Six years ago, 67-year-old
cyclist and animal lover Floyd
Lampart began planning for
what most would characterize
as not your typical bike
ride. This one was a 32-state
odyssey that took him around
the entire perimeter of the
continental United States and
into two Canadian provinces.
Eleven thousand five hundred
miles later, Lampart’s journey
is complete.
Lampart arrived home in
Lake Clear, N.Y. on Monday to
attend a noon welcome-home
reception at the Tri-Lakes
Humane Society located at 255
George Lapan Memorial Hwy.
in Saranac Lake.
Lampart hit the road April
4 from his home in Lake Clear,
on a trip that he thought would
take six months, but which he
completed in just under five
months.
Milestones included visiting
the four most distant geographical
points in the continental
U.S., including the northernmost
point at Angle Inlet,
Minn., westernmost point at La
Push, Wash., Key West, Fla. in
the south and Lubec, Maine in
the east. Lampart took on the
challenge to raise funds for
Best Friends Animal Society
for its new veterinary clinic
at its sanctuary near Kanab,
Utah. He was successful, raising
more than $50,000 along
the way.
Lampart said he hoped
raising the funds would help
“enable the clinic to diagnose
and investigate illness more
quickly so that all the animals in
the Society’s care are healthy,
happy and ready for their forever
homes.”
He and his wife, Martha,
are long-time, loyal supporters
of Best Friends and usually
visit the Society’s sanctuary
in Kanab at least once a year.
They have adopted five dogs
from Best Friends in the past
seven years, and Martha says
she tries to keep Floyd away
from the “Old Friends” area
of the sanctuary because he
always finds another dog that
“needs him.”
That is exactly what happened
on the ride. Lampart
now has a new family member
named Fuzzy, a dog he rescued
back in July from the side of the
road in El Centro, Calif. After
weeks in the shelter without
being adopted (and with Floyd
unable to get Fuzzy out of his
mind) Martha adopted Fuzzy
and had him flown across the
country to New York, where
he waited anxiously to greet
Floyd.
Lampart predicted the
ride would be a monster, and
it turned out he was right.
Averaging 60-80 miles a day,
depending on weather and
road conditions, Lampart spent
more than half of his time
camping at state parks. Traveling
alone and unsupported, he
carried everything on his bike,
including his tent, sleeping bag
and clothes.
Asked how he felt about
arriving back in New York, he
said: “I see the light at the end
of the tunnel.”
Although the ride is complete,
animal lovers can still
donate to Best Friends as part
of Floyd’s ride by visiting:
https://www.facebook.
com/Peda lForPaws B ikeRideBestFriends
Answers to FAQs about Best
Friends Animal Society are
available here:
h t t p : / / b e s t f r i e n d s .
o r g / W h o – W e – A r e /
Frequently-Asked-Questions/
About Best Friends Animal
Society®
Best Friends Animal Society
is the only national animal welfare
organization focused exclusively
on ending the killing of
dogs and cats in America’s shelters.
An authority and leader in
the no-kill movement since its
founding in 1984, Best Friends
runs the nation’s largest nokill
sanctuary for companion
animals, as well as life-saving
programs in partnership with
rescue groups and shelters
across the country. Since its
founding, Best Friends has
helped reduce the number of
animals killed in shelters from
17 million per year to about 4
million. Best Friends has the
knowledge, technical expertise
and on-the-ground network to
end the killing and Save Them
All™.