UA student to ride bike across U.S. for disabled

By Yvonne Condes
Arizona Daily Wildcat
April 30, 1996

While many college students will spend this summer basking in the sun or working at a full-time job, one UA student will devote his vacation to earning $4,000 for charity.

Ryan Hurley, 19, undeclared freshman, will be riding his bicycle across the country to raise money for PUSH America, the national outreach project of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

The 3,500-mile ride starts June 10 and will take about 63 days, he said.

"It will be very physically taxing," Hurley said.

The ride, called the Journey of Hope, starts in San Francisco and finishes in Washington, D.C. The 60 riders, chosen from colleges nationwide, will begin the journey together and then split up at Carson City, Nev.

They will meet up again 20 miles outside of Washington, D.C., and ride in together, Hurley said. He is the only rider from the University of Arizona.

Chris Orr, special events coordinator for PUSH America and former Journey of Hope rider, said PUSH America is designed to encourage leadership through service. As the bikers travel across the country they will make public appearances to educate people about those with disabilities, he said. Journey of Hope is in its ninth year.

The cost of meals and lodging, which ranges from hotels and camping to sleeping on gym floors, will be donated, but the cost of the bicycles and their maintenance is up to the Pi Kappa Phi riders.

All riders must get sponsors and the goal for each student is to earn $4,000. Last year, Journey of Hope raised $341,380.

Hurley has been mountain biking for more than seven years, but had never ridden a road bike until recently.

"The tires are so narrow, it's like riding on razor blades. It's a totally different feeling," he said.

He had to sell his mountain bike, his old computer and put in some of his own money to purchase a road bike to ride in the event.

Hurley said he wanted to participate because of the satisfaction he gets from helping people with disabilities. More than 1 million people will be reached through public relations events that will take place during the ride, he said.

"The ride is a means to get our message out. I probably will never have a chance to be in a philanthropy of this scope again as a college student," Hurley said.

Hurley, who is from Phoenix, said he is not worried about the heat, only the humidity and the possibility of sunburn.

His parents and girlfriend Gina Babiak were worried about him going and did not initially want him to ride, he said.

Babiak, a freshman at Cottey College in Nevada, Mo., said she was a little worried at first, but "you have risk in anything you do, and (Hurley will) get a good experience out of it."

To train for the event, Hurley rides 38 miles every day except Thursday, and sometimes with other fraternity members.

Hurley asked everyone in Pi Kappa Phi, which is new to campus and not yet part of the Interfraternity Council, to donate a minimum of $5.

Hurley said his friends have encouraged him and many are his sponsors.

Richard Janes, finance freshman and Pi Kappa Phi member, said Hurley is the best person to do the ride because of his involvement with the fraternity and his physical shape. He also said that it looks good for the fraternity to have someone participating in an event like this.

"Everything he's doing is to raise money for handicapped children," Janes said. "It looks good for us because he's doing it to raise money for a good cause and not to raise money to buy beer."

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