5 Cupps sisters mark birthday in bike trip
Growing up near a playground, the daughters of Marge and Gene Cupps spent much of their youth playing games in a group.
That history combined with a strong sense of family has kept the five sisters together — even though "play time" is planned in advance.
Apparently, planning didn't deter the siblings from going for a 275-mile cycling trip in August, when the eldest, Susan Bimle of Pittsburgh, marked her 50th birthday.
"With each decade Ilike to (celebrate by doing) something I'd like to do in the next 10 years," Susan said.
"And I drag my sisters with me."
That dragging most recently comprised the inaugural Tour of the Nations, a five-day bicycle tour through New Mexico, with a hiking detour in the Grand Canyon.
"I invite my sisters to go on a trip: Not only do they have to start working out in May, but they have to buy new gear," she said.
"Isn't that great that they did that?"
Great or not, Susan's sisters shrug, somewhat confused, when asked why they complied.
"Because Susan asked," answered Dolores Marchinoski of Butler, confirming her status as "the last holdout."
"People who knew us didn't think it was that surprising," said Christine Cupps-Bosak of Center Township.Their mother Marge pipes in that she would have gone, but her daughters nixed the idea. Laughter explodes in the Cupps' cozy dining room, where all but one are joined at the table."This goes on all the time," notes their father Gene, alluding to the talk and laughter. "When they're together, you can't hear the TV."Although Denise Cupps is not present, her sister Johanna Cupps-Boyd of Butler holds up the telephone so Denise can talk from her home in Ohio.Another sister, Christine Cupps-Bosak of Center Township, fishes out a photograph."Here's Denise," she says. "Doesn't she look great on her bike?""We all have an athletic desire," Denise explains via speaker phone, offering one reason why all five might have agreed to the trip."We have a background playing games."Neighborhood games were among the activities shared at the South Hills Playground, a hub just doors from the Cupps' home.
"We didn't want to go anywhere or be anywhere else," Christine said, explaining how shared activities have shaped their lives.The activities even included organized bicycle rides to and from the park, Denise noted, recalling one to the Holy Trinity Monastery."We went on our Sting-Ray bicycles," she laughed. "And if that didn't take all day!"Those events, combined with parental emphasis on cooperation, have influenced their relationship for life, they say."We've never been competitive with each other," Christine notes. "I attribute this to my parents. Their whole life was family first, and they raised us that way.""People find that amazing, but we're not a family that fights," she added.Over the course of the five-day trip, the group of five gained notice."Everyone wanted to have their picture taken with the Cupps sisters," Johanna said, explaining how riders camped together at designated spots, where word of the cycling sisters traveled.On the road, however, the sisters paired off."We each had our own individual goals to meet. We were all trying to make sure that each person met their goal," Christine said, describing grueling parts that included the first day and a later stretch of bumpy, washboard surface.Dolores, who developed foot problems, was advised by a doctor in the group to stop riding partway. Instead, she borrowed shoes from Susan that allowed her toes some extra room.By wearing her sister's shoes, Dolores was able to complete the ride — a goal she shared with the others."We all rode the last 20 miles together," Johanna said.
