Published: August 04, 2006 10:58 pm         

Fraternity rides coast to coast for disabled

The door at the Mountain State Centers for Independent Living is always open to people like Donald Carson.

There, the community-based organization provides advocacy, networking and resources to people with disabilities and their families.

But Friday afternoon, Carson held the door open for 20 college fraternity members who stopped at the center on the 63rd day of their 4,000-mile bicycle ride across the United States.

“They’re just nice,” said Carson, who spent part of the afternoon talking with the cyclists on Push America’s Journey of Hope.

Push America, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1977 by leaders of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity with the goal of instilling lifelong service in its members while helping those with disabilities.

The Journey of Hope tour, which began in 1988, is a two-month, cross-country bicycle trek, during which the three teams will, collectively, ride more than 12,000 miles.

As they cross the country, cyclists stop in various cities, making friendship visits with disabled individuals and community members in hope of bringing to light the struggles of the disabled and the efforts made on their behalf.

Team members, who were required to raise a minimum of $5,000 to qualify to participate, were selected from Pi Kappa Phi chapters from throughout the country.

One of them, John Peterson, a neuroscience major at Texas Christian University, said the entire ride has been a learning experience.

“All of us have gotten the opportunity to learn about people with disabilities,” he said. “People with disabilities are people first. They are still able to be productive members of society and they need our empathy and support, and not just people helping them out all the time.”

But these guys have been helping them — indirectly — since they started their ride June 2 in Florence, Ore.

“What keeps us going is knowing that the people that we’re working with would give anything to be able to do what we’re doing,” said John Caldwell, an electrical engineering major at Virginia Tech.

Each day, between 5:30 and 6 a.m., the cyclists rise. They eat, pack their gear, learn about their route and then pray. Before they ride, they discuss a disability. Then they ride, on a typical day, between 70 and 80 miles. Friday morning, they left from Charleston. And today, after spending the night at Mountain State University, they’ll be on their way to Blacksburg, Va. They’re scheduled to hit Washington, D.C., their final stop, on Aug. 12.

“We do have short informational discussions on various disabilities each morning,” Peterson said, “but the real lessons come at stops like this, when we get to speak one-on-one with people who have disabilities.”

Dan VanDongen, an occupational therapy major at Elon University, recalled speaking with a stroke victim in Colorado Springs who inspired the whole team with his goal to ride his wheelchair across the country.

“It’s like a sabbatical for some of us,” he said, noting he’s learning things along the way that will better prepare him for his career.

On this journey of learning, the young men clarified, only one among them is a true cyclist.

“The rest of us are just guys on bikes,” Caldwell said.

Project manager Ryan Boeding of Iowa State University, who rode among the cyclists last summer, said although their bodies may be weary, their minds are energized.

The riders said they have lost weight, been soaked with rain and endured high temperatures and steep mountains, but they’ve noticed they’re getting stronger along the way.

“I remember our first day, in Oregon. We were going 17 miles per hour, and I thought we were just flying, and today, we were going 21, 22, and I thought we could pick it up a little bit,” VanDongen said.

They picked up the pace enough to arrive in Beckley by 1:30 p.m. Friday, and though they were greeted by only a small crowd, those in charge said it was a good visit.

“This has been a great visit for us,” Boeding said. “Some of the best sites have just a few people, and when we talk with these people and see how they’re conquering all those obstacles, it is inspiring for all of us.”

Boeding said he’ll never forget what someone who welcomed them in Colorado Springs said: “We are all only temporarily able.”

“That really helps keep it in perspective,” he said.

According to the Push America Web site, in 2005 the Journey of Hope tour raised $500,000 on behalf of those with disabilities.

— E-mail: bnaudrey@register-herald.com