In 1979, when New Yorker Joel Greenia was in his early 20s, he decided to embark on an adventure he’d dreamed about for years: riding coast to coast on his bicycle. Finding someone willing to join in on such a journey isn’t easy, so when Greenia sought a buddy to accompany him, he placed an ad in the classified section of his local newspaper.
“Lo and behold,” his daughter Kelly Greenia shared in an email to Nice News, “he got a response.” It came from another young 20-something named Ray Halbert, also from upstate New York and raring to go. The pair settled on starting their trek in Northern California, flew across the country from Buffalo with their bikes, and hit the pavement.
Joel Greenia (left) and Ray Halbert (right)
Over the next 57 days, Greenia and Halbert rode from Santa Cruz to Hartford, Connecticut, covering a total distance of 3,485 miles. They made lasting memories over those eight weeks — sometimes sleeping on park benches and even being “pulled over” by police. But when they got back home, the two men went their separate ways, getting jobs and starting families (It was during the trip that Greenia decided to propose to his now-wife of 46 years).
More than four decades later, though, the duo would reconvene. In 2024, Halbert had plans to visit California, where Greenia had relocated years earlier. Without having any contact info for his former biking partner, he turned to the internet to track him down, and then mailed Greenia a handwritten card.
Greenia was happy to hear from his old pal and they met up in Santa Cruz again, just as they had in 1979. And they weren’t about to let more time go by without riding together. Fast-forward to this July, and the pair wrapped up another bike trip.
They rode from the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit over through Ontario, Canada, and ended up at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, New York, where they’d first connected all those years ago. This time, their wives dropped them off at the starting point.
Greenia (left) and Halbert (right)
“The 1979 bike trip was a life-changing event that began just after graduating from college and before transitioning into the working world,” Greenia, now 68, told Nice News. “It set both of us up for a lifetime commitment to the sport even during long periods of time while raising families when the bikes sat dusty. The ride’s physical and survivalist challenge, mapping a daily path and resting place while constantly interacting with new people had a lasting impact in every aspect of our lives.”
He added: “One of our kids’ favorite movies [back] in the day was The Lion King where the song ‘Circle of Life’ played endlessly everywhere. It was amazing to be able to be apart for so many decades, both following very different paths and then reuniting without barely missing a beat. A true circle of life event.”
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