Iowa City Press Citizen, IA
07-19-07
Two-wheelers on a mission
By Stephanie Wu
Iowa City Press-Citizen
Members of the "Journey of Hope" bicycle team arrive Wednesday at the Old
Capitol in Iowa City. Press-Citizen / Matthew Holst
On Wednesday, 21 cyclists decked out in bright yellow spandex cruised through
the rain and haze from Iowa Avenue to the entrance of the Old Capitol Building.
The bikers, college-age members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, had biked 2,500
miles from San Francisco to raise funds and awareness on behalf of people with
disabilities.
The Journey of Hope cross-country bike tour is hosted by Pi Kappa Phi's nonprofit organization, Push America.
The bikers were welcomed by familiar Iowa City faces, such as Gary Fethke,
interim president of the University of Iowa, Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn and
Carole Peterson, vice president of the University of Iowa Student Government, at
a ceremony in the Old Capitol.
"I appreciate what you guys are doing because you don't have to do it. I'm very
grateful to have met you," Fethke said to the cyclists.
Following Wilburn's speech, the mayor officially declared July 18, 2007, Iowa
City's Push for America day.
"This community is particularly appreciative of the concept that we all have
something to contribute," he said.
John Andrews, national Council President of Pi Kappa Phi, said the group has
been raising awareness and more than $1 million in funds each year for the
disabled since 1977. It has been doing the Journey of Hope for 20 years.
This year's ride has raised $450,000 and aims to reach more than $500,000 by
the end of their ride on Aug. 12 in Washington, D.C.
Andrews said the cyclists volunteer various services to help the disabled every
day of the tour, in addition to riding about 75 miles a day.
"This ride is about over coming obstacles. Obstacles related to biking for us, and
obstacles of people putting up a face about how they feel about disabled people
in the community," said David Knavel, a cyclist and member of Pi Kappa Phi
at Iowa State University.
Knavel, who will be a senior this fall, said it was important that the trip raise
awareness of discrimination against the disabled.
"Everybody has a lot to offer. That's what we try to get across to the country," he
said.
Emily Simmering, who works with the Mayor's Youth Empowerment Program, or
MYEP, in Iowa City, an organization that advocates on behalf of disabled youth,
said she was excited to see the ceremony with members of the program.
"We came for our great appreciation for all the great hearts these guys have and
to say thank you a million times over and over," she said.
Sixteen-year-old Charley Atkins, a member of MYEP, said she was impressed
with the 2,500 miles they had ridden.
"That's a lot," she said.
At the end of the ceremony, Push for Life presented a grant for $750 to MYPE.
The riders spent the rest of Wednesday in Iowa City lunching with Fethke, having
dinner and playing kickball with MYEP youth, attending an open house at the
university's Pi Kappa Phi branch, and showering.
The cyclists were one of three teams riding on separate routes across the
country. The teams began on the West coast and will meet at the nation's capital.
"It's really the ultimate example of what a fraternity should teach young men to
be," Andrews said.