Paul MacIntyre

MacIntyre has pedaled all over the nation
BY RYAN CLARK | RCLARK@NKY.COM
Print | digg us! | del.icio.us!

Andy MacIntyre prides himself on doing things most others avoid.

Whether it’s mountain biking through the Rockies from Canada to Mexico,
skydiving, spelunking or just riding his bicycle across America, MacIntyre makes
his living giving tours. Most of the time, he leads folks on area bike tours as
part of the nonprofit Adventure Cycling Association. But sometimes –
specifically three times last year – he led bike riders across the country.

“I believe in growth through adversity,” says MacIntyre, 50, of Newport.

But not this year. This year, his wife, Lynda, asked him to stay home. Those
cross-country trips can take six weeks and the Rocky Mountain adventure took
three months.

“I’m really lucky to be married to someone who says ‘Follow your heart,’”
MacIntyre says. “She lets me go do these things, but this year, she wanted me
around a little more.”

The two have been married for 10 years and they have three children from
previous marriages. MacIntyre says he can wait until next year to get back to
crossing the nation on his bike. Now he just leads bikers on tours around the
area.

So he’s looking for the next big thing.

“I don’t really know what that could be,” he says. “The hardest thing I’ve ever
done was that trip through the Rockies. I lost 50 pounds during that three
months. All we had was our camping gear and our mountain bikes.”

Plus, he had a camera. Along the way, MacIntyre takes photos of himself and
those on tour.

“I prefer the cross-country trips,” he says. “I’ve gone across the country eight
or nine times. I’ve taken Route 66 to Santa Monica. Sometimes it’s lonely out
there, but after about two weeks you get used to it.”

Is it getting too boring to make those trips? Has he done it too often?

“I don’t think so,” he says. “After not making the cross-country trip for a
year, I’m sure I’ll want to get out there and do it again.”

Interested in a tour or a group ride? Contact MacIntyre at covert_run@yahoo.com.

Know of someone in your community with a good story to tell? Let us know. Submit
nominees to Ryan Clark by e-mail: rclark@nky.com.