Although former Ortonville resident Ken Dockery won’t set any world records when he bicycles 3,627 miles across the U.S. this summer, he feels safe in saying he is the only Ross procedure heart patient to do so.
He is also probably the first heart patient from the Cleveland Clinic to bike cross country. He hopes to raise thousands of dollars for the cardiac care center, which has been ranked number one in the country several years in a row according to U.S. News & World Report.
‘It’s going to be so exciting,? says Dockery, 39. ‘Weather is always a factor’too hot, too rainy. When you ride 5-7 hours a day, it gets a little boring, too, even though the scenery is new. That’s a challenge.?
Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic treated Dockery in 2002 after he was diagnosed with bicuspid aortic valve and stenosis, a birth defect. His valves were too small and he was missing a third flap. Without surgery he would have died within a matter of weeks. Dockery underwent the rare Ross procedure, during which doctors replaced one aortic valve with his own pulmonary valve and replaced another with a human donor valve.
He began bicycling in April 2003 as part of his rehabilitation and not long after struck upon the idea of riding 500 miles from his home, then in Pennsylvania, to Ortonville, where his parents still live, to raise money for the Cleveland Clinic. He made the journey, the first Inspire Hope Tour, in May-June 2005, raising $3,000. The following year, he made another 500 mile trip around southern Ohio, raising $2,000.
Now, Dockery, who has had no health problems following his procedure, is ready for the next adventure. He has trained for the past nine months, riding a stationary bike every day for 25 miles, and also using an elliptical machine, treadmill and weight training as part of his regular workouts.
After a lot of investigation online and studying different routes, Dockery says he will begin his trip June 20 in Astoria, Oregon, and hopes to finish August 9 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He is riding west to east for the wind factor. He expects to reach Ortonville July 28, then take a northerly route to Port Huron, to Ontario, on to Niagara Falls, and into New York. Major stops on his route will include Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore and he plans to take the Manitowoc Ferry from Wisconsin to Michigan.
‘I’ll average 75-80 miles per day,? says Dockery, whose wife Renee and four children will accompany him on the trip in a 27-foot Coachman motorhome.
‘I’m really excited… Hopefully people will be excited about giving and they will come see us when we get to town.?
Donations can be made online at www.inspirehopetour.org. or make a check payable to Inspire Hope Tour, c/o Swineford National Bank, 227 East Main St., Middleburg, PA 17842.