Fraternity joins Journey of Hope

Ryan Novak’s bicycle ride the past six weeks has spanned the Golden Gate Bridge, Nevada deserts and the Rocky Mountains.  But it’s the corn-lined roads in his home state and Tuesday’s arrival under the golden dome of the Old Capitol in Iowa City that has been the most meaningful leg of the trip so far for the University of Iowa junior.

Novak is participating in the Journey of Hope, a 4,000-mile ride from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities.

Twenty-eight members from Pi Kappa Phi fraternity pedaled up to the steps of the Old Capitol on Tuesday morning after a 30-mile trip south through the rain from Cedar Rapids. The cyclists, who are members of different fraternity chapters from across the nation, began their trek June 14 and will arrive Aug. 15 on the East Coast.

“It’s been amazing to be able to cross the Missouri River, and see the homeland and rolling hills, and pretty much be home and surrounded by family and friends from the university,” said Novak, a finance major from Decorah.

The group, which averages 75 miles a day on their bikes, is making stops at cities across the nation where they meet with disabled people and the organizations that help them. Each cyclist has raised $5,000, and in total, between the Journey of Hope’s three separate teams that are taking different routes across the U.S., the group has raised more than $500,000 this year for the fraternity’s nonprofit charity, Push America.  At Tuesday’s stop, the cyclists planned to have dinner with the Mayor’s Youth Empowerment Program. In other cities along the way, they’ve played wheelchair basketball against Paralympians, organized baseball games with children, hosted dance parties and put on puppet shows about living with disabilities. On Monday in Cedar Rapids, they visited the city’s flood-damaged areas.

Bryan Janzig, a Washington State student and a member of the Journey of Hope support team that travels along with the cyclists, says their group brings a positive message about living with a disability as well as raising money for people with disabilities.

“The big thing we’re trying to spread is empathy and not sympathy, where we meet them where they’re at and try to understand what is going on,” Janzig said. “Our big thing is empowering them to realize that people with disabilities have abilities, and they can do pretty much anything anyone else can do, they just have to find a new way to do it and work a little harder to do it.”

For Novak, who will have just a week off before the start classes at UI once he finishes the ride, it’s been a memorable summer.

“To say that it’s life-changing would probably be an understatement,” Novak said. “To ride every day for 80 miles, even though it’s really hard on the road, to get off that bike and see the smiling faces, people with disabilities, it’s just like the road doesn’t even matter that day. Being able to interact with people has been an amazing experience.”

Story Reported by Iowa City Press Citizen