SEASON 2, EPISODE 10
BRUCE PAPPS

RELEASED MAY 31, 2022

It was nearly 6 months in the making, but in late April, I was finally able to connect with Bruce Papps. At 84 years young, he rides his bike every day and had already clocked over 600 miles in 2022. As he says “if it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen.”

But first, let’s back up a second. Last fall Bruce was featured on WMUR TV for a segment called “Why a Laconia veteran bikes 23 miles a day at 83 years old.” His daughter Debbie sent me the link and said that maybe he’d be a good guest for the podcast. I was thrilled at the idea but out of precaution we waited out the winter. Finally the day arrived and I took the beautiful 2 hour drive from Scarborough to Laconia NH, where I was greeted by Debbie, Bruce and his darling wife Joyce. We all sat in the living room as I hit record and we dove into the stories of a life on bikes — from his first bright red Schwinn that he bought by raking blueberries for an entire summer, to his 35 years of commuting to work on a bike, to his secrets for a long, healthy and happy life.

Afterward, as I was packing up, I was invited to stay for lunch. How could I refuse a roast beef sandwich, chips, pickles and a root beer on crushed ice?! And topped off with a bowl of Jordan’s ice cream. At this point I jokingly said I may just need to take a nap on the couch, full-well meaning I simply was having such a delightful time I didn’t want to leave. But alas it was time for Bruce to go for a ride, so we said goodbye for now. With a ziplock bag of homemade cookies in hand, I smiled the entire way home and I’m already looking forward to us connecting on bikes this summer.