Cross country bikers hit halfway point

Despite some bumps, scrapes and several flat tires, a pair of local bicyclists have fared well at the halfway point of a monumental trip.

“We’re definitely on schedule,” Mike Logunetz, 25, of Libertyville said on a recent evening after a day fighting heat and high winds in eastern Kansas.

“It’s not a race — it’s not like we have to get to our destination by noon.”

With a fifth state about to be a footnote in their logs, Logunetz and his cousin, Jim Boge of Lake Zurich, are making steady progress on their 3,816-mile coast-to-coast trip to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity.

“We haven’t missed a day yet. It’s been going really smooth,” said Boge, 29.

Since they left San Francisco on May 10, the pair have crossed two mountain ranges and patches of desert. They narrowly outdistanced a late spring snowstorm, rode through cold rain, dodged lightning strikes and endured 100-degree heat.

They have avoided seriously bad weather as well as severe injury on the trek, although there was a scary moment on Day 3. While at an intersection in Sacramento, Calif., Boge’s bicycle was bumped by a car. He was able to scramble away before full impact, but feared the worst.

“I’m looking at my bike under the front of his car saying ’Well, this is it,’” Boge said.

Fortunately, his ride was not severely damaged, and after a little maintenance with electrical tape and zip ties Boge was back on the road.

That experience provided an early lesson: make eye contact with every driver on the road.

“When you’re getting comfortable that’s when you need to pay attention,” Boge said.

The toughest day biking was the hours it took to climb nine miles up a steep grade through Monarch Pass to reach the summit of the Continental Divide.

“That was a high for sure,” said Logunetz. On the descent, the pair logged their top speed at 43 mph.

The trek aims to raise $20,000 for Habitat for Humanity, a national Christian housing ministry that builds homes for those in need. As of June 1, they have raised about $4,100.

“It’s not quite where they wanted to be but hopefully they’ll raise awareness, which is just as important as the money,” said Cassie Bertke, volunteer coordinator for the Lake County chapter of the national organization.

Logunetz has been unable to find a job in his chosen field of architecture and Boge took a leave of absence as a project manager for a construction company to take part in the trek. They acknowledge the ride as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and see a bigger picture, too.

“We’re meeting all kinds of people. It’s kind of renewed my hope in humanity about how generous people have been,” Logunetz said. “Riding bikes is just a part of what we’re doing.”

Healthy but sunburned, the pair have had to camp sparingly. For the most part, they have found shelter and camaraderie with relatives, friends and friends of friends. Along the way they also have found lodging in churches, on the floor of a Habitat home under construction and even sweet talked their way into a free room at a casino hotel.

And they have been getting attention.

“You come into some of these small towns (and) it’s a little unusual for them to see two guy on bikes and all this gear rolling in,” said Logunetz.

“We definitely stick out wherever we go,” added Boge.

The next milestone will be a fundraiser Thursday at a restaurant in Clayton, Mo., near St. Louis.

Anyone interested can track their progress and read daily journals at www.bikeforhomes.com.

“Keep in contact with us. Give us words of encouragement,” Logunetz suggested. “We want people to be part of what we’re doing.”