Suburbanite bikes 22,500 miles to a dream

The red marker line on a map outlining the bike trip that Isai Madriz is about to embark on snakes all the way from Montgomery to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of Argentina, and back up along the Atlantic coast of South America to Venezuela.

It's almost an odyssey -- about 22,500 miles that the 25-year-old plans to ride on his circa-1991, slightly rusted-out 21-speed Schwinn.

With a mixture of youthful enthusiasm, careful planning and blind courage, Madriz took off this week.

It's now or never, he says.

"My girlfriend and I, we decided we want to fulfill our dreams," said Madriz, a soft-spoken young man with deep brown eyes and a calm demeanor. "She is in the Peace Corps in Africa, and this is what I am doing."

His only previous over-the-road bike trip was in the summer of 2004, when he rode 2,300 miles from his family's house in Montgomery to Arcata, in northern California, where he attended Humboldt State University.

He didn't have money for a plane ticket, he said matter-of-factly.

"(Riding) is pretty relaxing because you have time to think of everything," he said. "You feel lonely sometimes, but I like it."

A second attempt at a long bike trip the next summer ended when he broke his arm after a truck ran him off a narrow road in Pennsylvania.

"It's a good story to tell," he said with a smile.

A 2002 graduate of East Aurora High School, Madriz received scholarship money from the St. Charles-based Jesus Guadalupe Foundation, which helped him earn a bachelor's degree with a double major in zoology and marine biology in May.

With his upcoming trip, he wants to inspire people to donate money to the organization.

"The Jesus Guadalupe Foundation is not a very well-known organization, but they help illegal students to go to college. It's hard to find that kind of help," Madriz said. "I want to bring money to the foundation so that others can get help."

Foundation President Roberto Ramirez said Madriz is a determined young man.

"I see a leader. I see somebody who is going to make a difference in the world," he said. "I see him in 20 years as being somebody who is very well-renowned in the world."

Madriz has already shown a will of steel.

In college, he slept outside in a hammock for a semester because he didn't have enough money for rent. He kept his belongings in a locker at the school gym, where he showered, attended classes and worked as a soccer referee to save money.

"I am very proud of him," said his mother, Gualdalupe Villanueva. "He has done everything through great sacrifice. He is incredibly disciplined."

Although she is sick with worry at the thought of her son being on the road for months without regular means of communication -- his cell phone will work only until Mexico -- Villanueva said that she has to support his dreams.

"He told me, 'Mom, you have always supported me in everything,' " she said, tears welling in her eyes. "I understood that nothing was going to stop him."

Madriz will carry just under 100 pounds on his bike, including a couple of clothing changes, a first aid kit, a small tent, a sleeping bag and enough food for three to four weeks, including tuna, beef jerky, dried fruit and instant oatmeal.

His goal is to bike at least 50 miles a day and arrive in Tierra del Fuego by mid-March before winter hits.

His trip will take him through Colombia, where he might have to avoid guerrilla-controlled areas by taking a ferry ride -- the only time he would not ride his bike, he said.

Along the way, he will make brief stops to work with local zoologists and marine biologists, whom he contacted via the Internet. He'll research manatees in Mexico, sea turtles in Costa Rica and penguins in Chile, he said.

"I want to get a Ph.D. some day, maybe in Mexico, and this will help me with my career goals," he said. "I am very excited."

If you want to help

You can mail contributions to the Jesus Guadalupe Foundation, 902 S. Randall Road, suite C-322, St. Charles, IL 60174. Write "for Isai" on the check.