A friend in Illinois, who was from the Butler County area, tipped her off about the Donut Trail, and that’s when Cherry changed her original route.
“I don’t typically deviate from the most direct route I can find to get across the country, so this adding about a week, but I’m enjoying it,” Cherry said.
Cherry believes she has traveled about 6,900 miles since Jan. 1, 2017, when she began her journey from Northern California. Cherry has come this far — she is now in her 26th state — to promote discussion for an issue that hits close to home.
“I was in an abusive relationship for over 12 years,” said Cherry. “When I left, and was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my new freedom, I decided I wanted to do this.”
She decided that she could tell others about her experience, teaching them how to get out of such relationships, or at least letting them know that they are not alone.
As for the voyage itself, Cherry has met many new people and learned many new things, things that she feels that most people never get to experience.
“There are actually a lot of neat, little regional foods that I’ve been able to try and learn about,” she said.
However, she does run into difficulties, especially when riding through traffic. Often, these are the times that her horse, Apollo, has to ride in a trailer. Apollo, who Cherry insists “does like his job,” is her first horse and has owned him since he was five years old. He is now 11.
“It takes a certain kind of horse and it takes a certain kind of person, and mostly the horse,” Cherry said. “Drivers are not often very considerate, not necessarily rude or intentionally dangerous, just unaware.”
She resumed her ride in May after stopping in November, starting from Indiana near Chicago and has gone through four states so far this year.
“I don’t ride when it’s snowing,” Cherry said. “I just stop for the year and start for the year in the spring where I stopped.”
During this time, Cherry broadly maps out her travel plans for the year. The specifics, as for where she will stay, is usually planned out a couple of days prior to arrival.
After crossing through Columbus and Pittsburgh, Cherry will wind her way through New England before heading down the Atlantic coast. Her hope is to reach the Carolinas before any winter weather arrives.
In 2020, she plans to finish the trip in Tennessee, when she will have travelled over 10,000 miles since the beginning of 2017.
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