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Woman looks to make history, keep promise with cross-country ride
BY BROOKS TAYLOR
Mt. Pleasant News
ROME ? Carolyn Carter is keeping a promise?and seeing a large slice of Americana while doing it.
Twenty-four years ago, her husband, Steve, rode a highwheel (called a penny farthing in Europe) from San Francisco, Calif., to Boston, Mass., replicating the ride of Thomas Stevens in 1884. He also made the Guinness Book of World Records, completing the ride in 33 days ? the fastest ...
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Sep. 30, 2018 9:49 pm
BY BROOKS TAYLOR
Mt. Pleasant News
ROME ? Carolyn Carter is keeping a promise?and seeing a large slice of Americana while doing it.
Twenty-four years ago, her husband, Steve, rode a highwheel (called a penny farthing in Europe) from San Francisco, Calif., to Boston, Mass., replicating the ride of Thomas Stevens in 1884. He also made the Guinness Book of World Records, completing the ride in 33 days ? the fastest time ever.
When her husband finished his ride, she promised him that she would do it some day.
Some day came this year. ?I am going to be 69 years old in September, so I thought that if I am going to do it, this is the time in my life I should do it. I told him that I wasn?t going to do it as fast as he did, though? Carter said Wednesday while taking a rest break on U.S. Highway 34 between Lockridge and Rome.
If Carter drops the front wheel of her highwheel (a highwheel bicycle has a very large front tire and a very small back tire) in the Boston Harbor, and there is little doubt she won?t barring an unforeseen circumstance, she will be the first woman to complete the ?Thomas Stevens ride.?
She dipped her back wheel in the San Francisco Bay on May 31 and hopes to reach the Boston Harbor by July 31. She reached the halfway point on the ride June 23.
Carter, an Indiana native who retired to Texas ?to escape the snow and ice,? said she tries to hit the pavement at 6 a.m. and finish by 2 p.m., averaging between 55 and 75 miles per day. She rode 71 miles Tuesday, stopping for the night in Ottumwa and planned to spend last night (Wednesday) in Mt. Pleasant.
Thus far, the force has been with her. With the exception of some hot temperatures, she hasn?t had any problems. She still has not had to repair or replace either tire and the highwheel hasn?t had any mechanical problems.
Retired three years ago driving a school bus for 25 years (she still sells real estate in Texas), she said she didn?t do anything extraordinary to prepare for her ride, describing herself as somewhat of a fitness junkie. ?I have been an avid cyclist and jogger all my life.?
Carter, who rides on the highway, not the shoulder, said most motorists have been courteous and polite.
?For the most part, the semi drivers are the best,? she explained. ?They are very courteous. The worst ones are the ones who just retired and purchased an RV and still don?t know how to drive it.?
Carter?s husband is keeping a diary of her trip, which can be found at www.thewheelmen.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8425 or by going to www.thewheelmen.org and searching for Carolyn?s cross-country ride.