So you don't think you can get back on a bike?

And you haven't tried?

Don Rhoten doesn't want to hear it.

In fact, he can't.

He's deaf, and he doesn't mind me describing him that way.

Rhoten, 58, of Churchill, is the personable superintendent of the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Edgewood. The school, founded in 1869, is tuition-free to any deaf or hard-of-hearing student living in Pennsylvania. It serves more than 250 day and residential students from more than 100 school districts in 30 counties.

Rhoten also is the executive director of the American Society for Deaf Children based in Camp Hill, Cumberland County.

It is in the latter capacity that he agreed to join several other society supporters to ride the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md. They will make the 150-mile "Pedaling for Parents" trip May 30 to June 1.

"That might not sound like a very challenging ride, but for an old, fat, deaf guy like me, with two titanium hips, it's a challenge," he wrote.

"Training for it has been a wonderful experience," he said. "In addition to raising money for ASDC, I've been rewarded with a weight loss of more than 20 pounds and discovered an activity that will provide my wife [Cathy] and me with many wonderful hours of enjoyment when we retire.

"As you know, the bike trails are one of our area's best resources, and I'm angry with myself for not discovering and using them years ago. My wife and I recently rode from Connellsville to Ohiopyle and back," a 34-mile round-trip that overlooks the Youghiogheny River.

"I never would have thought we were capable of doing that, certainly not before I had both hips replaced. What a beautiful ride."

Rhoten said the goal of the Pittsburgh-to-Cumberland ride is to raise $15,000 to send parents to the ASDC convention in Oklahoma next year. He said people can sponsor him on a per-mile basis or make a donation.

The ASDC, founded in 1967 as a parent-helping-parent network, is a national, independent, non-profit organization. It supports and educates families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and advocates for high quality programs and services.

For more information, contact Tricia Poli at tpoli@wpsd.org, call 412-244-3116 and/or go to www.wpsd.org.

The Thermo Fisher Scientific 65 Roses Ride, a series of rides June 1 for novice and experienced cyclists, will begin and end at the Algonquin Grove in Settler's Cabin Park.

Why "65 roses?" That's what some children with cystic fibrosis call their disease because the words are much easier for them to pronounce.

There are three rides. The scenic, rolling, 13-mile course stops in Oakdale. The 34-mile course includes several climbs and passes through McDonald, Cecil and Rennerdale. The 62-mile course has some "demanding climbs, especially near the end of the route," and travels through Burgettstown, Hickory, Canonsburg, Cecil and Rennerdale.

The registration fee, most of which is tax deductible, is $30 for adults and $20 for children 11 and younger. The proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Helmets are required. Breakfast refreshments will be served at the start of the ride. There will be snack and water stops along each route, and lunch and beverages will be served afterwards.

For more information, go to www.cff.org/Chapters/wpa or call 412-321-4422.

The Peace Garden along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail on the North Shore looks a lot better, thanks to 248 volunteers from Dick's Sporting Goods and Keen Footwear who removed invasive plants and planted 500 native plants, including trees.

Tom Baxter, executive director of the Friends of the Riverfront that hosted the Earth Day effort April 19, said the volunteers who transformed the one-half acre site included the top executives of both companies.