By:Jason Scheer
But as his daughter grew older the bike became a wall-mounted ornament in Miller's garage, collecting more dust than mileage.
Four years ago, while riding a New York City subway, Miller saw an ad for AIDSride, a charity to benefit AIDS patients and research, he was reminded of his old 10-speed.
He geared up both his bike and himself for a trip that was to stretch from Bear Mountain to Boston.
Miller figured "there was no downside" to the 375-mile, four-day tour that would get him back in shape and contribute to a worthy cause at the same time.
After months of preparation and training, Miller went on that monumental trek and fell in love with cycling and, perhaps more importantly, cycling for charity.
Miller is currently training for his next adventure, a 275 mile excursion from Maryland's Chesapeake Bay to New York City, which will also benefit AIDS research and patient rehabilitation. The trip, which will stretch from Sept. 10 until Sept. 12, will be his third AIDSride in four years.
In preparation for the event, Miller rides about 25 miles daily. And even though his daughter might be too old to sit on the bike and ride with him, Miller has company. As one of the founding members of Pedal Pushers Online, a group dedicated to assisting charitable causes through cycling; Miller is now part of a vast community of local bike riders.
"From that [sign in the subway] evolved a community of people who were more and more involved in bicycling and particularly charity bicycling," Miller said. "It's a community that's interested in helping people."
In addition to fellow biking enthusiasts, Miller has also been introduced to many donors who have helped make the charity rides possible.
"It never ceases to amaze me how much money people are willing to contribute to worthy causes," said Miller who has participated in many other charities since his first trek. The hilly terrain and humid weather of the Chesapeake challenge will be tough but Miller says he's prepared.
"I've never felt more physically fit in my life," he said.
And he has that old black Royce Union 10-Speed to thank for it.
