Bike Ride on Monday for Bike Lady and Fallen Heroes

When: This Monday  Where: Gulf Breeze Walmart   Time: 6:00 a.m.  

Navarre Press will have a sag wagon at the 50 mile mark - for those that want to ride 50 - instead of 100. It will take you back to the Gulf Breeze Walmart

This memorial day, don’t be surprised if Gary Maddock isn’t barbequing or hanging at the beach.He has more important things to do – like ride 100 miles on his bicycle to honor a woman who has become a veritable legend in Navarre.Maddock, together with his wife and his friends Paul and Cherie Epstein, will be riding in the first-ever Bike Lady 100, a 100-mile bike ride to honor Elizabeth Dawn Allmon, a homeless woman who was killed in a tragic accident on U.S. Highway 98 last June.

Allmon, known to many as the “Bike Lady,” was killed after her bicycle was struck by a driver last June.Monica Frances Rothrock, 41, of Navarre, was traveling west on Highway 98 the morning of June 9, 2009, when she struck the rear of Allmon’s infamous Huffy bicycle.   Allmon, 51, who had lived in the Navarre area for several years, was thrown several hundred feet and later died from her injuries.“We’ve been riding on memorial day for years,” said Maddock, a self-described cycling enthusiast.  “It’s just usually, we’re riding to honor the fallen heroes.  This year, we’re doing both – honoring Allmon and those who have served.”Maddock and his cohorts will ride along the beach, across several bridges, up State Road 87, and along Highway 98 – right next to the spot where Allmon was killed.After Allmon’s death, mourners erected a makeshift shrine where Allmon was last seen pedaling.“We ride by her memorial several times a week,” said Maddock.  “Every time we do, we think it could have been us.  (Allmon) didn’t do anything wrong, she was riding where she was supposed to.  It could happen to any of us.”Allmon’s death launched a movement to increase awareness about the growing problem of homelessness in the Panhandle – one that Maddock hopes the Bike Lady 100 will help support.“It’s definitely an informal ride,” he explained.  “We’ll all meet at a spot, bring our own water, and there won’t be people waiting at spots along the way to say ‘turn here’ or anything like that.  But we’re hoping we can raise some money – and some awareness – for a good cause.”Maddock said the 100-mile trek is tough, but worth it.“We’re never really ready for it,” he said, “but we always say that toward the end, in the last miles, when we're really struggling, it helps remind us of the sacrifices of those fallen.  And it does.”Maddock and his supporters will kick off the event at 6 a.m. on memorial day – rain or shine.  He said not everyone must ride the full 100 miles, but he is hoping those that come out will help contribute to the Bike Lady cause – now and in the years that follow.“We’re hoping to make this a tradition, something we do every memorial day,” he said.  “We’ll pass around the helmet and whatever we get will go toward (Allmon’s) charity. We’re riding for a lot of people this year.”For more information about the ride, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .