PERU — For the past 40 years, Donald Evans has kept track of all the roads he has cruised on his bicycle, highlighting each one on a map.
Last summer, while he was looking over that map, he realized he had ridden on about half of the roads in Clinton County.
"Well," Evans decided. "I'm going to ride on every road."
KNEE PROBLEM
He was facing an inevitable knee replacement and decided he would give it a try before the surgery.
The 62-year-old Peru man, who has been retired for about four years, completed that task recently, making him the only known person to do so.
"I don't know anyone else crazy enough. But it was quite enjoyable. I set the goal, and I completed it."
Evans isn't sure how many miles he's put on his bicycle because he doesn't keep track.
"I don't like odometers. I ride by time, rather than distance."
He said he generally rode about 2½ hours at a time, with most trips averaging 25 to 35 miles. Other trips were only two or three miles because he sometimes ran into dead ends and had to backtrack.
BACK ROADS
He would just look over his map and then load his bicycle into the car, driving toward the new routes, most of them round-trip journeys that led him back to his car.
But his quest took him to roads he had never traveled by car.
He has also biked for about 45 minutes at a time without seeing a house, a car or another person.
Evans, who has owned about 10 bikes in his life, made a habit out of stopping at all of the town welcome signs for photographs.
He spent the last two summers on a touring bike, which he said was best for the times he would run into road construction or unpaved roads.
RoAD RAVES
Evans, who has also ridden a lot in Vermont and Pennsylvania, says Clinton County has some of the best roads for bicycling.
"It's a well-kept secret. Most people don't realize it."
His favorite areas were in Rouses Point, Peru, Ellenburg and Churubusco.
But he enjoyed the scenery all over the county, especially the apple orchards, mountains and cornfields.
CHALLENGES
He did face some challenges along the way, though.
"Some days were hot, and other days were really cold. But I hung in and did it."
At one point, he planned a 40-mile round-trip route in Chateaugay but ran into an unpaved road, causing him to backtrack 25 miles.
He has also discovered mistakes on the map. One road was supposed to be about 15 miles long but stopped after a quarter mile.
On another occasion, he decided to ride his bike about 110 miles from Peru to Saratoga. He completed that trip, but then, ironically, got a flat tire on a 12-mile trip to work the next day.
FRIENDLY
But he never had any problems with people, he said.
"Everyone I met was friendly. But you never know what you will find around the next corner."
Now Evans has some new goals in mind: He wants to travel all of the unpaved roads with his mountain bike, and he also wants to conquer Essex County.
"The doctor said the best thing for my knee is to keep doing what I'm doing."
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