Biker pedals for 4-H scholarships
Alex Dunaway climbs a hill between Arthurdale and Grafton, W.Va., on the third day of the Outspoken for 4-H bike ride. At left, Dunaway is shown before the start of the ride in Chester, W.Va.
All of the riders participating in the Outspoken for 4-H bike ride pose for a photo before the third day of the ride in front of Woodburn Hall at West Virginia University.
Alex Dunaway is shown before the start of the Outspoken for 4-H bike ride in Chester, W.Va., with the World’s Largest Teapot in the background.
From left, Alex Dunaway, Paul Garton, Jomar Shaffer and Alec James are shown at WVU Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp in Weston, W.Va., after the fourth day of the Outspoken for 4-H bike ride.
As Alex Dunaway geared up for his fourth year of “Outspoken for 4-H,” a bike ride that raises money to award 4-H camp scholarships to youth members, a sponsor said he would double his $125 donation if Dunaway kept a 15-mph average for the 255 miles.
Dunaway, 21, of Washington, met that challenge with three-tenths of a mile per hour to spare, and by the end of the event, he had raised about $850 for the cause.
“It’s a great fundraiser, and I enjoy riding with the people who do it,” said Dunaway, a leader of Creeks 4-H Club in Ohio County, W.Va.
The 10th annual “Outspoken” bike ride, held June 13-16, spanned 11 counties in West Virginia. Dunaway was one of 28 riders from three states, and one of three from Pennsylvania.
Each rider receives donations from sponsors, which can be individuals or organizations.
Riders started the course at the World’s Largest Teapot in Chester, W.Va., then biked down the northern panhandle of the state and ended at Jackson’s Mill in Lewis County.
Participants stayed overnight at the Mountaineer Resort in Chester, dormitories in Morgantown and at a Marion County 4-H campground.
Although Dunaway trained more than in previous years – he has clocked 400 miles since May – he said the course was also more strenuous. The “Outspoken” course periodically changes to cover various regions of the state.
Dunaway said the stretch between Morgantown and Preston County was the biggest challenge.
“It was a lot of hills, just up and down the whole way, and there were some really brutal ones. Even the road surface was really rough,” he said.
Yet he needed no extra push to get through the course because he is “just hard-headed.”
The course had its fair share of frustrations, as well. At one point, Dunaway hit a pothole and had to stop to change the flat tire on his Jamis Ventura bike.
He changed it quickly and hopped back on, undeterred.
“People were passing me, but it’s not a race, so it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Dunaway, a senior at Geneva College and a graduate of McGuffey High School, decided to join “Outspoken” when he saw cyclists crossing the finish line at Jackson’s Mill while he was attending a 4-H older members’ conference. He signed up with a group of friends and “just kept coming back since then,” he said.