Festival Draws Unique Visitor

Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival Chairman Anthony Hearnsberger visits with Peter Brennan.

As always, the Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival draws people from many destinations.  This year, a very unique visitor literally rolled into town just in time for the final day of festivities.  Mr. Peter Brennan left Tipp City, Ohio on June 2 on his Co-motion Pangea touring bicycle destined for the nation of Panama.  He anticipates reaching the Panama Canal some time in August.

Peter Brennan

On Friday, June 14, Brennan says he was in Stuttgart.  When he talked with residents of the city, he told them that he planned to end his Saturday cycling in Pine Bluff.  They suggested he might travel a few more miles and go to Warren and take in a bit of the Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival, and that is just what he did.

Peter Brennan was born and raised in Sydney, Austalia.  He moved to the United States about 25 years ago and became a citizen just over ten years earlier.  He lives in Tipp City, Ohio, about 20 miles north of Dayton.

Mr. Brennan is a distance cyclist who has made six Cross-country USA treks across the United States and says he has taken bike trips all of his life.  His interest in biking began when he was very young.  When he was 25 years old, he was traveling by train and other avenues in Pakistan when he met a Frenchman who was a distance biker  in need of help.  Brennan's ability to speak French allowed him to help the man.  During their conversation, he learned that the man was from Paris.  When Brennan arrived in Paris, he purchased a bicycle and set off riding to the East from Paris to Singapore.

Brennan who will turn 70 this year, says that hopes to travel 1500 miles each month and that he plans to travel through Brownsville, Texas.  Upon entering Mexico, he says his ability to speak Spanish will help him on his journey.

As he travels, he sometimes camps but most often stays in motels because he can rest much better and the weather is often a factor.