Cross-Country Trip Brings Cyclists through Plainfield

Tom Cook knows the smell from miles away--it’s the smell of home.

“I know I’m close to Chicago,” Cook said. “Going through so many small towns, you can smell the city.”

Cook, 31 of Chicago, has seen a number of small towns during his summer adventure. On June 14, he and about 19 other bicyclists dipped their rear wheels into the Pacific Ocean in Astoria, Ore. Their plan is for their front tires to touch the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 14 in Long Branch, N.J., completing a 3,400-mile journey.

The group is participating in the LVs Ride, a fundraising effort for the Lasallian Volunteers. The program trains volunteers for one or two years of service, usually in education, through the De La Salle Brothers of Christian Schools, which includes Lewis University in Romeoville.

Wednesday the group found themselves in downtown Plainfield, where they stopped for ice cream at .

Tom Ludzia, 31, high school teacher from Santa Fe, N.M., let out a huge sigh of relief as the blast of the store's air-conditioning washed over him.

As Ludzia enjoyed a chocolate milkshake, he reflected on why he’s been riding about 80 miles a day for the last six weeks. It's given him a new perspective on poverty to ride across the country.

“When riding on the road we legally have a part of the road, but we’re marginalized on the side because of cars,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about those in poverty; they are marginalized to the side. A lot of us in the mainstream are pushing them off the road.”

The ride was organized by Mari Anzicek, 29, of Lansing, Mich.,  director of development for Lasallian Volunteers. She said she hopes they'll be able to use it to raise $100,000 in private donations.

“We probably have around $81,000 so far,” Anzicek said. “The $100,000 goal will pay for 11 to 12 volunteers for a year.”

Over the past six weeks the bicyclists have raised money while crossing the Rocky Mountains, visiting Yellowstone National Park, surviving the Badlands and strolling through smalltown America.

Cook, like Ludzia, said he was motivated to join LVs Ride because he wanted to support the poor. Cook served as a Lasallian volunteer for two years in Kansas City, Mo.

“Those two years had a tremendous impact on my life,” Cook said. “I wanted to support the program; I’ve always wanted an adventure like this. This ride was a perfect fit.”

The riders will take a five-day break at Lewis University, where Cook graduated in 2002. During the break the cyclists will participate in functions and service events at local Lasallian schools.

After the break, the riders head toward Pittsburgh, where they will have one last rest day before heading to New Jersey. But Cook will not reach the Atlantic; his adventure ends at Lewis.

He's starting his second year of graduate school at the Catholic Theological Union and cannot complete the trip. But Cook said finishing his trip at his alma mater was a perfect ending for him.

“It was at Lewis that I found out about the LVs as a freshman,” he said. “It means a lot to end there. It just feels like I’m coming home.”

For more information about the LVs Ride, visit www.lvsride.com.