Guideposts – August 2019

14 GUIDEPOSTS (^) | August 2019
who she is Carol Zemola Garsee is
a 77-year-old cyclist. Though biking
since childhood, Carol went on her first
long-distance ride (500 miles!) in 1994
for the American Lung Association,
after her mother—an avid cyclist—died
of lung cancer. She loves that biking
keeps her in shape, physically and spir -
itually. Carol started meditating and
praying 12 years ago, after join ing
Alcoholics Anonymous, and distance
cycling helps her focus: “I’m praying
while riding. I talk to God.”
what she does Carol joined a
group of 13 seniors for a cross-country
trip from Florida to California. She
was the oldest female member to com-
plete the journey; an 81-year-old man
biked partway, and a 75-year-old man
completed the ride. “There was one
young man,” Carol says. “He was 59.”
The group biked 50 to 80 miles a day for
65 days between Febru-
ary and April of 2019. “I
didn’t know if I had the
stamina for the whole
trip,” she says. “But
at Mile 1,000, I knew it
was a done deal.” Some
trip highlights? Mardi
Gras in Alabama,
where the celebration
actually started. Sing-
ing “America the Beau-
tiful” on the road. Visit-
ing relatives in Arizona.
But nothing beat dip-
ping her tires in the
Pacific after 2,757 miles
across eight states.
why she does it “You never
know what you can do unless you
try,” says Carol. She’d biked the north-
ern border with the same organizers,
CAROL ZEMOLA GARSEE
Twelve years sober, 25-year breast
cancer survivor, 77 years old. Why not ride a
bike all the way across the country?
BY MARI PACK, Editor
everyday greatness