Since he was young, Peter Nelson always wanted to ride his bike across the United States. The Fraser cyclist always dreamed of biking the Great American Rail Trail, a cross-country multiuse trail that stretches more than 3,700 miles between Washington and Washington, D.C. The trail travels along old railway tracks that connect the East and West coasts.
Nelson, 71, completed an 760-mile trek from Shoshoni, Wyoming, to Omaha, Nebraska, and arrived at the Bob Kerry Bridge in Omaha on May 26. He biked for a total of nine days, averaging 84 miles a day.
He did the first leg of the cross-country trail in 2023 with a good friend, Roger Hedlund. They biked from Washington to Shoshoni, Wyoming, and had plans to ride the entire trail together. However, a month before the two were scheduled to leave for the second leg, Hedlund took his own life.
This year, Nelson biked alone in memory of his biking partner.
“He was an amazing man. He was a beast,” Nelson said.
At his age, Nelson says that he has a hard time finding friends who are willing to bike across the country with him. Hedlund was a regular participant in races that most people don’t even attempt or only do once to cross off a bucket list item. Hedlund had competed in multiple Ironman Triathlon races, which has participants complete a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon, in that order.
Nelson said he was lucky if he could keep Hedlund in his sight while biking together. It was because of Hedlund that he bought a gravel bike in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nelson said they must have biked hundreds of miles together on dirt roads around the county.
“I was thankful that we became friends and that we started mountain biking together,” Nelson said.
They would also ski together. Over the past winter season, Nelson said the two skied together 15 times. He said that each time was wonderful and that he had no idea his friend was struggling. Nelson, along with many others in the community, looked up to Hedlund and his accomplishments.
Nelson hopes this transcontinental bike ride will bring awareness to the importance of mental health in Grand County in memory of his friend.
The end of the ride was tough, according to Nelson. He had been biking in bad weather and his body was tired after 700 miles of riding. During these final, tough moments, Nelson was reminded of who he was carrying with him.
“I was like, ‘Come on, Roger.’ I had my son’s ashes in my pack, so I’m like, ‘Come on, guys, push me,’” Nelson said.
After nine days of riding, he made it to the finish line.
The next leg of the transcontinental trip will take Nelson from Omaha to Chicago. He hasn’t figured out all the details yet, but he hopes to begin the third leg sometime in September. Nelson’s mission will be to continue to raise awareness surrounding mental health as well as raise money for the Grand Foundation’s H.O.P.E Fund.