I know two 70-year-old Lewis County natives whose physical exploits are inspirations for much younger people, including me. 

One is Dan Duffy, a retired Centralia florist and antique mall owner who will be competing later this summer in the USA Roller Sports Figure Skating National Championships after he and his roller-skating partner claimed the Pacific Region title for Veterans Team Dance on Father’s Day.

The other is my husband’s cousin, Vern Zander, a 1957 graduate of Winlock High School who rode his bicycle 3,000 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic this spring.

Duffy, who practices in Marysville with his Bellingham dance partner, Sue Logghe, won the regional competition at Oaks Park Skating Rink in Portland in the team dance for skaters 55 and older. The teams dance to six different tempos of music following a compulsory pattern. Duffy and Logghe, who work with internationally known coaches, will skate in Peoria, Ill., at the national event, which begins July 26.

“When I was younger, I did the figure skating with the spins and jumps, but at 70 years old, these are just good old memories,” said Duffy, who competed only five weeks after undergoing meniscus surgery on his knee.

Duffy started skating more than six decades ago and has competed nationally the last two years, even after suffering a severe hip injury. He’s also undergone a hip replacement, other knee surgeries, and chemotherapy for cancer.

Zander, who lives in Carrollton, Ga., has returned to Lewis County the past six years to ride in the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. His late father operated the Standard Hatchery in Winlock for decades.

The 1961 University of Washington graduate worked as a computer programmer for the National Institutes of Health and taught college math and computer science. In 1977, he launched his own computer company, which he sold in 2000.

Zander began cycling in 2003 and rides about 150 miles a week, racking up more than 5,000 miles a year.

On March 31, in San Diego, he embarked on his once-in-a-lifetime journey.

With rear tires in the Pacific, he and a dozen other bicyclists started pedaling, ending May 9 when they dipped their front tires in the Atlantic at St. Augustine, Fla.

At 70, Zander was the oldest cyclist.

They averaged 76 miles a day. Their shortest day was 41 miles, when they battled 35 mph headwinds. Their longest was 135 miles in Texas. They crossed New Mexico’s Emory Pass, at 8,828 feet, and the Rio Grande, Colorado, Mississippi and Apalachicola rivers. Temperatures ranged from 40 degrees to the mid-90s.

They were accompanied by a 12-passenger van pulling a trailer that each took turns driving, providing their only days of respite from cycling.

They slept in motels along the way, eating continental breakfasts before riding at 6:30 a.m. The van driver of the day provided lunch at rest stops. They ate dinner primarily at restaurants along the route.

“Except for the days when we rode 80 or more miles, we usually got in to our motel in early afternoon, in time for a snack with favorite beverage, a shower, and a nap,” Zander said.

He washed his bicycle clothes, enjoyed dinner and hit the sack by 8:30 p.m.

Zander hopes to cycle at least 10 miles in each of the 50 United States. He may have only six states left by the end of this year and only Hawaii by the end of next year.

    Julie McDonald, a personal historian who lives in Toledo, owns Chapters of Life, a company dedicated to preserving family stories. She may be reached at memorybooks@chaptersoflife.com