Doris West, Slow and determined

Doris West in the eighties

[This is part one of a three-part series]

The Burtons got to know Doris West in 1980 when we worked with her on the Ann Arbor Bicycle Coordinating Committee [a2bc2]. Two notable things came from that committee:

1. In 1981 Ann Arbor was designated one of the top 10 bicycling cities in the country.
2. Three people from the committee started a bicycle tour called Pedal Across Lower Michigan [PALM].

Doris West was one of the PALM founders. For the next 25 years she was the voice of PALM. Officially she was Mail Granny. Over that period Doris convinced thousands of people that they could pedal all the way across lower Michigan, they could bring their grandparents or they could bring their grandchildren, that they could laugh with friends and family . . . . Today thousands of people around the world had one amazing week because of Doris

The Burtons knew Doris when she had her own hips, when she was a librarian at the University of Michigan. We knew Doris when she brought her own children and grandchildren on PALM. We knew Doris when she would draw a smiley face on your envelope if you remembered a SASE with your application... or a frowny face if you didn't remember.

We biked with Doris in the eighties and we are still biking with Doris today. . . .

[next: Slow but determined]