Local man bikes 800 miles to 50th college reunion

CLEVELAND -- Knowing he was on the brink of his 50th college reunion, Oliver Seikel wanted to do something special to commemorate the event and prove that age is just a number.

So, rather than fly to Boston to attend his Class of 1959 reunion at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oliver decided to bike there.

"I had to prove myself that I wasn't getting that old," Oliver, 72, says. "I decided an 800-mile trip to Cambridge on the bicycle would be the way to do it."

Oliver, a lawyer, is an avid cyclist, biking four days a week. He also exercises three mornings each week with his wife, Meredith.

His fitness prepared him for the journey, and Oliver spent about six months planning the trip, which involved mapping out a route that took him along the Erie Canal and figuring out resting spots.

"I targeted 50 miles a day and, more or less every fourth day, a rest and recovery day," he says.

Oliver left the front steps of his apartment building, Judson Manor in University Circle, on May 13 and, three weeks later, cruised into the MIT campus on June 3 to the amazement of his classmates who dubbed him the "Fittest of the Fiftieth."

"It was a great feeling," Oliver says, of his completed journey. "It's hard to put into words, but just a great feeling of satisfaction that I had done it."

During the ride, Oliver was joined by two friends who also are in their seventies and were celebrating 50th college reunions this summer.