By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Fifty-three-year-old Dennis Desmarais has been riding bicycles for the last twenty-one years.
“I got into it after I had multiple knee injuries,” Desmarais said.
After the injuries to his knees, other athletic endeavors were no longer possible, he explained. But cycling, he said, was easier on his knees and yielded not only exercise but also another huge benefit.
“As it turned out, cycling became my passion,” Desmarais said.
Although there are many ways cyclists enjoy the sport, including mountain biking, BMX, and street cycling, Desmarais said he is almost exclusively an on-road cyclist.
“I categorize myself as an adventure cyclist,” he explained. “I like to ride far and explore.”
Desmarais said he truly enjoys visiting different cities and everything that the view from his bike shows him.
“One of my side adventures over the last six or seven years has been to ride my bicycle through every town in New England. And I finished five of the six New England states,” he said. “But I’m still working on Maine.”
Desmarais expects Maine, which is farther from his home, might take him a few more years to explore. The distance requires a lot of preparation for that reason, and he is forced to calculate possible hazards and how to overcome them. This preparation is crucial on many of his rides because he normally doesn’t have a “spotter” following him in a vehicle that he might easily call upon for aid.
The Climate Rides, a special fundraiser Desmarais has dedicated himself to, is an example of him traveling the distance without any support.
“I have to carry everything in my backpack,” he said. “And any mishaps along the way I’ve had to deal with on my own.”
This year, however, is a new approach for Desmarais. In 2026 his wife of 25 years, Lisa, decided she wanted to participate along with him.
“We are starting in Morgantown,West Virginia, and she will be following in the car. Then each day I will do my 145 to 150 miles on my own. Then she will catch up to me in the car. She has a tandem bicycle,” Desmarais said. “And we will do an additional 25 miles on that together.”
Desmarais said one of the good things about his wife following him on this year’s ride is that, in case of emergencies, she can bail him out.
“That’s new for me, because I have done it entirely solo until this year.”
Desmarais calculates that on a ride of this nature, allowing for hills and wind, he will average between 17 to 19 miles per hour on his bicycle, and on the tandem bicycle he will average around 14 to 16 miles per hour. An impressive pace to keep up, but Desmarais has a lot of experience on how to best utilize the energy required to keep up that pace. And between the two bicycles, he will log about ten hours of riding each day. For the Climate Ride he will keep up that pace for seven straight days. What begins in Morgantown will ultimately finish in Columbia, South Carolina.
Desmarais admits that the pace and schedule can be quite grueling at times but said he tries to do at least one major thing each year to help raise awareness and to support his fundraising efforts.
“This will be my sixteenth year,” he said. “Before this year, I have had fifteen years of fundraising for the Sierra Club.”
Over his lifetime he estimates he has raised around $140,000.
The Sierra Club is America’s largest grassroots environmental organization and has been working to raise awareness and protect the environment for 130 years. The organization has 64 local chapters.
“Because this will be my sixteenth year doing this, my goal is to raise $16,000 for the Seirra Club,” he said.
Currently Desmarais is at around $15,000 of that goal and expects to reach or exceed it by the time the ride is done.
“I have been doing this to help support them,” Desmarais said. “But I am also a volunteer since my mid-twenties.”
Desmarais said that the ride and the fundraising isn’t easy but knowing the impact the organization has on protecting the environment makes it all worth it.
Desmarais said that he has experienced a lot of extreme weather while riding including tornadoes and hypothermia, but also said he wouldn’t trade his experiences for anything.
“You can see so much more of the world from the seat of a bicycle,” he said. “All the sights are amazing, including the national parks.”
And though many might not want to take that to the extent he has, Desmarais said he recommends cycling to everyone.
Residents of Carter County can help support Dennis Desmarais on his ride for climate awareness by turning out this weekend and cheering him on. To help him reach his goal, you can visit https://support.climateride.org/participants/Dennis-Desmarais-2026. And you can follow his progress on social media, where he posts daily updates to Facebook.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
