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Brother Will Ride for Three Reasons
Believe in the Life of Love. . . Walk in the Way of Honor. . . Serve in the Light of Truth. . .
Bob Lee (DePauw) is a living example of these words that are so dear to our brotherhood. On March 29, Lee will set out on a 6,500-mile bike ride across the United States.
A Ride for 3 Reasons is an idea Lee conceived to raise |
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$65,000 each for three charities: the American Cancer Society, The Les Turner ALS Foundation and the National Hospice Foundation.
Earlier this year, Lee received a $65,000 challenge from the Duchossois Family Foundation if he could secure 650 donors prior to March 15th. He’s accomplished that goal and more. Exceeding 1,000 donations, he has already received the $65,000 check and beat his initial goal of raising $195,000 ($65,000 for each of the three charities). In fact, with donations from 35 states and 5 different countries, he’s raised $100,000 for each charity.
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Lee has already heard from many supportive Sigma Nus as a result of an article in the February Foundation News Briefs Online. The story of Lee’s ride has also run in the January/February issue of the Chicago suburb magazine Quintessential Barrington, and his alma mater DePauw University recently made note of it on their website.
The number "65" is a running theme of A Ride for 3 Reasons. Lee graduated from college in 1965 and got married that same year; he’ll turn 65 this April, while |
he’s on the 6,500 mile bike ride. He plans to raise $65,000 for each of the three charities, totaling $195,000.
It isn’t the first ride of this kind for Lee. In 2001, his Ride with a Reason raised $86,000 from 420 people in 42 states and 5 countries. ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Hospice benefited from that ride which spanned the southern region of the United States from Huntington Beach, California to St. Augustine, Florida.
The 2007 ride will begin not far from where he left off in 2001. The Chicago resident will start in Jacksonville, Florida and pedal north to Maine. He will then fly to the state of Washington and ride from there across the northern tier of the country back to Maine.
This time, because of Lee’s own personal battle with colon cancer, he’s added the American Cancer Society to the list of charities for whom he’s raising funds. He says, "Lance Armstrong would say |
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survivors have the obligation to carry the banner and see if we can make a difference for others. While many are struggling through experimental treatments, I want to help provide more research dollars to give them hope."
Lee supports Hospice because "they help us make the best of the rest of our life," he says. "By the time hospice gets involved, there’s usually little time left in one’s life. Their goal is to make the time remaining peaceful, pain-free and surrounded by loved ones. They helped me through my mom’s death in a big way," he recounts.
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His passion to support ALS research surfaced when a neighbor was diagnosed with the debilitating disease that causes loss of all voluntary muscle control. Although ALS patients continue to be mentally lucid and capable, muscle control quickly deteriorates, leaving them trapped in a body that no longer functions and will eventually shut down. Lee says too many years have gone by without any clear answers about the cause of the disease or how to prevent it. Because so many ALS |
patients lose their voices or suffer with speech problems, Lee says he rides to give a voice to those who cannot communicate for themselves.
The story about Morrie Schwartz, from the well-known book Tuesdays With Morrie, inspired Lee to consider how he would live out the rest of his life. "Morrie had an impact on so many people. He gave us the lesson of learning to die in peace so you can live in peace. He taught a lot of people to live each day for today." Schwartz also suffered and died from ALS.
Another motivator was the book Halftime by Bob Buford, which issues a challenge to consider how to make the "second half" of life meaningful while accomplishing "success" of a different kind. In retirement Lee decided to find something he could be passionate about and give back. That’s the sentiment that motivated his first ride in 2001. "I’ve gotten more out of giving," says Lee. "It’s one of the better things I’ve done in my life."
Pledging Sigma Nu ranks high on that list as well he |
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says. While he’s been out of school for 42 years, he’s still in touch with pledge brothers from his college days. One is spreading the news to fraternity brothers to tell them about the ride, another will write a follow-up letter on Lee’s behalf when it’s all over. Their pledge class is still close, with a group that gathered recently for their 40th anniversary.
So, how does a 65-year-old man ride a 6,500-mile solo bike ride? "One day at a time," he says. "It’s not necessarily about riding so many miles each day, although I do need to ride every day; it’s about the freedom to take each day and make the best of it," he says. Just like he did on the first ride, he plans to stop and visit hospice workers and ALS patients, and when he can, he’ll show up at events. To Lee, each day is what it brings and part of the joy is sharing it with others by writing in his online journal and posting photos on his website.
Although he acknowledges it gets lonely on the road by himself, he finds it easy to meet people. It also gives him time with his thoughts-time to think about the things he hasn’t thought about in a long time. And when he’s done with all that, and he’s missing his wife, and wondering why he’s out there, he’s got another reminder to keep him on his goal: a locket. Inside the locket, given to him on loan from Lisa Crane, are the ashes of her husband, Rich Crane who was suffering from ALS while Lee was on his first ride. Though Rich could hardly type, he and his family sent e-mails to Lee to encourage him on the ride. "He had a wonderful attitude about living and dying. We got to be close friends," says Lee. "When I ask myself what I’m doing on this ride, I’ll just pat the locket and remember why."
How You Can Help
Make a donation of any size or type on his website. Because Lee wants 100% of every contribution to go directly to charity, he is covering all of his expenses, minus the sponsored items he receives. "This is a pure effort. There are costs involved in fundraising, but I want every dollar to go to work for these charities," he shares. Another way to help, besides donating, he says would be to find a brother with a connection to a large hotel chain. The most expensive part of the trip is lodging and knowing there’s a consistent place where he can wash his shirts, get a good night’s sleep and hook up his computer to post updates and photos to his website, would make the 6,500 miles seem a little easier. |
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