Local collegians spend summer biking for good causes
A cluster of Northwest suburban college students - all from the University of Illinois - find themselves spending part of the summer on their bikes, riding across the country to raise money for worthy causes.
On Monday, Tommy Carrato of Arlington Heights and Alex Stezskal of Mount Prospect shipped off their bikes before leaving today for their trek riding from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. on what they call a "Journey of Hope."
The 4,000-mile ride with their Pi Kappa Phi fraternity brothers - three teams of 25 riders each - is raising money for people with disabilities through an organization called "Push for America."
Along the way, they will be stopping in more than 50 cities, volunteering their time and presenting checks to camps or centers for people with disabilities. Past rides have raised, on average, more than $500,000.
Two summers ago, Stezskal participated in a similar ride, called Gear Up Florida.
"Going into it, all I could think about was the cycling," said Stezskal, a 2006 Prospect High School graduate. "But once I was on the ride, I realized the focus is all the friendship visits."
During their stops, riders do everything from play wheelchair basketball or put on a puppet show, to just spend time visiting with people they meet.
"My favorite were the dances," Stezskal said. "The campers loved it, and we got a chance to get out of our comfort zone."
For Carrato, who ran cross country and track at Prospect, this will be his first endurance event on a bike.
"The fraternity really introduced me to working with people with disabilities," said Carrato, a civil engineering major. "I began volunteering at Champaign-Urbana Special Recreation, and started working for them when they lost their only male employee. It's given me a great appreciation for the struggles (they) face."
Cycling in the opposite direction are Megan Larsen of Streamwood and Steve Odon of Arlington Heights, who already have pedalled more than 1,000 miles on their trip from New York City to San Francisco with the Illini 4000 for Cancer team.
On Friday, they expect to reach Millennium Park in Chicago to meet up with their family and friends.
Taking a break last week, after riding 80 miles in Ohio, Larsen said she was tired but "holding up pretty well."
The 2006 Streamwood High School graduate played varsity softball and rarely found time to ride her bike at home, but when her classmate, Darleen Felton, grandmother and two more family friends succumbed to cancer, Larsen said she got mad.
"When the last one died, I signed up the next day," Larsen said. "This is my way of fighting back."
Odon, a 2008 Rolling Meadows High School graduate, is a survivor of testicular cancer. He was diagnosed his senior year and treated successfully with chemotherapy and radiation.
"Although I am now a cancer survivor, my battle with cancer has only just begun," said Odon, a nursing major.
He tells of the support he received from family and friends during his ordeal and how he hopes to be the voice for those in treatment now.
"There are those who go for treatment without hopes of a recovery," Odon said. "Others are so fatigued by cancer's intensive treatment that motivation becomes harder to find. Still others cannot even afford the expensive treatments. I ride for all of them."
As a team, the 28 riders have raised more than $100,000, and donations continue to come in along the way. Proceeds are earmarked for the American Cancer Society and Camp Kessem at the University of Illinois, for children with cancer.
For more information on their journey and to make a donation, visit: Illini4000.org.
To find out more about Carrato and Stezskal's trip, visit: secure.pushamerica.org/events/JOH.