Thursday, October 1, 2026
Ten years after a heart transplant saved his life, longtime Long Island educator Ken Abbott completed a seven-week cross-country bicycle ride to honor organ donors and raise awareness about the lifesaving power of donation.
Abbott, 61, a retired science teacher and former wrestling coach in the Bellmore-Merrick school district, finished the journey April 18 in St. Augustine, Florida, after departing San Diego on March 4 and riding through eight states.
The ride, titled Pedaling for Life: One Heart’s Journey Across America, took Abbott through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, averaging roughly 75 miles a day.
“This whole journey was to honor my donor and all donors,” Abbott said. “My mind always goes to thinking my donor is with me, and he’s taken this journey alongside me, because I wouldn’t be here without his generosity.”
Abbott, who lives in Centerport and still works as a home teacher for the district, said the ride marked the 10-year anniversary of the heart transplant he received in December 2016 after being given a five percent chance of survival due to sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that attacked his heart.
He was teaching second period at Grand Avenue Middle School when he received the call that a donor heart was available.
“I was given a five percent chance to survive,” Abbott said. “I came back and finished my teaching career, and 10 years later I’m biking across the country.”
Abbott undertook the ride in support of the LiveOnNY Foundation, which supports donor families, transplant recipients and public education around organ donation.
LiveOnNY, the federally designated organ procurement organization serving the New York metropolitan area, coordinates organ recovery and placement and works with donor families, transplant recipients and hospitals.
“Ken’s 3,000-mile journey across the country as a transplant recipient is a powerful testament to the lifesaving impact of organ donation,” Leonard Achan, president and CEO of LiveOnNY wrote in a statement. “Because of one generous organ donor, Ken was given a second chance at life. He has used that gift in an extraordinary way, honoring his own donor and the countless donor heroes and their families across the nation, while also giving hope to those who remain on the transplant waitlist.”
Achan said Abbott’s ride serves as a reminder that one donor can save multiple lives and demonstrates “the profound difference that saying ‘yes’ to donation can make.”
More than 100,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for an organ transplant, according to national data Abbott cited, and he said increasing awareness remains central to his advocacy.
“I hope people understand how incredible organ donation can be,” Abbott said.
Abbott said the ride was also made possible by his wife, Eleanor, who drove the couple’s RV and managed logistics throughout the journey, and friend Pete Trankina, who rode alongside him for the entire trip.
“I’m indebted to both of those individuals,” Abbott said. “It would be really challenging to do this solo.”
At the finish, Abbott completed a symbolic coast-to-coast cycling tradition by dipping his front wheel into the Atlantic Ocean after dipping his rear wheel into the Pacific at the start.
Along the route, Abbott said he met transplant recipients, donor families and others whose lives have been touched by organ donation.
He also reflected often on the donor whose heart made the journey possible.
“I’ve been given this gift,” Abbott said. “I have a responsibility to do something with it.”
Though the ride has ended, Abbott said he plans to continue speaking in schools and advocating for organ donation.
“If you set a goal and you’re willing to work to achieve it,” he said, “you can accomplish a lot more than you think you can.”
