GOING THE
USC junior takes 300‑mile
bicycle journey to raise
autism awareness.
BY PAUL GLASSER
T
he next time the Lapham family goes on a long-distance bike
trip they will plan a less grueling schedule.
In June, the family rode more than 330 miles from Pittsburgh
to Washington, D.C., along the Allegheny Passage and the Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal. They undertook the trip because 16-year-old Joe
Lapham is autistic and loves to ride bicycles. Joe will be a junior at
Upper St. Clair High School this fall.
Joe was diagnosed with autism at age three and has been in special
programs since then to improve his social skills and intellectual
abilities. The bicycle trip is an example of how full of life he is,
according to his mother, Lori.
“Often, children with a disability are looked upon in the community
as not having goals, interests, needs or a future,” she says. “We know
that’s untrue.”
Joe first began riding a few years ago but was uncomfortable
bicycling on city streets. So the Laphams bought several tandem bikes
and started riding together on trails. Bicycling together is an excellent
opportunity for family bonding as well as exercise, says Laura, Joe’s
16-year-old twin sister. Joe began asking to go for a bike ride more and
more often after the Laphams purchased the tandem bikes.
“It just exploded into this passion,” Laura says.
The family began taking their bikes on family vacations and based
their itineraries on which
bike trails were nearby. They
prepared for the trip to
Washington, D.C., by taking
progressively longer cycling
expeditions, sometimes as far
as 50 or 60 miles in a single
day.
They embarked on the trip
June 12, leaving from Point
State Park. Joe and his father,
Gary, rode on a tandem bike.
Laura and several relatives
from Texas rode the trails on
regular bicycles. A security
guard from Upper St. Clair
High School, who has known
Joe for several years, also
participated on the first day
of the ride, which ended at
Connellsville. The school also
gave the cyclists t-shirts and
rally towels.
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Originally, the Laphams planned to complete the journey in five
days but it actually took six. The first several days were all steadily
uphill as the cyclists climbed along the Allegheny Passage toward the
Eastern Continental Divide. They climbed 1,700 feet in about 130
miles. Although it wasn’t a steep grade, it was difficult on a tandem
bike because it’s heavier.
“You don’t get to coast on the way up,” says Laura.
Riding in tandem is also difficult because the two cyclists have to
synchronize their pedaling. The bikes are also harder to maneuver
than regular bicycles.
The family stayed at hotels along the way and Lori dropped all the
bikers off at the trail every morning and packed up all the baggage.
Sometimes they stayed in the same hotel for two nights in a row which
meant Lori could join the group on the trail. They reached the Eastern
Continental Divide on the third day, and after that point everything
was downhill.
“We didn’t have to pedal; that’s all that mattered,” Laura says.
Most of the trail was covered in cinder or gravel, which also made
cycling difficult.
Along the way, the Laphams encountered many types of wildlife,
including herons, deer, turtles, snakes and rabbits. Laura says a fox
ran across their path once and they frequently had to watch out for
Joe Lapham on the back of the tandem bike with his father,
Gary (far left), gather with family and friends as they
depart for their bike trek to Washington, D.C.