At 72, Katherine Jeter said she's not a very athletic person. She's liked to ski since about the age of 30, but was “always the last one to be chosen for a team.” Jeter says this, in spite of the fact she is currently about 800 miles short of completing a 3,100 mile bicycle ride.

Jeter — who lives in Frisco during the winter — is riding from California to Florida, to raise money for the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society, a professional nursing organization consisting of more than 4,600 professionals worldwide who provide care for individuals with wounds, ostomies — surgically created openings connecting internal organs to the outside of the body — and incontinence. Jeter is a founding member of the society, and is currently riding with the goal of raising $200,000 in scholarship funds.

“These nurses take care of patients with the most complex medical issues, surgical issues, and psychological issues,” she said. “These nurses are hands-on all the time. They just give the most compassionate care, and anyone who's ever benefited from their care will never forget.”

Jeter said scholarship funds are especially important, because the average age of a WOC nurse is currently about 55. She said full funding for the specific training will encourage more younger nurses to explore the hands-on field.

“It's just a very important thing for which I have a great deal of passion,” she said. “Personal attention is the essence of nursing.”

Cancer survivor

The ride started in San Diego on March 3, and ends in St. Augustine, Fla. on April 29, and is being led by an all-woman bike tour company called WomanTours. Jeter is cycling with 14 other women — including a good friend of hers from graduate school, Margaret Galloway — and two guides. Jeter said most in the group have ridden their whole lives; she only picked up the sport three years ago, after winning a battle with breast cancer.

“I wanted to go across the country because I am a cancer survivor, and I think being fit and exercising is extraordinarily important,” she said. “I want to be as healthy as possible to ward off any recurrence of breast cancer.”

This isn't Jeter's first time riding for charity, albeit on a smaller scale. On her 70th birthday, she rode 70 miles to raise $70,000 for two charities — The Yellow Ribbon Fund, which assists injured soldiers; and Jack's Place, an advanced cancer caring house in Colorado. Galloway also rode with her that day, and helped Jeter exceed her goal.

That's when, Jeter said, she became addicted to her bicycle. She met a 71-year-old man who had done a cross-country cycling trip, and knew she could do the same.

“It was a chance to push the envelope, live a little bit larger, and give a little bit bigger,” Jeter said.

Jeter started training about 14 months ago — skiing in the morning, and cycling indoors in the afternoon — and convinced Galloway to ride with her. Together, the group is covering 60 to 70 miles a day. Jeter says she and Galloway are usually toward the back of the pack, but she isn't intimidated.

“It means a great deal, for both of us, to have each other to make the ride,” she said. “We stop for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the side of the road, and don't stop for long. Some of the ladies who ride much faster stop at a restaurant, sit down and get served.

Ride blog

Throughout the whole journey, Jeter is blogging about her ride to help garner enthusiasm for the project. She writes about each day's activity, right down to the smallest details: where she stayed, the kinds of eggs she had for breakfast, the mist in the air that day, groups of old oak trees, interesting ranch gates, or mockingbirds who sang to her as she passed. On the side of the page, she tracks how much money she's raised — so far, about $170,000, much of that with the help of “some wonderful corporate sponsors.” Donors include: ConvaTec, Hollister, Inc. and Smith & Nephew.

“We're getting closer to the goal all the time,” she said. “You can give big without being a big giver. If you don't have the means to give $1,000, there's still ways to raise (that money), or make a meaningful contribution. When someone has great enthusiasm for a project, people respond to that.”

Jeter said her husband, Jack, who is currently in Spartanburg, S.C., has been incredibly supportive of her efforts.

“He's been watching me be excessive for 53 years,” she laughed. “He's the wind beneath my wings.”

Above all, Jeter said the experience is teaching her to be grateful for smaller things, and live in the present. On the bicycle, she said she lives in a bubble — not really cognizant about current issues like the government's budget crisis — but is thankful for little bits of shade, calm stretches of road, or cool breezes. She said she's grateful she's fit enough to make the trip, and that she has the means to do it.

“I hope that is a life pattern that doesn't ever leave me, she said.

“I'm so thrilled I am (riding) every day. I wake up grateful for the opportunity to ride on and continue on; that my body's working so well. I think God equipped me and my coach prepared me, and the women on the ride are encouraging me, so all around I think it's a great combination.”

Read more about Jeter's journey at www.cyclingforscholarships.blogspot.com. Find out more about the WOCN Foundation, or donate, at www.wocnfoundation.org.