Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.bentbaggerlen
07-30-03, 05:29 PM
I'm posting this story (with the permission of the editor) from the Reminder Community News. The Reminder is a free weekly paper delivered to over 210,000 homes and businesses in fifty three towns. You can visit their sight at remindernet.com
A little positive cycling press can never hurt. I think this story should be shared, so point your friends to this post.
I have seen Nancy Fortin many times around town. Her outlook on life is one we could all follow, we could all learn something from her.
The story:
[B] The Inspirational and Unique Life of the ‘ Bike Lady’ [B]
By Barbara Bresnahan
Special Correspondent to
The Reminder
Sixty-nine year old Nancy Fortin could write a book about her life, and perhaps she should. She’s done some amazing things. Besides raising six children on her own and learning to live on modest means, her most remarkable claim to fame comes from a decision she made some 16 years ago when she traded her car in favor of a bicycle.
In this day and age, when transportation is such a necessity, Nancy has proven that the old-fashioned bicycle will do just nicely. In fact, not only does Nancy complete all her errands without the use of a car, she has discovered a whole new world and a connection with nature that could have never occurred from sitting behind a steering wheel.
When Nancy was 53-years old, she came to the realization that if she wanted to retire at age 55, she’d have to give up her car. Nancy recalls, “I couldn’t do both.”
She tested herself by riding her bicycle to work—all the way from her home in East Windsor to Pratt and Whitney in South Windsor—to see if it was something she could actually do. It was, and she loved it.
“It was like being on vacation every day,” she says. “It’s one of the best decisions I made in my whole life.”
Fortin’s life was transformed by that decision. As Nancy explains, “Bike riding is not just riding a bike. It’s a whole way of life for me. There’s so much more to it.”
At 6:00 a.m. every morning, Nancy hits the road. She visits friends and does her business, such as grocery shopping and picking up supplies for the garden and birds in her yard. She stops to chat with the bread man, the UPS drivers, CL&P and FedEx workers, the water company and local maintenance crews. “Practically everyone knows me by sight. They all holler and say ‘hi,’” she says.
Fortin travels 30-50 miles each day.
“My normal routine takes me in a 15-mile radius from home. I traveled 85 miles one day when I went to Barkhamsted and back. I’ve gone to Glastonbury, East Longmeadow, Middletown, Putnam,” she said.
Fortin has traveled every corner of Connecticut except the southwest, although she’d like to visit a national park in that direction one day.
“I bunch up my errands by town,” Fortin explained.
But it’s not just errands that brings Nancy to the streets each day. There’s a whole world of natural beauty all around her.
“During my first two years in senior housing, I collected all these weeds,” she said, pointing to the walls of her kitchen which are decorated with dozens of dried arrangements and wreaths.
She also picks wild vegetables from the woods and knows all the edible plants.
“I can find anything edible outdoors,” she said. “Black walnuts, hazelnuts. I’d never have to go hungry even if I didn’t have a cent of money. There are zillions of things out there to eat for free.”
She explained how she eats the various parts of tiger lilies at certain times of the year. “The roots, buds and blossoms are all edible. You can eat cattails, too.”
In her kitchen she has big bunches of red sumac that she picked.
“I could buy Coca Cola,” she stated, “but why would I do that when I can make sumac tea and lemonade?” She also picks wild berries for making jelly.
“All this comes from being on the road,” she said.
It’s easy to pick out Nancy’s unit in the senior community. It’s the one with the pretty maple tree surrounded by a garden of colorful flowers and rock border. Her backyard is a paradise of flowering ivy and vines weaving through a trellis. Clematis and lilies and a variety of other blooming plants run along both sides of her patio, which leads to a backyard with black-eyed Susans and wild plants. Even her walkway is all natural, consisting of “sliced” tree stumps as stepping stones. All of this cost practically nothing.
Fortin dug her maple tree out of the woods and brought it home on her bicycle. She transplanted the wild flowers from the woods to her yard and even brought home dozens of rocks—one basketful at a time—to her garden. Even the rich soil in which her plants grow was free.
“When the cemeteries throw out the old plants, I take them,” she said.
The geranium and chrysanthemum, especially, can be revived. If they don’t survive, “the potting soil is still good.”
Showing off a large pot of soil on her patio, she explained, “I would never think of stealing anything. These are things that have been thrown away. I retrieved this potting soil from St. Patrick’s Cemetery the other day.”
Plants and dirt aren’t the only useful items she’s discovered by being on the road.
“I used to pick up cans like crazy at one point,” she remembers. “But my bike is too fast to do it now. By the time I spot one, I’m already long past it.”
Bicycles are another item that Nancy frequently saves from an untimely demise at the dump; she’s currently fixing up a blue bike. In her travels, she’s finally found a seat that fits it perfectly.
“At one point, I had six bikes and used them for parts. I do the repairs myself. If I get a flat on the road, I can fix it in ten minutes. I like to pick up bikes free on the road and overhaul them,” she said.
She changed her current bike, which is three decades old, from a ten-speed to a five-speed.
“It’s very easy to pedal,” she said. Although she does all the small repairs herself, she found it a worthwhile investment to have a professional overhaul all the moving parts, including bearings, cranks, and hubs.
Nancy has a general philosophy on life— “Use it, or lose it. It keeps your body and soul together if you keep active. The more you do, the more you’re able to do,” she explains. This would explain why she is “never sick” and takes no prescriptions or over-the-counter medications.
“I did fracture my arm in three places once,” she recalls, adding, “The doctors wanted to put it in a cast and a sling. I told them ‘no’ because I wouldn’t be able to ride my bike.”
So she left the hospital, in pain, but at least able to ride her bike. She finds this rather amusing.
Nancy is a very independent woman. She’s been married twice and single since the age of 40.
“When I was raising the kids by myself, I had three jobs back to back,” she said.
Her first introduction to serious biking was “40-something years ago.”
“I had no car then either. I was going through a divorce,” she recalled. She remembers her unique method of travel.
“I had three children then. I had a wire basket on the front of the bike which the baby sat in. We put holes in the basket for the legs. On the crossbar—it was a boy’s bicycle—I had a tractor seat that another child sat on. Then there was a child seat, which was rare in those days, in the back for the third child. This is how I got around. I had all three kids with me plus groceries.”
She would surely be cited for safety violations if she were to do such a thing today, but back then it was what she had to do.
“When you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, you can do it. You can survive,” said Fortin.
“I was born this way—independent,” she remarks. She’s also convinced that she is meant to be single.
“I’ve had the opportunity to get married many times, but I’m better off alone. No one can put their thumb down on me,” she laughs.
Even when she “dates,” it’s dutch treat.
“I owe you nothing, you owe me nothing. I set the record straight right off the bat,” said Fortin.
She’s a bit of a spit fire, as one may guess. Even her run-ins with the police have been humorous and full of pep.
“Sometimes I hitchhike in the winter. I get lectures from everyone about it. One South Windsor cop was going to book me. He called headquarters and everything. He called his supervisor on the phone, and his boss told him that every town picks me up. He said, ‘What should I do with her?’ He said, ‘Take her where she wants to go!’ That was cool.”
On a snowy day, she’ll get about eight or nine rides in a day to get where she wants to go. Once, an Enfield police officer spotted her hitchhiking on Route 5.
“It was too late to fake it,” she recalled, “he already saw me. So I just kept hitching. He stopped and starting yelling at me. I said, ‘Are you going to yell at me or are you going to give me a ride?’ He gave me a ride to the East Windsor line.”
Fortin’s rapport with the police is actually pretty good. Like she says, everyone knows her.
Her age is not a factor. Her only malady is an inner-ear balance impairment called Menieres Disease. Although the disease has caused her to only need assistance once in her lifetime —a kind policeman brought her home and brought her a pot (for the nausea)—she decided it was best to stop riding at night.
Generally, she is back home at 5:00 p.m. or so each evening.
“I used to swim in the reservoir at night alone,” but she gave that up, as well. After all, she has to keep herself safe, as she still has her six loving children, who live nearby, who would lecture her if she didn’t. Plus, she has her group of friends that she “hangs with” at Dunkin Donuts in South Windsor. What would they do without her wit and wisecracks?
She is an inspiration, as she’s been told on many occasions. It makes her happy when she sees the increase of bike riders in recent years. Maybe people are finally discovering what she has known for years.
“Imagine what you’re missing out on by being in a car. There’s so much more to life.”
A little positive cycling press can never hurt. I think this story should be shared, so point your friends to this post.
I have seen Nancy Fortin many times around town. Her outlook on life is one we could all follow, we could all learn something from her.
The story:
[B] The Inspirational and Unique Life of the ‘ Bike Lady’ [B]
By Barbara Bresnahan
Special Correspondent to
The Reminder
Sixty-nine year old Nancy Fortin could write a book about her life, and perhaps she should. She’s done some amazing things. Besides raising six children on her own and learning to live on modest means, her most remarkable claim to fame comes from a decision she made some 16 years ago when she traded her car in favor of a bicycle.
In this day and age, when transportation is such a necessity, Nancy has proven that the old-fashioned bicycle will do just nicely. In fact, not only does Nancy complete all her errands without the use of a car, she has discovered a whole new world and a connection with nature that could have never occurred from sitting behind a steering wheel.
When Nancy was 53-years old, she came to the realization that if she wanted to retire at age 55, she’d have to give up her car. Nancy recalls, “I couldn’t do both.”
She tested herself by riding her bicycle to work—all the way from her home in East Windsor to Pratt and Whitney in South Windsor—to see if it was something she could actually do. It was, and she loved it.
“It was like being on vacation every day,” she says. “It’s one of the best decisions I made in my whole life.”
Fortin’s life was transformed by that decision. As Nancy explains, “Bike riding is not just riding a bike. It’s a whole way of life for me. There’s so much more to it.”
At 6:00 a.m. every morning, Nancy hits the road. She visits friends and does her business, such as grocery shopping and picking up supplies for the garden and birds in her yard. She stops to chat with the bread man, the UPS drivers, CL&P and FedEx workers, the water company and local maintenance crews. “Practically everyone knows me by sight. They all holler and say ‘hi,’” she says.
Fortin travels 30-50 miles each day.
“My normal routine takes me in a 15-mile radius from home. I traveled 85 miles one day when I went to Barkhamsted and back. I’ve gone to Glastonbury, East Longmeadow, Middletown, Putnam,” she said.
Fortin has traveled every corner of Connecticut except the southwest, although she’d like to visit a national park in that direction one day.
“I bunch up my errands by town,” Fortin explained.
But it’s not just errands that brings Nancy to the streets each day. There’s a whole world of natural beauty all around her.
“During my first two years in senior housing, I collected all these weeds,” she said, pointing to the walls of her kitchen which are decorated with dozens of dried arrangements and wreaths.
She also picks wild vegetables from the woods and knows all the edible plants.
“I can find anything edible outdoors,” she said. “Black walnuts, hazelnuts. I’d never have to go hungry even if I didn’t have a cent of money. There are zillions of things out there to eat for free.”
She explained how she eats the various parts of tiger lilies at certain times of the year. “The roots, buds and blossoms are all edible. You can eat cattails, too.”
In her kitchen she has big bunches of red sumac that she picked.
“I could buy Coca Cola,” she stated, “but why would I do that when I can make sumac tea and lemonade?” She also picks wild berries for making jelly.
“All this comes from being on the road,” she said.
It’s easy to pick out Nancy’s unit in the senior community. It’s the one with the pretty maple tree surrounded by a garden of colorful flowers and rock border. Her backyard is a paradise of flowering ivy and vines weaving through a trellis. Clematis and lilies and a variety of other blooming plants run along both sides of her patio, which leads to a backyard with black-eyed Susans and wild plants. Even her walkway is all natural, consisting of “sliced” tree stumps as stepping stones. All of this cost practically nothing.
Fortin dug her maple tree out of the woods and brought it home on her bicycle. She transplanted the wild flowers from the woods to her yard and even brought home dozens of rocks—one basketful at a time—to her garden. Even the rich soil in which her plants grow was free.
“When the cemeteries throw out the old plants, I take them,” she said.
The geranium and chrysanthemum, especially, can be revived. If they don’t survive, “the potting soil is still good.”
Showing off a large pot of soil on her patio, she explained, “I would never think of stealing anything. These are things that have been thrown away. I retrieved this potting soil from St. Patrick’s Cemetery the other day.”
Plants and dirt aren’t the only useful items she’s discovered by being on the road.
“I used to pick up cans like crazy at one point,” she remembers. “But my bike is too fast to do it now. By the time I spot one, I’m already long past it.”
Bicycles are another item that Nancy frequently saves from an untimely demise at the dump; she’s currently fixing up a blue bike. In her travels, she’s finally found a seat that fits it perfectly.
“At one point, I had six bikes and used them for parts. I do the repairs myself. If I get a flat on the road, I can fix it in ten minutes. I like to pick up bikes free on the road and overhaul them,” she said.
She changed her current bike, which is three decades old, from a ten-speed to a five-speed.
“It’s very easy to pedal,” she said. Although she does all the small repairs herself, she found it a worthwhile investment to have a professional overhaul all the moving parts, including bearings, cranks, and hubs.
Nancy has a general philosophy on life— “Use it, or lose it. It keeps your body and soul together if you keep active. The more you do, the more you’re able to do,” she explains. This would explain why she is “never sick” and takes no prescriptions or over-the-counter medications.
“I did fracture my arm in three places once,” she recalls, adding, “The doctors wanted to put it in a cast and a sling. I told them ‘no’ because I wouldn’t be able to ride my bike.”
So she left the hospital, in pain, but at least able to ride her bike. She finds this rather amusing.
Nancy is a very independent woman. She’s been married twice and single since the age of 40.
“When I was raising the kids by myself, I had three jobs back to back,” she said.
Her first introduction to serious biking was “40-something years ago.”
“I had no car then either. I was going through a divorce,” she recalled. She remembers her unique method of travel.
“I had three children then. I had a wire basket on the front of the bike which the baby sat in. We put holes in the basket for the legs. On the crossbar—it was a boy’s bicycle—I had a tractor seat that another child sat on. Then there was a child seat, which was rare in those days, in the back for the third child. This is how I got around. I had all three kids with me plus groceries.”
She would surely be cited for safety violations if she were to do such a thing today, but back then it was what she had to do.
“When you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, you can do it. You can survive,” said Fortin.
“I was born this way—independent,” she remarks. She’s also convinced that she is meant to be single.
“I’ve had the opportunity to get married many times, but I’m better off alone. No one can put their thumb down on me,” she laughs.
Even when she “dates,” it’s dutch treat.
“I owe you nothing, you owe me nothing. I set the record straight right off the bat,” said Fortin.
She’s a bit of a spit fire, as one may guess. Even her run-ins with the police have been humorous and full of pep.
“Sometimes I hitchhike in the winter. I get lectures from everyone about it. One South Windsor cop was going to book me. He called headquarters and everything. He called his supervisor on the phone, and his boss told him that every town picks me up. He said, ‘What should I do with her?’ He said, ‘Take her where she wants to go!’ That was cool.”
On a snowy day, she’ll get about eight or nine rides in a day to get where she wants to go. Once, an Enfield police officer spotted her hitchhiking on Route 5.
“It was too late to fake it,” she recalled, “he already saw me. So I just kept hitching. He stopped and starting yelling at me. I said, ‘Are you going to yell at me or are you going to give me a ride?’ He gave me a ride to the East Windsor line.”
Fortin’s rapport with the police is actually pretty good. Like she says, everyone knows her.
Her age is not a factor. Her only malady is an inner-ear balance impairment called Menieres Disease. Although the disease has caused her to only need assistance once in her lifetime —a kind policeman brought her home and brought her a pot (for the nausea)—she decided it was best to stop riding at night.
Generally, she is back home at 5:00 p.m. or so each evening.
“I used to swim in the reservoir at night alone,” but she gave that up, as well. After all, she has to keep herself safe, as she still has her six loving children, who live nearby, who would lecture her if she didn’t. Plus, she has her group of friends that she “hangs with” at Dunkin Donuts in South Windsor. What would they do without her wit and wisecracks?
She is an inspiration, as she’s been told on many occasions. It makes her happy when she sees the increase of bike riders in recent years. Maybe people are finally discovering what she has known for years.
“Imagine what you’re missing out on by being in a car. There’s so much more to life.”