Why Senior Cycling

I'm a lifelong cycling enthusiast, from commuting to work by bicycle while living in Washington DC and San Francisco, or training for Olympic and Sprint distance triathlons over the years (the Santa Barbara, Donner Lake, and Niantic Bay (CT) are favorites), but it was a pre-35th U.S. Coast Guard Academy class reunion group ride in 2021, in which 20 of us traversed Long Island over 4 days, that got me hooked on bicycle touring.

After co-leading on Senior Cycling's GAP and Cape Cod tours in 2022, and another CGA Class ride down the west coast of Michigan that summer, I knew the chance to own and operate Senior Cycling was the chance of a lifetime. Now in my 4th year, it's been a wonderful experience and I've got big plans for Senior Cycling's future!

While serving in the NH State Legislature during the first half of the year, I rely on the tremendous corps of experienced tour leaders you see below, but I relish leading as many tours as possible from July through November!

Jack has been a bicycle tour leader for more over 30 years. He has led two coast-to-coast bike tours, including the 2013 tour in which former Senior Cycling owner Mark Troy participated. Jack is a trained bicycle mechanic and a certified Wilderness First Responder.

In addition to bike touring, Jack’s sports and activities include marathon running, camping, and mountain biking. He has run marathons in all 50 states, plus Washington DC and Greece! Jack makes a fantastic New Mexico green chile stew and is a connoisseur of IPA micro brews. He lives in Missoula, MT.

Maer is a life-long cyclist and has worked as a tour leader for more than 10 years. She is known for her expertise on trails and routes - especially the tough ones - in the Rocky Mountain West.

Maer is an expert mountain biker and all around athlete. Additionally, she teaches yoga and pilates, and she is an art and special education teacher with a master's degree in experiential education. She lives in Missoula, MT.

Nick has been a cycling enthusiast for over 30 years. His experience includes 5 tours with Senior Cycling, as well as other companies including America by Bike, Adventure Cycling and Vermont Bicycle Tours.

He has enjoyed tours in many states, including New York Erie Canal rides, Pennsylvania/Maryland GAP ride, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida and Nevada’s Death Valley, as well as several European bike/boat tours.

A retired environmental, health and safety professional from the Rochester NY area, Nick now enjoys co-leading bicycle tours with Senior Cycling for the sheer enjoyment of being in the saddle, visiting interesting places and meeting great riders from all walks of life.

Tony is a life-long cyclist and became a great addition to Senior Cycling in 2022, although he'd been actively participating in tours and group rides for more than 20 years on his own.

During his down time he enjoys painting portraits and landscapes! Tony is retired from a career with the City of Atlanta Dept. of Watershed Management, got married at the end of 2023 and currently lives in South Florida with his wife Ava.

Barry was raised in south Florida from the mid-1950s through the ‘70s but has lived in metro Atlanta since then. While older brother Jack has led tours for Senior Cycling for over 12 years, Barry first joined forces with him for the 2024 Florida Keys tour and is now hooked! It was Barry who brought his friend Tony Palmer into Senior Cycling’s fold, even before he was involved himself. He’s no stranger to cycling though, having ridden seriously since the mid-80s, including many cross-state rides of Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Iowa. A retired Postal Service employee after 42 years, he spends most of his free time with his wife of 50+ years, Kathi, and enjoys creating birthday party backdrops for his 4 and 2-year old great-grandaughters.

Russ Eanes is a writer, walker and cyclist from Harrisonburg, Va. Since leaving a career in publishing in 2018 he has written several bestselling books about walking pilgrim routes in Spain and Italy and now leads hiking tours on those routes. He joined the Senior Cycling ranks in 2024, leading two tours in northern Michigan and driving the van/trailer rig halfway across the country! A native of Pittsburgh, he has also led numerous Road Scholar tours on the Great Allegheny Passage, near which he has lived for over two decades. Russ’ paramount life goal is to inspire and help guide others to live more meaningful, peaceful and less consumptive lives. He currently lives in Virginia's beautiful Shenandoah Valley, with his wife of 45 years, Jane, three of his adult children and five of his grandchildren.

Mike and Ned have been friends for over 40 years since attending the U.S. Coast Guard Academy together, graduating in 1986. Mike is now retired from a distinguished career as an oceanographer, having served as both Executive Officer and then Commanding Officer of the International Ice Patrol (operated jointly with the Canadian Coast Guard), then working there an additional 10 years as a civilian.

Most importantly, Mike loves to cycle and participated in both the 2021 Pre-union ride and the 2022 Michigan ride that precipitated Ned's acquisition of Senior Cycling. Mike is also an expert in with Ride With GPS, and lives with his wife Jeanna and their black lab Zach on the lovely southeast coast of Connecticut.

Eddie recently retired as a Deputy/Lieutenant after 31 years of service with the Hampden County (MA) Sheriff’s Office and is now a veteran of several Senior Cycling tours including Cape Cod and Washington DC Hub. His role as an officer in the County's Marine Patrol required certifications in wilderness navigation, first aid, team building, and rigorous physical training -- he takes great care of our guests!

From Quebec, Pierre “Pete” is a retired English high school teacher (for 38 years!) and former runner (400m, 5 and 10k and 2 marathons) who took refuge in cycling in 2008 due to aging knees and fell in love with it. He’s led Gran Fondo groups, events and cycling tours in America and Europe since 2015, and first joined Senior Cycling to lead the 2025 Quebec-Lac-St-Jean tour with Ned. Being from that region made him an instant star! Needless to say Pete is fluent in French and is working on his Italian.

Pete is a certified bike mechanic and First Aid responder, as well as a pretty good cook. He loves to have a good time in good company. When not cycling, like reading and the arts, skiing (both downhill and cross-country), playing golf and enjoying all kinds of other sports. He’s a busy bee who likes people and enjoys taking the extra time and effort to make things perfect.

Todd Smith is originally from York, PA and now lives in Jacksonville Beach, FL. He is an entrepreneur who works as a consultant to other entrepreneurs and early stage business owners. He also works on his own startups, real estate brokerage, and investing. He's been planning and leading small group tours for well over 20 years. While at business school at UCLA, he rode a modified TransAM trip from Yorktown, VA to Los Angeles, which really ignited his passion for bike touring. He is a fan of cleantech and E-bikes and his dream tour is to ride Alaska to Chile with a solar powered E-bike. He loves sharing his love of cycle touring with others and to see them experience same the same excitement. His favorite on-the-bike snack is Chocolate GU, “… a little boost of energy can be perfect to get you to the finish.” He has an eclectic sport fanaticism enjoying the Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Flyers.