At 69, he'll cycle 1,500 miles for charity

At age 69, Marvin Rostolder is about to embark on the ride of his life.

What began as a quest to lose weight, get fit again and add years to his life has evolved into a mission to pedal 1,500 miles from Vancouver to San Francisco, raising money for a favorite charity and enjoying the sights along the way. With months of strenuous training behind him, Rostolder is scheduled to pack up his bike and board a plane at JFK Wednesday morning to start the solo journey he hopes to complete in a tad more than six weeks.

“I'm doing this for several reasons,“ says Rostolder, a retired venture capitalist from Sands Point who worked on Wall Street for years. “One of the main reasons was getting myself focused on my health, and that helped me get into shape and get me to a point which can help me live a healthier lifestyle and live longer.“

He also hopes his ride will inspire people of a certain age to start exercising. “We all have health issues at some point in our lives,“ he says. “However, we must continue to do some form of exercise .?.?. even if it is short walks.“

An avid surfer and jogger when he was younger, Rostolder says that as the years piled on, so did the pounds. “As you get on in age, you get a little lax in reference to the exercise, but you don't get lax eating. You enjoy it,“ says Rostolder, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 239 (down from 286 since he started working out). "It got to a point where I didn't feel comfortable with myself.“

Diets were a temporary fix, and eventually, Rostolder decided he had to make a major life change. “I made a serious decision to focus myself, to make sure that I could be disciplined enough and have an objective to go to the gym and watch what I eat,“ he says.

His fitness routine would be challenging to anyone years younger. Rostolder bikes from 5:45 to 8:30 a.m., pedaling 35 to 50 miles through bucolic neighborhoods in Sands Point and Port Washington at least three days a week. His workouts — most recently at the Training Station in Port Washington — include abdominal, cardio and full body-strengthening exercises, using various equipment, and hours of spinning classes.

Hard work has paid off. Since he started training in December, Rostolder has completed more than two dozen 70- to 85-mile rides,

and many more in the 50- to 60-mile range. That has given him the confidence to plan his epic bike trek and fundraising campaign.

In recent weeks, he has stepped up his training, adding panniers to a rack on the back of his Specialized Sequoia Comp road bike with a 10-pound dumbbell and two water bottles in each pouch to simulate 25 pounds of supplies. He'll be traveling with only essential bike gear, lightweight and waterproof clothing, cellphones, toiletries, maps and a first-aid kit.

Rostolder says he'll try to cover 45 to 65 miles a day during the ride, stopping to rest and stretch every two hours. But this is no Tour de France. There will be no support team escort. But he won't be roughing it, either. Though there are tents and campsites along the way, Rostolder says, “I'm not used to doing that.“ He'll bunk in hotels and motels.

“If I see something historic or something that I would like to learn about and it's interesting, I'm going to stop. I may never in my life go back there again, so I'm going to take advantage of it,“ he says. “Maybe one day I'll stop at 12 o'clock and check into a hotel or motel and that afternoon, go to a museum or go to an interesting carnival or event — whatever's going on. I would even like to go salmon fishing if I can while I'm out there. I'm not going to be scheduled, so I can go with the flow.“

Planned stops include in Bremerton, Wash., where he'll visit friends; Seattle, where he'll tour the city and Pike Place Market; Rockaway Beach, Ore., which has the same name as the section of Queens where he grew up; and Santa Rosa, Calif., which he hopes to reach by Sept. 17, in time for his cousin Esther's 94th birthday. The end of his ride will take him over the Golden Gate Bridge, “for a Kodak moment,“ and into San Francisco. If all goes well, he'll be home Sept. 24.

Rostolder is psyched about his upcoming adventure. Although friends have expressed concern that he'll be traveling alone, he says he's not worried because there will be throngs of summer tourists, vacationers and other cyclists in that part of the country.

Besides, he'll be regularly calling and emailing Mildred, his wife of 40 years, who is staying behind.

“When he came up with this idea, it was a great motivator for him to take care of himself,“ she says. “I have confidence in him because I have seen him train, I have seen the improvement in his physique and I have seen improvement in his health as confirmed by his doctors.

“With all the research that he's done, he knows where he's going. And we'll be in touch on a daily basis, probably more than once a day. I can't ride, but I'll be here at the command center.“

She'll send updates to friends, relatives and others interested in following his progress, including members of the Child Care Council of Nassau County (child care nassau.org), a nonprofit resource and referral agency based in Franklin Square for families and child care providers.

Rostolder hopes his ride will raise $7,000 to $10,000 for the organization that gave him special recognition in 2005 for his volunteer work involving the council's annual fund- raiser, the Champions for Children Golf Classic. He also is riding in memory of Barbara Goldstein, who served with him as a member and co-chair of the fundraiser's organizing committee. Goldstein died last year after a long battle with cancer.

Ann Schindler, the council's community events manager, says: “He is a big guy with a big heart. He's creative to come up with this and is so determined. We're all going to be hoping that it goes well for him.“ The council will be posting Rostolder's progress on its Facebook page.

Rostolder says he's ready to push off from the starting line of his West Coast adventure, but he's not going to rush through it.

“It's not a race. That's the important thing,“ he insists. “This is a ride of pleasure, enjoyment and fundraising. I'm not looking to be Mr. America or Lance Armstrong. I'm just looking to do this ride in a safe manner and come home healthy and benefiting the organization .?.?. Then I'll come back happy, smiling, having enjoyed a great ride and a wonderful experience.“