Levittown’s Boyce getting back in the saddle again for his 18th ‘Ride for Runaways’

He wasn’t about to walk away from a cause as great as “The Ride for Runaways.”
Levittown’s Joe Boyce had done a total of 17 of those 500-mile bicycle treks (most of them in a scheduled week) but wasn’t quite sure he wanted to do No. 18, especially in light of the difficult winter we just experienced.
But someone reminded him that this could be a very special year.
According to Boyce, a friend of his explained why.
“I wasn’t sure whether I was going to do Anchor House for my 18th year,” Boyce wrote in a recent note to potential sponsors and contributors. “Then my friend Ned Weiss, endocrinologist extraordinaire, reminded me of the Chai, a Hebrew word meaning “life” or “alive” with a numerical value of 18.
“It is a cultural symbol representing longevity, good luck, and a
celebration of existence.”
How could he not get back into it again?
So, after raising more than $150,000 for this worthy cause since 2008, Boyce is getting ready to saddle up once again for some rather serious cycling in July.
This time he’s signed up for the “Flex Ride,” which will allow him to do separate daily rides from home rather than on the road.
“This way I can continue to raise money for homeless and unwanted children,” he said.
Boyce pointed out that across the nation, some four million children a year are exposed to family violence.
The Ride for Runaways has been the main source of revenue for this cause dating back to the 1980s.
Anchor House kids have grown up to become doctors, nurses, lawyers,
teachers, accountants, social workers, laborers, entrepreneurs and much
more—productive citizens in all walks of life. Anchor House gives kids a
chance.
Now 65, Boyce could probably do seven straight 70-mile-plus rides but it would draw training time away from his new passion, which is triathlon. He’s branched out into the swim-bike-run events and done rather well.
Setting his own schedule gives Boyce more of that “flexibility.”
“I’ll do some training with my crew and some on my own,” he explained in a telephone interview. “If I do that I can get there. It takes a little bit of the difficulty factor out of balancing everything in your life.
“Trying to come back and still compete (in triathlon) as a runner, a biker and a swimmer; as I get older I find it more difficult to pound out the miles. My legs don’t recuperate as quickly as they used to.”
By the end of each ride, he’s able to take stock and some pride in what he’s been able to accomplish.
that’s one of the reasons he’s back for those challenging 500 miles.
“I wasn’t sure,” Boyce said. “I was trying to decide back in the weariness of winter when I spoke to Ned. It was still cold. It’s difficult to think about doing 500 miles when your fingers are still freezing.
“After Ned explained the Chai, I had to do it then. I figured that was good karma. It was the little bit of a push I needed.”
Yardley’s Bill Garrett also takes part in The Ride for Runaways.
As for Boyce, he might be 65 but he’s still taking on demanding challenges like Ironman races. He concedes there are concessions that have to be made.
“Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “More stretching, more core work, more maintenance, more cross-training. Trying not to pound out the miles and doing them in a smart fashion.
“Because of the winter, I’m probably 300 or 400 (bike training) miles behind schedule. We really haven’t pushed the limit, gone up any of the big hills yet. We’re kind of easing into it.”
It’s all for a great cause and that’s what makes the wheels turn a little bit quicker.
If you would like to donate to the cause, here’s the link:
https://anchorhouseride.rallybound.org/flex/JoeBoyce

Race calendar

Saturday

Rock the Nock 5K/10K/13.1-Mile, 7:30 a.m., Quakertown. Contact www.runsignup.com

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