VIRGINIA BEACH — Fran Adams’ wheels keep turning. The 92-year-old avid bicyclist who once pedaled across the country and twice ran the Boston Marathon, is inspiring other older adults to ride their bikes again.
Adams heads up the Chain Gang, an impromptu bike group at Atlantic Shores retirement community. She started the group with Jack Minnick, 95, after moving into the neighborhood with her husband, Fred, two years ago.
Chain Gang members don’t usually have scheduled meetups. Instead, they ride their bikes to the dining hall and to meetings in the clubhouse. Others just pedal for fun. When they spot each other on the street, they stop and talk or ride together.
“If I see them, I’ll turn around, and we’ll tool around for awhile,” Adams said.
Atlantic Shores provides countless events for its residents, but the Chain Gang is a grassroots crew.
“Staff didn’t say we need to go create a biking club,” said Cameron Gwaltney, head of sales and marketing for Atlantic Shores. “A couple of residents that love riding their bikes end up finding each other, then they’ve got 20 people. The residents are truly creating the culture here, and this is a perfect example of it.”
The retirement community has nearly 800 residents across its campus, which includes independent living, assisted living, memory care and a skilled nursing facility.
It’s secluded, flat, winding streets are ideal for mellow bike rides, though Adams is accustomed to covering more strenuous ground.
Her love of cycling began decades ago. In 2002, she biked 3,260 miles across the country. She was 69 years old, and rode with 12 other women. The Virginian-Pilot published an article about her ride in the former Virginia Beach community tab The Beacon. Adams had trained for 15 years to prep for the trip, biking 8,000 miles each year, she told this reporter at that time.
Adams, a retired English teacher, can still ride the Great Dismal Swamp Trail, and at Atlantic Shores, she also kayaks and swims.
“I’m able to do all my athletic stuff and keep up to snuff,” Adams said.
She’s inspired several other residents to buy three-wheel bikes like hers. The contraption sits lower to the ground than a standard two-wheel bicycle and has a wide cushioned seat.
“Fran leaves a big guilt trip on the people that she talks to so they have to go out and buy a bike,” joked resident Beth Bagley, 75.
Retired Navy Capt. Jim Eilertson wears a Harley-Davidson jacket as he rides his bicycle with his fellow cyclists in the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Fran Adams, 92, is the original organizer of a group of cyclists who call themselves the “chain gang” in the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) A group of cyclists who call themselves “chain gang” take a ride in the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Retired Navy Capt. rides his bicycle with his fellow cyclists in the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Reinhold and Heike Kittler lead the pack of fellow cyclists who call themselves the “chain gang” in the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Gerry Angermann rides with a pack of fellow cyclists who call themselves the “chain gang” in the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Dave Moore leads the pack of fellow cyclists who call themselves the “chain gang” in the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Moore also runs a bicycle repair shop in the community where he helps fellow riders learn how to work on their bicycles. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Fran Adams, 92, takes a ride around the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Show Caption1 of 9Reinhold and Heike Kittler wave to a neighbor as they ride their two-seater bike around with the “chain gang” in the Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Reinhold said his wife Heike knows every dog in the neighborhood. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)Expand
With the Chain Gang’s popularity rising, Atlantic Shores now has a resident bike doctor.
Dave Moore, 89, who owned A-1 Bike and Sport Center in Virginia Beach, works on the Chain Gang’s bikes in his spare time.
“Anybody has a flat or the brake’s need adjusting, or whatever needs to be done,” Moore said.
The repairs are free, but after Moore fixes a bike, the owner can make a donation to Atlantic Shores’ employee appreciation fund, he said.
Adams got the gang together one hot afternoon last week. They rode in a line to the lake and rested briefly in the shade near a gazebo.
“You get to know people and what they do,” Adams said. “You get acquainted so fast when you have a bike.”
Many of them have become fast friends, said Glen Caudwell, 86.
“It’s like having a big family,” he said. “We all take care of each other.”
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com