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Pedal Power: Montana Grannies will bike 300 miles for MS research

Posted at 5:33 PM, May 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-20 19:33:52-04

Two sisters from Great Falls aren’t letting their ages keep them from pedaling their way to their next adventure together.

Nancy Ocheltree and Kitty Bergan call themselves the Montana Grannies.  Nancy is 70 and Kitty is 59.

“We do a lot of things together,” said Kitty.  “We’ve hiked the Grand Canyon together and we’ve canoed the Boundary Waters Wilderness.  We try to have different things that we do that are physical and push us.”

Their latest challenge will happen in July when they hit the road for a 300 mile bike ride in Minnesota to support research for multiple sclerosis.

“I’ve ridden this ride three times before but I was much younger,” said Nancy.  “And Kitty just had it on her bucket list and I said well if you want to do it with me, we better do it before I’m too old to do it!”

“We both really believe in giving back to the community, to society, and this is just one way we can do it,” said Kitty.  “Plus we can have fun and hang out as sisters.”

The ride in Central Minnesota will take place over five days from July 15th through the 20th.  It typically features about 600 riders hoping to raise $650,000.  The Montana Grannies have set a team goal of $5,000.

“It’s not just about donating,” said Nancy.  “We have to actually do something hard to get the donations so it makes it a little more impactful I would say.”

Their training consists of working out five days a week, taking walks with biggest fan Phoenix, Nancy’s Mastiff lab mix, and working up to biking 25 miles at a time.

“What we lack in fitness, we’ll make up in perseverance,”  said Kitty.

“Even though I’m 11 years older than her, she’s not going to finish that race without me,” said Nancy.  “So I have to work a little harder.”

“We will finish,” said Kitty.  “Nancy’s goal has always been to not finish last.  So we’ll just make sure we’re not the last ones through the finish line.”

The Montana Grannies welcome donations to help them reach their fundraising goal.  You can donate by clicking here.