LAGUNA HILLS : 63-Year-Old to Ride Bike to Florida

While many of her contemporaries are passing the years in rocking chairs, Ellen Halliday is pedaling away the miles atop her bicycle.

And Halliday, a 63-year-old Leisure World resident, is accomplishing the dreams of many younger cyclists.

After riding the length of the West Coast from Canada to Mexico last year, Halliday is now preparing for a ride across the country, from Disneyland to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

“I knew someday I would do this, but I didn’t know when,” said the mother of five, who was outfitted in her Lycra shorts, wrap-around sunglasses, cycling gloves and helmet.

In September and October of last year, Halliday completed her first real test, a 27-day, 1,664-mile ride from Victoria, British Columbia, to Tijuana.

“It was tough. Real hard. Very hilly,” she said. “We had 10 days of wind and rain in Washington and Oregon.”

She was one of the oldest in a group of 15 riders.

“It felt good that I could compete with most of the younger ones,” she said. “They all complained of cramps. I never got cramps. A lot of them had the flu and got colds. I never got sick. Never.”

Now Halliday is getting ready for her next challenge.

She’s riding 50 to 70 miles at least four days a week, pedaling either north to Long Beach or south to Dana Point.

With all those miles under her wheels, she’s confident she’ll be prepared to endure the 47-day, 3,229-mile ride. She will traverse the southern edge of the United States from April 18 to June 3.

“This ride is not going to be a piece of cake exactly, but it should be easier than the last one,” she said.

She won’t be taking the coast-to-coast ride solely for her own enjoyment. She’ll also be raising money for charity.

The Disneyland-to-Disney World-ride is organized by Seattle-based Tim Kneeland & Associates, which requires participants to gather at least $6,000 in pledges for a nonprofit group.

While she is training, Halliday is also soliciting donations. She has chosen the Dr. Karl Jurak Foundation for Sexually Abused Children, based in Tulsa, Okla.

Accompanying her on the ride, strapped to the back of her purple and pink bike, will be Justy Bear, a stuffed toy animal that is the symbol of the foundation’s Justice Center in Tulsa.

Anyone interested in contributing to Halliday’s ride may call her at (714) 770-4213.

Halliday has been an avid cyclist for about 18 years, since she started riding the eight miles to and from work in Boise, Idaho. “I’d get to work and feel light as a feather,” she said. “I’d have all this energy.”

It’s that enjoyment of cycling that keeps her going, not to mention the challenge.

“Many people would say ‘You can’t do that,’ ” Halliday said. “I say, ‘Watch me.’ ”