Health Care CEO Biking Across U.S. To Raise Money For Senior Care

TUCSON, AZ — It's been more than 90 days and 7,500 miles since Jeff Salter set out on his cross-country bicycle ride.

Salter, who is the CEO of Caring Senior Services, a network of private-duty care franchises, set out to use his electric bicycle to visit each of the company's 45 U.S. locations, including the company's Tucson outpost.

It's a monumental task, especially given the fact that Salter had never undertaken a long-distance ride like this before departing McAllen, Texas on April 5.

Salter's trip across America reaches the Old Pueblo on Monday, when he'll be met by a cover band and an impromptu celebration at Savoy Opera House at 4 p.m. that day.

He told Patch that the decision to venture across the country stemmed from wanting to commemorate the company's 30th anniversary in a memorable fashion.

In addition, Salter wanted to find a way to help seniors get items that could help them live at home longer, raising money to donate grab bars and other tools that can prevent in-home falls and other injuries.

"We thought that visiting all 45 locations would be a great idea," Salter said. "And then we kind of came up with the idea of biking to each location to, first, see the country on a personal level.

"And then secondly, just really to do it in a unique way that no one that we know of has done before, to celebrate their company's founding."

That celebration has taken Salter to the deltas of Mississippi, to the Rocky Mountains and the sunny beaches of Southern California.

Salter's path on the trip is a bit atypical, as he started in Texas and headed eastward, before turning west and covering the Midwest, before crossing Colorado and Utah, on his way toward California.

From there, Salter reversed course, reaching Arizona this week, before heading east toward El Paso and finishing his route with stops in Amarillo, Fort Worth, Cleburne, Austin, New Braunfels, Kerrville and San Antonio, Texas.

Before he gets back home on Aug. 1, Salter looks forward to covering much of the Grand Canyon State, putting in 80-to-120 miles a day to get from the California border to the cusp of New Mexico.

He's also looking forward to raising as much money as he can to install grab bars in seniors' homes, raising close to $30,000 to date, which is enough to install roughly 120 grab bars in homes.

"For me, every time that I stop somewhere, getting something to drink during my ride or stopping to eat, I get a chance to talk to people," Salter said. "They ask questions about what we're doing.

"And just about every person I've met has had some experience with an older loved one that's dealt with the challenges of living at home and trying to stay independent. And for many of them, grab bars or something like that would have benefited them."

One of the people that Salter will soon cross paths with is Cindy Sheller, who is the franchise owner of Caring Senior Service of Tucson.

Sheller will welcome Salter to the Old Pueblo, and says she's thrilled to do so.

"Jeff's really focused on showing the community that everybody needs assistance at some point in their lives," Sheller told Patch. "So it kind of shows people how much you can accomplish with a little bit of assistance."

Salter said the discussions he's had with people like Sheller, in addition to seeing some of the country's natural beauties at a casual pace, has opened his worldview in a way he could hardly predict when he set off three months ago.

"It's been great to talk to people in here about that. But that that part's been incredible," he said. "But also the opportunity to see America at a 15 MPH pace on a bike is just amazing.

"From the forests of the east coast and now I'm in the desert of the west. And while it's extremely hot, it's still just incredibly beautiful, and just a wonderful journey so far."