

Mari, can be found at http://riding for sadie@blogspot.com.