“Everybody said I was crazy”: Dubois Co. man bikes 100K miles in his lifetime

DUBOIS CO., Ind. (WFIE) - One Dubois County biker pedaled his way to a new milestone Saturday.

Avid biker Danny Schnell crossed the finish line in his hometown in Schnellville marking 100,000 miles biked in his lifetime.

To put what Schnell biked into perspective, if you were to bike the entire perimeter of the United States it would be 10,000 miles. Schnell can now say he’s biked the equivalent of 10 times that.

Friends and family cheered as Dubois County’s bicycle man crossed the finish line with his granddaughter.

“Wow, this is really the day,” said Schnell.

For Schnell, it wasn’t his first time feeling the rush of pride and accomplishment.

“On my very first time I left home with two $20 traveler checks and when I came home I still had those $20 traveler checks. That was the goodness of the people,” he said.

At 68 years old, Schnell has hit 48 states, Canada and Mexico on his bike.

He says each biking trip means being gone for close to 3 months at a time.

“Everybody said I was crazy. I’ve slept just about anywhere you can imagine. I’ve slept in an outhouse, in a baseball dugout,” said Schnell.

Believe it or not, crossing the finish line this time was even bigger deal, Schnell can now say he’s biked 100,000 miles.

His friends and family were there to commemorate it.

“When he puts his mind to something it’s a done deal. Don’t bet against this man,” Schnell’s longtime friend, Randy Blessinger said.

Although it was a day to celebrate Schnell, even with an award, he decided to share the spotlight with his wife, Julie, on her birthday.

“My wife I got to thank her for letting me continue to do this,” said Schnell. “We started dating in ‘88 so she could’ve said ‘no, enough is enough.’”

Schnell says he couldn’t have done it without her support or the kindness from strangers along the way.

“Glad to have accomplished that goal finally,” said Schnell.

Schnell isn’t stopping now and says he still hopes to bike to Alaska one day.

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