A farmer rides his bike.

Roney said he has always been very active and started out running. “Even as a kid I liked jogging,” he said. “I wasn’t very good at it, but it was very satisfying.”

But in the early ‘90s he got into biking. “It’s easier on the body, and I could go a lot further distance.”

While he typically rides alone, Roney shared his new hobby with others through the Illinois Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom fundraising bike ride. “I did that ride for a number of years and was co-chair one year,” he said. “Our 20th and final ride was this year.”

Roney also has completed Bike Across Missouri and in July will again participate in RAGBRAI (Register Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). About 10,000 people register for the weeklong race, he said, but there might be 15,000 or 20,000 riding in parts of the race, which averages about 468 miles, or 67 miles a day.

“You have to see it to believe it,” he said. “Sometimes if you get off the route you have trouble getting back on -- there’s that many people riding.”

Last year Roney participated with two friends and one of his sons. They took turns driving the van and resting.

Full article:

http://jg-tc.com/news/farm_focus/when-the-work-is-caught-up-farmer-... South of Decatur.