Twenty miles into his bike ride across America, Kevin Record ’82 was lost.
And his water bottles were empty.
He was riding down Colonial Parkway in Williamsburg, Virginia, and trying to find the Virginia Capital Trail so he could bike to Richmond.
Fortunately, Jeff Armbruster ’83, one of Kevin’s former tennis teammates from University of Lynchburg, lives in the area and saw a Facebook post in which Kevin mentioned being lost. A few minutes later Jeff’s SUV pulled up next to Kevin’s bike. Jeff offered encouragement, water, and directions.
Kevin recently launched a cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness of cancer in honor of five people he knows who have faced the disease. He decided to participate in the American Cancer Society’s Ride Across America to Beat Cancer program.
“I often tell my students that life is too short not to be on fire for something,” he wrote on his biking blog. “I’m on fire for this. And the time is right.”
Kevin teaches journalism and coaches tennis at Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida. When the last exam period ended on May 27, he biked to a car rental business to get a van to drive to Virginia to start the trek.
The first several days of his journey have led to many encounters with old college friends. Jeff and his wife, Kerry Berman Armbruster ’83, ended up offering Kevin a place to sleep that first night of the ride. Tracey Hutchison Evans ’82, who lives in their neighborhood, also came to visit. “We told stories and laughed until our sides hurt,” he wrote.
When Kevin passed through Charlottesville, he stopped to give a talk at an elementary school class taught by Marianne Baker ’82.
Kevin plans to follow the TransAmerica Bike Trail to San Francisco, where his oldest son, Kyle, lives.
WRIC ABC 8 News ran a story featuring the beginning of Kevin’s journey.