It’s still dark when Joe Dolan pulls up to his buddy’s place in Kirkwood for an early-morning ride. Dolan, a 65-year-old Webster Groves resident, hauls his bike into the garage and prepares for the adventure to come.
During the winter months, this is part of Dolan’s routine. Every other day, he and a group of three or four friends escape the cold inside this garage by embarking upon a virtual ridealong using smart trainers attached to their bikes that simulate hilly terrain and steep inclines. They break a sweat while kicking at their pedals, encouraging each other to keep pushing. Last year, between virtual rides and real ones, Dolan logged nearly 5,000 miles on his bike.
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“Life is good,” he says.
And Dolan means it. These days, he’s grateful for every opportunity to climb onto his bike or go for a run. Since 1995, he’s endured a series of health scares, including two heart attacks. His first was 27 years ago and “knocked me to the curb,” he recalls. Then, when he developed a blood clot disorder a decade ago, Dolan wasn’t sure what his future would look like. “Deep-vein thrombosis is lethal,” Dolan says. “It can kill you. Luckily, I was in good enough shape to withstand the clots passing through my heart and lungs.”
Dolan has been determined to write his own story and help others dealing with their own health concerns. During the years that he was sick, he often wished that he had fellow patients and survivors to share inspiration and encouragement. Now that he’s back to living a more normal, active life, he’s been working as a patient advocate on behalf of the National Blood Clot Alliance.
“I want to bring awareness and educate people who don’t know what to do, like I once felt,” Dolan says. “They’re afraid to work out or to be active because they’re on blood thinners. Well, I’m living proof that you can still achieve all of the things that you’d like to do. I’ve tried to take all of the adversity I’ve faced in my life and turn it around and make it something positive. My whole mantra is to try and serve others.”
This year, for Blood Clot Awareness Month in March, Dolan and his cycling group are working on a 100,000-miles campaign to raise $100,000 for the cause. He’d also like to find a way to run in his 25th full marathon, especially if it can support a worthy mission.
“I want to serve my community,” Dolan says. “After all of the adversity and roadblocks I’ve encountered, I just want to help and give back. If I can touch one person’s life, then I’ve done my job.”
