Cycling fundraiser to end Aug. 9

In less than two weeks, a group of Penn students will complete a 4,000-mile bike ride across the nation for a cause.

The Penn Ride for Cancer, organized by Jon Schlegel and Jerry Dischler, who both received their MBAs from Wharton in May, is a 70-day cycling trip that began in Denver, Pa., on June 1 and is scheduled to end in San Francisco on Aug. 9.

The team of cyclists -- seven in total, including five Penn students and recent alumni -- has averaged 60 to 70 miles per day throughout their trek. On their longest day, they biked for about six hours, traveling 120 miles.

"The first two weeks were brutal," Schlegel said. But he added that the bikers have adjusted to their grueling pace.

There are even "a couple of people who never cycled seriously, and they've been doing amazingly well," Schlegel said. "Everyone stepped up."

All funds raised by sponsors of the race will go to the American Cancer Society. Each rider has raised $3,000 in individual contributions, and the team has totaled $26,000 to date, including corporate sponsorships. Their goal is to present a $30,000 donation the the American Cancer Society.

Throughout its travels, the group has been staying in churches and community centers across the nation.

"It's been really exciting to see the country and to see how the environment and the people change as you move across the country," Schlegel said, as their route will take them through 12 states.

According to Schlegel, most of the people that the team has met along their journey have been welcoming and friendly, including a particularly hospitable couple from Silver Cliff, Colo.

In the midst of a fierce and unexpected hail storm, one cyclist sought refuge in a barn along the road he was traveling. The owners of the barn drove him and his fellow riders back to their RV park then quickly offered to have the group spend the night in their comfortable, spacious barn.

The next day, the couple took the team to breakfast, a rodeo and a stampede.

"I've never done anything like this," Schlegel said.

Schlegel was inspired to create this fundraiser in memory of his father, who passed away from melanoma at the age of 42. Cancer has also affected the family of the ride's co-founder, Dischler.

In order to attract Penn students to participate, David Sylvester, who works at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, rode a spinning bicycle on Locust Walk as organizers solicited passersby.

In the end, College junior Terence Kennedy, recent Engineering graduate Robin Seila and post-graduate Law student Tim Cooke-Hurle, stepped up to the challenge. Friends Joe Tucker and Tyler Trumbo from William and Mary College as well as John Paul Krol from Indiana University were also recruited to ride.

Included in the Penn Ride for Cancer's corporate sponsors are the Adventure Cycling Association, Drivesports and McKinsey & Company.

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