Meet Molly Hunter, seventeenth in our get-to-know-the-riders series. Molly also rode in 2014, and 2015. The 2017 PA-to-DC ride will take place May 19-24.
I was first motivated to go on the bike trip in 2015, as a freshman in high school. My dad had been on the trip the year before, my mom was very involved in working for PA IPL, and Jon Brockopp, a good friend and neighbor, thought it was a good plan as well. The first year I went I was more nervous about the actual trip than anything else. I recognized that it was in order to raise money for PA IPL and that it was all about fighting climate change, but for me personally it was the ride itself that was the challenge.
This year is a little different. I have changed since 2015, and am now a senior in high school. The two times that I participated in the trip before, I went to Hill visits and discovered that they are one of my least favorite things to do, but I’m starting to see more and more how important it is to talk to legislators, and the impact that I and others of my age can make.
I love biking and generally being outside, so of course that motivated me to go on yet another bike trip, but I also realize that doing this trip might help me continue to be able to do the same things that I enjoy in the future. Especially now that I’m voting age, I am glad to have had this experience speaking to people in government to help me feel connected.
When I’m not training or riding, I play on the State High girls ultimate frisbee team. We recently attended our first tournament and it was a lot of fun. I also was a member of the diving team which was a great way to challenge myself in a relatively low stress situation. Even though all we have at my house are our 3 chickens, I love animals, including snails (see photo above!) and most others. I do not like writing about myself, and I admit that I am ready to be done with high school and move on to the challenges of the wider world.
Molly’s home congregation, Grace Lutheran Church, is a PA IPL member organization.
Donate online to PA IPL in support of the PA-to-DC cyclists
or send a check, memo: bike 2017 to PA IPL 243 S. Allen St. #337, State College, PA 16801
MANY THANKS to our 2017 silver sponsor Sun Directed
and our 2017 bronze sponsors, the KBB Beth Richards Group and Freeze/Thaw Cycles