United by tragedy, 2 brothers find connection, positivity after 300 miles on bicycles

Brothers John and Jeff Kinney returned last month from a more than 300-mile trek by bicycle between Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Why would two men over 60 brave such an arduous journey? To honor their mother, 87-year-old Beverly Kinney, who was supposed to make the trip herself before she was tragically killed .

It all started with a PBS program titled “ The Great Ride: Landmarks Along the Trail ,” an hourlong special highlighting the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage running between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Maryland.

John Kinney said he was discussing the program with his mom, who also viewed it, and the pair decided they had to go.

“It wasn’t that much of a surprise for her to say, ‘Let’s do it,’ despite the fact that she’s 87 years old,” John Kinney said, noting that she took up long-distance cycling after retiring from teaching, even taking bike trips in Europe with her husband.

However, Beverly Kinney never got to see the trail in person. She was killed by the driver of a Metro bus on Jan. 11 while walking in a marked crosswalk with the right of way near the border of Evanston and Hyde Park.

The driver is facing misdemeanor vehicular homicide charges in Hamilton County Municipal Court and the family is suing the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority , asking it to complete an audit of how Metro hires and trains drivers and release it to the public.

Jeff Kinney, who lives in Connecticut, decided to take his mom’s place on the trip so he and his younger brother could complete the journey in her honor.

“I’ve always loved the outdoors. I think she probably loved it more than I did,” Jeff Kinney said. “I feel it’s just one more way for us to let her know how much we loved her.”

The brothers departed from Pittsburgh on June 3 and pedaled through woods, over rivers and past scenic countryside before they arrived in Cumberland several days and roughly 150 miles later. Then, they turned around and did it all again.

“It was very reminiscent of camping when we were children,” John Kinney said. “We both said multiple times a day, ‘Mama would’ve loved this.’”

The trail gave the brothers plenty of other reminders of their late mom.

All along the bike trail grew the jewelweed plant, John Kinney said, which his mother would use as a remedy whenever he broke out in a rash from poison ivy.

Jeff Kinney said he heard a “cacophony of bird songs” while on the trail that reminded him of his mother and how she could identify birds solely by their tune. “It was just beautiful,” he said.

While the trip went smoothly overall, several moments made the brothers feel as if they had a guardian angel watching over them.

On the last day of the return journey, John Kinney’s bike tire went flat just 20 miles outside of Pittsburgh. The brothers managed to get to a bike shop during one of the only two hours that the shop was open that day.

The man working at the shop initially said there was nothing he could do but was eventually able to repair the tire enough so the brothers could complete the trail on their own, though John Kinney had to stop every few miles to inflate the tire with a portable bike pump.

“If we hadn’t gotten back to that bike shop when we did, we’re not sure how we would have gotten back to Pittsburgh,” Jeff Kinney said.

Despite that hiccup, the brothers said the trip inspired them to do something similar in the future, perhaps on the water because of their childhood memories of canoeing with their mom.

However, the trip was more than just a fun excursion outdoors or a chance to reminisce on fond childhood memories. It was also an opportunity for the brothers to reconnect and find meaning in their shared loss.

“I’m constantly looking for signs of goodness to come out of this tragedy and this would be pretty high on that list in terms of positive outcomes,” Jeff Kinney said.

“We haven’t spent time together like this in a long time,” John Kinney added. “It’s cool at 61 years old to still look up to your older brother.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: United by tragedy, 2 brothers find connection, positivity after 300 miles on bicycles