In her mid-50s, working in healthcare, Dorothy Fong saw the results of sedentary lifestyles. Realizing she herself didn’t exercise, she began rollerskating.
She loved it — until she fell.
Dorothy Fong
Bicycling offered a safer alternative. Dorothy hadn’t ridden since she was 14, but picking it up again was as easy as riding a bike simple.
She joined a bike club near her Brooklyn home, and learned about new-fangled brakes, drop bars and other innovations.
“I was happy and passionate,” Dorothy recalls. “It was fun and healthy.” The simple act of pedaling outdoors — where every day is a different ride — felt exhilarating.
Dorothy bicycled in Mexico, Europe, New Zealand, and throughout the United States. She moved here in 1998 to be near her son, and rides all around Westport.
Now Dorothy — 79 years young — hopes to ride with others. Fellow seniors are perfect.
“I want people to be as happy as I am, doing something they may not even know they’d enjoy,” she says. “So many people used to ride bikes. But we grew up, had less time, and put our bikes in the garage.”
She’s searching for folks with basic bicycling skills, a bike in good condition, and a helmet. She puts herself in their shoes — perhaps a little rusty, unsure of traffic conditions and modern biking etiquette — and offers to help.
Dorothy looks forward to showing off safe, less traveled roads like Beachside Avenue (“very pretty, not hilly, not a lot of traffic, very comfortable”), and parts of Cross Highway, Routes 136 and 58. The Compo Beach area is excellent too.
Dorothy and a friend posted flyers at the Senior Center, and around town. No one called.
For a chance to get back in the driver’s — er, bicyclist’s — seat, while having fun, healthy exercise, call Dorothy at 203-856-8620. Or email her: dafong100@hotmail.com.
