Riding across the country
Upsilon undergraduates preparing for Journey of Hope
By Sky Opila
January 6, 2010
It’s not every year that Upsilon chapter members and brothers choose to ride in the most prestigious Push America event, but this year we have two.
Alex Stezskal and Tommy Carrato are gearing up and getting ready to ride from coast to coast during the 2010 Journey of Hope.
The Journey of Hope is a 4,000 mile cross-country cycling event that starts in San Francisco and ends in Washington D.C. with stops at over 50 cities in between to interact with people with disabilities. The cyclers ride about 75 miles a day for 60 days.
“Pi Kappa Phi and Push America have helped me develop as a person during my college career. I feel that the Journey of Hope is the perfect event to give back to the fraternity while touring the country and helping people with disabilities,” said Carrato.
The two undergraduate chapter members will be spending their spring semester training hard in preparation for their bike-ride.
“Alex and I will be riding a few days a week, building up our mileage over the course of the semester,” Carrato said. “It will be great riding together, keeping each other company as we try to cycle 1,000 miles each for training.”
Each rider has to raise at least $5,000 for Push America in order to ride. However, both riders have committed to raising well over the minimum amount.
Stezskal, who trekked 800 miles across Florida in Gear Up Florida 2008, is no stranger to going above and beyond for Push America. In fact, he raised more funds than any other rider on the 2008 Gear Up Florida event.
“Beyond just preparing yourself for a long bike-ride, it’s important to keep the focus of this event in mind,” said Stezskal.
“My personal goal is and has always been to help raise as much funds and awareness as possible for Push America.”
The riders have started their fundraising but definitely need your support. Visit their support pages at https://secure.pushamerica.org/alexstezskal and https://secure.pushamerica.org/tommycarrato to make your donation today. n