Jim Feeney passed through Florence on May 28 and will travel over 10K miles

June 9, 2023 — On April 3 software engineer Jim Feeney began a 10,130-mile bike ride to raise money for SBP, a nonprofit disaster recovery organization.

As an increasing number of Americans live in high-risk disaster areas and are affected by the detrimental impacts of super storms leaving many displaced, Feeney, a 60-year-old from Seekonk, Mass., has made a vow to complete a five-month solo bike ride to raise money for the nonprofit disaster resilience and recovery organization, SBP. Feeney will ride across 32 states on a mission to raise enough funds to restore ten homes. 

Founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, SBP's mission is to shrink the time between disaster and recovery for families affected by natural disasters. Rebuilding homes with sustainable and resilient materials after a disaster and preparing individuals and communities before disaster strikes, SBP has restored over 3,800 families to their homes in more than 15 disaster-impacted communities since its founding in 2006. 

“Some people think this ride is extreme,” said Feeney when asked about the trip. “You know what is extreme? Waiting for years to be able to return home.” 

The ride will encompass a 10,130-mile perimeter of the continental United States. During May Feeney rode through the state of Oregon including areas such as Brookings, Bandon, Siletz Keys, and Nedonna. Feeney passed through Florence on May 28. 

Feeney is no novice when it comes to long bicycle trips, especially those undertaken for the benefit of others.

In 1991, he participated in the Coast-to-Coast Bicycle Classic from Seattle, Wash. to Asbury Park, NJ with 30 riders covering a distance of over 2,000 miles and raising $7,500 for Juvenile Diabetes.

In 1996, at the age of 33, he created the USA Perimeter Ride – a solo ride around the perimeter of the continental United States spanning over 9,500 miles and raising $20,000 for Boston City Lights and the impossible Dream in Warwick, RI.

In 2013, he co-created the JOMONOLA ride, where a team of 30 riders cycled 800 miles from Joplin, Mo. to New Orleans, La., raising $150,000 for SBP. Now, in 2023, Feeney is bookending his 1996 Perimeter Ride with another solo perimeter ride around the continental United States– the SBPerimeter Ride.

Feeney has been an ardent supporter of SBP for well over a decade. He first visited New Orleans in 2009 to volunteer rebuilding homes after Hurricane Katrina. SBP’s mission resonates with him and over the years, he’s returned to NOLA dozens of times, recruiting several friends and family to join him for volunteer weeks with the “Feeney Krewe” and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Feeney will be supported on the ride by his favorite Peloton instructor, Christine D’Ercole, who hosted a training ride on March 12 with him at the Peloton studio in New York City, broadcast several virtual rides throughout the route, and ride with him when the route comes through New York City on or about August 3. 

He currently lives in southeastern Massachusetts with his wife, Gail and their two dogs, Copper and Freya. He has four children: Courtney, Kayla, Nicholas, and Alicia. When he’s not biking, he’s often found preparing and distributing backpacks full of supplies to homeless people in his surrounding neighborhoods. 

To get in touch with Feeney and learn more about the SBPerimeter Ride, email him at

[email protected] or follow him on Instagram @sbperimeter and Twitter @sbperimeter

and for more information on SBP visit their website at http://www.sbpusa.org.