Freddie Hoffman
Freddie Hoffman (c. 1959-) a native of River Edge, New Jersey, has, as of 2007, bicycled more than 1.4 million miles, further than two round trips to the moon. He has ridden his bicycle in the cause of the leukemia research and raised more than 1.1 million dollars.[1]
Oxygen deprivation at birth caused severe brain damage which left him with profound learning disabilities. However, he has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the world. He also takes pride in his ability to ride farther than most amateur racers. As a child Freddie had few if any friends and was attracted to bicycle riding as his escape from loneliness. His heroes were the astronauts who had been to the moon and his goal was to pedal his bicycle the distance to the moon and back. He describes his childhood bicycle as being his "rocket ship".
His mother died of leukemia in 1986. In addition to naming his bicycles "Ruth E." after her, he has focused on raising money in her memory to support leukemia research. Freddie keeps scrupulous mileage logs. He has ridden across the United States many times. He's visited every one of the contiguous 48 states and been honored by more than 30 state governors. Every Spring Freddie calls on his friends and supporters, now numbering in the hundreds, to get pledges to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation for his upcoming ride that summer.
References
- ↑ Reardon, Patricia; and Collina, Helen Lippman. "BICYCLISTS HEADING FOR THE OPEN ROAD", The New York Times, April 26, 1987. Accessed May 28, 2008. "SINCE 1965, says Freddie Hoffman of River Edge, he has bicycled more than 600,000 miles, or more than enough to go to the moon, orbit twice and come back."
- ABC News ran a story on Freddie Hoffman in September 2006 along with a 14-minute interview.
- Copy of article from Bicycling
- The Rivendell Reader profiled Freddie Hoffman in issue 42, published in March 2010 by Gary J. Boulanger.