Animal lover begins 12,000 mile bike ride to benefit Best Friends Animal Society

Via PRWeb - Floyd Lampart is no stranger to long bike rides. He’s covered more than 7,000 miles in two trips across the country, and now he’s set to depart on his longest ride yet.

After six years of planning, the 67-year-old cyclist and animal lover will leave at 7 a.m. on April 4 from his home in Lake Clear, N.Y. and begin "Pedal for Paws," a six-month, 12,000-mile ride around the perimeter of the continental United States.

Lampart is taking on the challenge hoping to raise more than $100,000 to support two pet projects; make improvements to a local humane society and help fund an in-house laboratory for the new veterinary clinic at Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah.

Lampart chose Best Friends Animal Society because he wanted to “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.”

Lampart and his wife, Martha, are long-time, loyal donors to the Utah organization and usually visit the Society’s sanctuary in Kanab at least once a year. They have adopted five dogs from Best Friends over the past seven years. His wife jokes that she tries to keep him away from the “Old Friends” area of the sanctuary because he usually finds another dog that “needs him.”

The trip, Lampart admits, is a monster. He plans to cover 75 to 100 miles a day, depending on weather, traffic and other issues such as hills. He'll stop for the night in places where it is convenient to camp or stay at reasonable motels. He will travel alone and unsupported, carrying all his personal items on his bike, including his tent, sleeping bag and clothes.

His three dogs and two cats will stay home to keep his wife company while he’s on the road.

Lampart will leave New York and head toward Lubec, Maine, to the easternmost post office in the U.S. From there he’ll head south, eventually reaching the post office at Key West, Fla. His intent is to pedal to the four most distant geographical locations in the continental U.S., including La Push, Wash. in the West and Angle Inlet, Minn. in the North.

To follow Lampart’s progress on Facebook and support him by making a donation to Best Friends, visit www.facebook.com/PedalForPawsBikeRideBestFriends.