The Peru Gazette

By Don Evans

If you have ever traveled up Reservoir Road, better known as Mother Cabrini Shrine Hill Road, you are aware of how quickly the road rises in elevation. The stretch from the Calkins Road to the Shrine at the top (4.1 miles) is one of, if not the steepest, roads in the North Country.  For local cyclists this is the benchmark of their toughness.

One local athlete decided to take this hill on as his own personal challenge in his own way.  Gerry Shpur, a well respected retired school teacher from Peru, started walking the road on a regular basis.  How regular?   Well, on January 26 he completed his 1,000th trek!  No, that’s not a typo, one thousand times.  For Gerry this did not start out as his goal.  His goal was to get a great workout in an enjoyable way.  It soon became a healthy addiction that led to his accomplishment.

Gerry was for many years a very accomplished runner. You could always see him cruising the roads of Peru.  Like many of us, time took its toll on his knees.  He gradually made the transition from running to walking.

I had the pleasure of walking with Gerry on his 1,000th journey on a cold and windy day.  It’s a very tough climb, one I have done many times on my bike, but walking it with Gerry gave me a different perspective.  His passion for walking should not overshadow another great passion he has, a love for dogs. On these trips he is able to combine both.  As I witnessed, he has a very unique bond with every dog along the route.  Part of his routine is to stop and pet each of his canine friends and give them a dog treat. The dogs all know he is coming, and wait in tail waging anticipation.

Congratulations to Gerry for completing this goal. It would be an awesome achievement for anyone. It is even more incredible knowing that he did it after having both knees replaced! At this point Jerry doesn’t have a new goal.  If he stops walking this route; however, there will be a lot of sad puppy dogs in Peru.