When Katherine Jeter, cycling the Natchez Trace Parkway from Nashville to Natchez, arrived at the Visitor’s Center in Kosciusko Monday afternoon, she was surprised with a birthday party honoring her on her 80th birthday. She was greeted by Mayor Jimmy Cockroft and Donna Holdiness, who coordinates volunteers at the center.
A breast cancer survivor, she chose to make the 440-mile ride in celebration of her birthday and to help raise $80,000 for globalbike, a non-profit organization supporting women-owned bike rental and repair programs in rural areas of Tanzania. She is affectionately known as “Bibi” which means grandmother in Swahili, the official language of Tanzania.
She was given the name following her climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro at 75. In 2001, she raised more than $200,000 for nursing scholarships and for her 70th birthday she rode her bike 70 miles to raise more than $70,000 for two of her favorite non-profits. She is a native of Texas but now lives in the Carolinas.
She was accompanied by several other cyclists and other support team members.
