By
Taryn Plumb |
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
AUGUST
28, 2014
Photos
by Barry Chin/Globe Staff
NEWBURY
— On a recent warm August morning, just as Margaret Jerome pulled
her blue Jamis bicycle into her driveway, its odometer flipped to
30,000 miles.
It
was the culmination of all the rises she has climbed, the hills she
has coasted down, and the flat tires she has endured all over the
North Shore and elsewhere for the past 14 years.
An
inspiration and a testament to aging well, and living well, Jerome
does not just tour local rail trails and roadways for her own
benefit. For the past few years, she has ridden with a mission,
raising thousands of dollars for local causes. As a result, she has
become a well-known local figure, referred to more often than not by
her nickname, the Biking Grammy.
“I
figure I’m doing it anyway, I might as well do it for a good
purpose,” said the mother of two and grandmother of four. “And
I’ve really enjoyed it.”
On
any given pledge ride, Jerome seeks $1 donations for every mile she
pedals — tracked by her odometer. That meant raising $3,370 for the
Newbury Council on Aging last year to help establish an emergency
fund that helps seniors experiencing hardship pay for groceries and
utilities.
In
2015, her 15th year as a serious cyclist, her goal is to raise $1,015
for the council’s Greater Newbury elder pet fund, which helps
qualifying seniors keep their animals by giving them donations of
food and other supplies.
Once
she announces a cause, donations come from local businesses and
friends, some of whom are from as far away as California, Arizona,
and Florida.
“It’s
word of mouth,” said the Rockport native, who retired in 2000 from
the Newbury Elementary School cafeteria, where she worked for 32
years. “Everybody knows me.”
Everyone
who donates to support her rides gets a handwritten thank-you note.
And
she has received more than a few thank-you notes of her own as well.
“ ‘Powerful’
is how I describe your commitment to philanthropy and to
fund-raising,” Newbury Town Administrator Tracy Blais wrote Jerome
following her recent donation to the Council on Aging.
Although
a longtime rider — naturally as a child, but in a more dedicated
fashion starting in 1977 with her two children — she did not get an
odometer until 2000 at age 68. She started to really whir through the
miles after her husband, William, died following an illness in 2003.
“I
really got into it because I wanted to best use up my time,” she
said, seated at the dining room table of her ranch home, various
pictures, thank-you letters, and newspaper articles spread out around
her.
She
set out on her first challenge on a whim in 2004. As she recalled,
she was at a local coffee shop, it was New Year’s Eve, and she
realized that she had biked exactly 2,000 miles that year.
“I
figured ‘I’ll go home and do four more miles,’ ” she said,
to finish out 2004 with 2,004.
After
that, she started out doing several small fund-raisers, and in 2007
she completed her first big one, raising $2,100 for Anna Jaques
Hospital’s continuing education program in memory of her husband,
who had several stays there while fighting cancer.
“At
82 years young she has more positive energy and drive to help people,
it is truly amazing,” said her daughter, Wendy Lockhart of West
Newbury. “I am so proud of her and all that she does.”
Noting
that she has no regular route — “I just ride” — Jerome said
she will sometimes go to downtown Newburyport and run errands, or
cruise along local rail trails. She averages 10 to 17 miles a day,
tallying them up diligently in a small logbook, and has kept going
despite a hip replacement and two knee surgeries, not to mention a
few spills.
So
what keeps her going?
In
addition to her gratitude to everyone who donates and the support of
her family, “I don’t like to just sit and do nothing,” she
said. “I’ve always been very active.”
Which
is a bit of an understatement.
While
a student at Rockport High School, she was a cheerleader and also
played basketball and volleyball — the latter of which she
continued to participate in into her 40s and 50s. She snowshoes,
cross-country skis, kayaks, dances, gardens, and does all her own
yard work. She also has an indoor bike, a treadmill, and a skiing
machine. She uses those only when she cannot go out on her winter
bike, a Bianchi, she said.
Over
the years, she has worked as a seamstress, braided nearly a dozen
colorful rugs that cover the floors of her home, hunted, fished, dug
clams, gone trap- and skeet-shooting, and made dozens of batches of
jams and jellies from berries she picked herself. She continues to
bake, but gives it all away because “you’ve got to watch the
pounds,” she said.
“I
guess there isn’t much I haven’t dabbled in,” she said. “I’m
very self-motivated, as you can see. I just can’t sit still. I
thoroughly enjoy life. I’ve crammed a lot into my 82 years.”
As
for the cycling, she has no plans to slow down.
“I
used to say ‘I wonder if when I’m 70, I’ll still be riding?’”
she recalled. “Now I wonder ‘Will I still be riding when I’m
90?’ ”
Those
who know her certainly think so — and then some.
“I
am so proud of her tenacity and pursuit of using what she enjoys to
help others,” said her son, Bill Jerome of Georgetown. “We hope
that she is still riding her bike when she is 100.”
Original
story link.
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2014 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC
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