Bike trek

By Dean Poling

April 19, 2008 12:03 am

— VALDOSTA — To raise money for the American Red Cross, Jeff Greene embarked on a 4,500-mile bicycle trek across the United States.
More than a month into the trip and with hundreds of miles to go, Greene stopped Friday for an evening stay in Valdosta. By the time you read this article today, it’s possible that Greene is already cycling away on the next leg of his trip to Waycross.
Greene had cycled across the country before with several others while in the Navy, staying with Naval Academy alums on the way. Out of the Navy, planning what he wanted to do with his life next, he decided to raise money for the Red Cross while seeing the nation.
For his solo trip, he contacted Naval Academy grads across the nation with a request for a place to stop. In Valdosta, he found fellow Naval Academy grad Steve Hemmelgarn, who, along with Tammy, and children Alison and Michael Hemmelgarn, offered Greene a place to stay.
On March 12, Greene left Oceanside, Calif., regularly cycling up to 90 to 100 miles per day. He plans to reach his Springville, N.Y., destination by early May. He spent Thursday night in Tallahassee, Fla. Following back-to-back, 100-mile-plus days Wednesday and Thursday, Greene described the 65-mile trek from Tallahassee to Valdosta on bike as a break.
On Friday afternoon, as he pedaled into Lowndes County, Greene was greeted at the Valdosta city limits along U.S. 84 by representatives of the local chapter of the American Red Cross. City of Valdosta officials provided him with a police escort to an informal reception at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, where the Red Cross is located on the second floor.
There, Valdosta Mayor John Fretti welcomed Greene to Valdosta and thanked him for his support of the Red Cross. The mayor presented Greene with a ribbon commemorating May as Child Abuse Prevention Month and a Valdosta lapel pin. Also greeting Greene were Lowndes County Commissioner Edgar Roberts, and Red Cross personnel and board members such as Penelope White, Chairman Howard Dasher III, and The Valdosta Daily Times Publisher J.H. “Sandy” Sanders.
Greene says he’s been blessed with no rain throughout his journey, as well as blessed with the kindness of people across the nation and now from the people of Valdosta.

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