Jeannette Krupp doesn’t consider herself a cyclist, but she’s biking 700 miles from Texas to Missouri to raise awareness of substance use disorders and life-saving interventions like Narcan.
“When I ride every mile, I ride in memory of somebody,” Krupp said.
Krupp is the founder of nonprofit Stay Strong Krupp, launched in 2019 after a cousin died of fentanyl poisoning and her brother was struggling to stay sober. After a lifetime of seeing her hometown of Owensville, Missouri, “destroyed” by methamphetamine, she felt like she had to act.
“I decided to take off on a bicycle,” Krupp said. “I was tired of losing people and started speaking, bringing hope and awareness ... on a mission to try to save people’s lives.”
Krupp is a lifelong athlete, whether or not the cycling counts. She was a seven-time national champion in acrobatics and tumbling as a child, then went on to play volleyball in college. After graduating, Krupp became an educator and, later, a professional bodybuilder. She’s currently the strength and conditioning coach at Denton High School.
“Everything’s athletics for me,” Krupp said. “So that’s why I use fitness to spread this message.”
Krupp has completed three 450-mile bike rides since. Along the way, she spoke at schools, sober homes, rehabilitation facilities and with media outlets.
This year, Krupp will bike 700 miles from Amarillo to Owensville, which is about 90 miles west of St. Louis.
She leaves Wednesday, Aug. 28 and rides until Saturday, Sept. 7. The blazing August heat isn’t ideal for Krupp’s ride, but the time frame is what worked best for her schedule as a teacher.
The journey is dubbed “Karl’s Last Ride,” in honor of her late brother.
On April 16, 2021, Karl Krupp IV died of fentanyl poisoning. He was found on a Greyhound bus in Amarillo, having left an Arizona rehab facility to see his three daughters in Missouri.
There was enough fentanyl in his system to kill 20 people, Krupp said. Her brother was first prescribed opiates years ago, after being injured in a car crash.
“My brother was so much better than me,” Krupp said. “He had a good heart. He could laugh and smile, light up a room.”
During Krupp’s first two rides, Karl joined her near the finish line on a motorcycle, jokingly offering to pull her on a rope. Before he died, he had started training to cycle with his sister.
At the end of Krupp’s rides, her brother was always the first person to hug her.
Karl Krupp IV hugs his sister, Jeannette Krupp, after she finished a 450-mile bike ride to raise awareness of substance use disorders and fentanyl poisoning.Courtesy of Jeannette Krupp
When Krupp reaches the finish line this year, she’ll cross it with her nieces and parents.
The ride’s kickoff will be her first time in Amarillo. She’ll visit the place where Karl’s body was discovered, meet with the police officer who found him, and speak at Amarillo College and a local rehab facility.
Krupp is trying to schedule additional speaking opportunities all along the route, especially at schools.
“That’s my new passion, educating the youth,” Krupp said. “It’s always going to be their decision, but you could teach them that this isn’t a joke, this is your life: One pill and you could be gone.”
Krupp also focuses on bringing positivity to a group she calls “children of fentanyl”: kids who’ve lost family members to fentanyl poisoning or drug-related incarceration. This includes her three nieces, who are now being raised by their grandparents.
While the event is called “Karl’s Last Ride,” it also likely will be Krupp’s last long-distance bike ride, as she needs a total hip replacement.
“As far as people saying I can’t make it, I’ve always been one to love to prove people wrong,” Krupp said.
But Krupp’s main priority isn’t mileage.
“I think it’s more important to share the story and connect with people that have the same stories that I do, of heartbreak and pain and trying to figure out how do you live and go on when you lose someone like this,” Krupp said. “That’s the difference I want to make.”
She’s also leaving life-saving resources along the trail. Krupp built Narcan containers to install in Amarillo, Denton and Owensville. The receptacles will have free boxes of the nasal spray, which reverses the effects of opioid overdoses.
“Most people who need it don’t have the $60 (pharmacy cost),” Krupp said. “I want them to be able to go in and get it for free.”
Each location will be refilled periodically. The containers also have information on local rehabilitation centers and other related resources.
“Maybe no one would have seen (Karl), who knows,” Krupp said. “But literally, my brother could be alive if there would have been Narcan on that bus.”
Krupp has a list of people who died from substance use disorders, submitted by their loved ones, which she’ll honor during the ride. Every mile she bikes is dedicated to an individual. At the finish line, there will be ribbons planted in the ground bearing each name.
