Former Batavia man bikes California to Florida at 62
Robert Marincic completed Monday a nearly 2,700-mile solo bicycle trip from California to Florida to raise funds for the American Cancer Society much faster than he anticipated.
It took the former Batavia resident just 41 days, including a two-day stop in Carrollton, Texas, where his wife met him for a visit halfway through the trip. He thought he'd be on the road for seven full weeks, he said.
Oh, and he also completed his first century ride (100 miles) last week after celebrating his 62nd birthday somewhere on the road — he can't remember where.
“I am totally amazed that I was able to do it,” Marincic said Tuesday. He and his wife, Kay, live in Oglesby in LaSalle County, where he was greeted by a police squad car and firetruck escort, and a party of 25 people at his house.
“I'm feeling great. My body held up really well. There are no ill effects. So I would probably do it again. ... No, not really,” he said, chuckling.
His last day on the road was both the best and worst of his journey, Marincic said.
The bike ride began before sunrise, and while it was still dark, it started raining — hard. That was the first time it rained throughout the entire trip, he said. “I was soaked. I just wanted to get it over with.”
A few hours later came the best moment, when he arrived in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., and asked someone at a nearby Joe's Crab Shack to take a photograph of him on the beach. “I still have a smile on my face that I did it,” he said.
Marincic kept a blog during the trip and raised about $7,500 for the American Cancer Society in honor of his late cousin and biking buddy John Prazen.
He left San Diego on Sept. 21 and rode through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. On the road, he often wore an ACS shirt and ended up chatting with people who asked him about his trip. He loved getting encouragement from strangers, he said.
Marincic didn't think he lost more than 5 pounds off his 170-pound frame. “I was continually eating PowerBars, fruit, peanuts. I ate at least four meals a day, sometimes five. I mean, a couple of days I was biking 9 to 10 hours a day,” he said.
Along the way, Marincic mostly stayed in cheap motels — places he'd never bring his wife, he joked — but still ended up spending quite a bit of money for the trip, including airfare.
Kay Marincic said she is incredibly proud of her husband and very relieved the trip went well.
“We talked every day on the phone, sometimes twice a day. I was always afraid for his safety.”