Pedal pushers
Athens native, mother travel the nation and beyond by bike
June 24, 2007
By: MATT GALLAGHER
Messenger staff writer
The Athens Messenger
For Athens native Cheryl Hummon, the wheels on a bicycle are what make the world go around.
Hummon travels everywhere on two wheels, whether biking 15 miles to work every day or following the Underground Railroad, or bicycling from her mother, Meg Hummon's, house in Athens across the country to her home in Portland, Ore.
The 1982 Athens High School graduate took a leave from work and spent this spring pedaling a route recently mapped out by Adventure Cycling that follows the Underground Railroad, from Mobile, Ala., to Owen Sound, Ontario. Caravaning with 16 other people, she biked the route's 2,058 miles. Ever the curious one, Hummon added another 400 miles to her journey because she has a tendency to get distracted from the path.
And since that wasn't enough for her legs to fall off, Cheryl's mom met her in Toronto, and the two biked 650 miles to Athens.
Today, Cheryl plans to hop back on the bike and pedal 4,000 miles home to Portland.
For Cheryl, bicycling has always brought a sense of independence. At age 7, she was biking from Athens to The Plains on her own. When she was in the third grade, she loved to ride her bike to Dow Lake to swim. As long as her chores were done, a bike was like a magic carpet that could take her wherever she wanted to go.
As she entered adulthood, she stuck with her bike for financial reasons. She didn't have a car, so she biked the seven miles to her first job. She discovered that she liked starting her day in a bicycle seat. Ever since, a bicycle has been her preferred mode of travel.
"Biking is a good way to travel," Cheryl said. "You can actually see the countryside, feel the wind and listen to the birds. You see things more up close and personal that you just don't get in a car or on a motorcycle."
Plus, bikes are good for the environment, she said.
"We need fewer people driving cars," she said. "Any person on a bike is a role model showing that it can be done. You don't need a car to go everywhere. The only fuel a bike takes is food. Biking is a good diet and exercise plan rolled into one."
The trip that followed the Underground Railroad gave Hummon a close connection to history.
The group departed from Mobile, Ala., which was once a harbor where slave ships were brought in. The route was inspired by the slave song "Follow the Drinking Gourd," which mapped the slaves' route to freedom. Maps along the route showed places of historic interest. Every week the riders were given a free day, usually near a historical location where they could learn the history of the Underground Railroad.
The riders carried their own food and gear. The route was grueling.
"This was a difficult trip," Cheryl said. "It's very hilly from Alabama up through Kentucky. It's very difficult, but the challenges we faced were nothing compared to what the slaves underwent."
Guides described ordeals undergone by many slaves along the route. Slaves stuck to the swamps to avoid dogs, often traversing areas with poisonous snakes, Cheryl said. Food had to be scavenged along the way. The farther north the slaves went, the higher their capture was worth, making their kidnapping more lucrative to bounty hunters, she added.
Meg shares her daughter's passion for biking. For the past five years, the two have gone on annual biking trips. After Cheryl completed the Underground Railroad route, Meg flew to Toronto with a bicycle that folds into a suitcase. She then rode from the airport to a hostel where she met up with Cheryl. During the ride back to Meg's Athens home, the two stopped at the home of Meg's friend Judy Gregg. The house, they said, was the home of Gregg's great grandfather, a prominent abolitionist, and was a stop on the Underground Railroad, equipped with a secret room for hiding slaves.
Even as Cheryl climbs back on her bike today with the intent of spending the summer pedaling the 4,000 miles back to Portland, she has plans to meet up with her mom. Meg will join Cheryl in Missoula, Mont., and the two will bike the last thousand miles of the trip together.
"It's fun and we have a really good time," Meg said. "It's a good chance to talk about lots of things. When you are on a bike, it feels like you are walking down a trail. You can really take in what's around you."
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