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Beaver man's cross-country bike ride raises awareness of those with disabilities

Beaver County Times - 5/25/2018

May 25--Franklin Martone, a recent graduate of Georgia Tech (the Georgia Institute of Technology), engineered a way to combine passions of wanderlust and adventure with mindfulness and purpose.

On May 30, the 22-year-old Beaver man embarks on a trip of a lifetime -- a pedal-powered trek across America to raise awareness of and support for people with disabilities.

He'll make the 4,370-mile bicycle ride -- the Journey of Hope -- with his Pi Kappa Phi fraternity brothers. Every summer for more than 30 years, they cycle as part of the Ability Experience, a Pi Kappa Phi philanthropic program that's raised more than $15 million to benefit people with disabilities and organizations serving them.

The embodiment of its core values -- abilities, teamwork, empathy and integrity -- is reflected in cycling events and Build America, another team effort to construct accessible environments and camps to serve the disabled.

Martone said he joined Pi Kappa Phi because of its philanthropic and servant-leader focus, more than for the social connections Greek life affords. The cross-country ride, he said, will not only test his ability, but help him "learn to better appreciate, and promote, the abilities of all people" and push him to become a better man.

"The biggest thing is not so much the riding across, it's benefiting people with disabilities -- mental and physical."

As a child, Martone rode the cycle-friendly streets of Beaver on a black-and-red, racing-themed bike. His parents, Dan and Valerie, encouraged him and his brother, Peter, to ride, often accompanying them on cycling excursions.

"Growing up, I was never a hard-core cyclist," he said. "We just liked to ride for fun."

It wasn't until he joined the fraternity his freshman year at Georgia Tech and heard about Journey of Hope that cycling became a serious endeavor.

"It's a cool idea, a very neat thing. A fun adventure to complete," he said. "It's contagious. Once I started doing (long-distance cycling), I really started enjoying it. It became more of a pleasure than a chore to do the training."

Journey of Hope, he said, puts a "spotlight" on Pi Kappa Phi's philanthropy and "instills a desire for us to give back and help further its progress and expand its reach. It's a great cause. I wanted to be a part of it."

Whatever challenges he'll face on the ride is "like a small taste" of what those with disabilities face.

"It's humbling, honestly," Martone said. "It really makes you think. You take things for granted. It just makes you think about stuff like that."

The connections made, he said, "will continue through my life."

One has to apply to be considered for a team. Acceptance is based on class status, grade-point average, leadership experience and promise of continued involvement in community service beyond completion of the event.

Candidates also must meet training benchmarks and raise a minimum $5,500, a percentage of which goes toward philanthropy. But transportation to the West Coast and shipping a bike there are costs cyclists bear.

Those accepted are divided into three teams of 30 to ride North, South or TransAmerica routes.

Martone's preference was the TransAmerica route, and he's happy it's the one he got.

It's the longest but "definitely seems the most scenic," he said, traveling the Pacific Northwest, through the Rockies, across the Plains and into Eastern states.

After a five-day orientation, teams depart June 6 from San Francisco, Long Beach or Seattle, all arriving 67 days later in Washington, D.C.

The TransAmerica route leaves from Seattle and traverses 13 states. After passing through Washington, the route cuts across the tip of Idaho, dips south into Montana and Wyoming, and at Denver starts to level off to cut across the nation's heartland in Kansas and Missouri, then on to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia.

While some stretches are highway, the majority of roads are two-lane, back-country roads, Martone said, a great way to see America.

Some of the larger city stops are Spokane, Casper, Boulder, Dodge City, Wichita, Topeka, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Charleston and Charlottesville.

The longest ride is 125 miles (there are four); the shortest is 35 (not counting the last 10 ceremonial miles into the nation's capital). Of the 67 days, 13 are rest days.

Martone is looking forward to the first third of the trip through the Pacific Northwest.

"I'm excited to ride through Montana, see Jackson Hole. We ride through West Yellowstone. I know we have a day off in Yellowstone to go to Yellowstone National Park. I'd like to do that. I've never been to Seattle. I'm excited to ride through Seattle and see Mount Rainier."

He's a bit nervous about crossing the intimidating Rockies, however.

"It's going be the toughest part by far," he said. "Luckily, it's right at the beginning. ... At least it's a nice thing to know the hardest part is out of the way pretty early on."

Martone will ride a Fuji Gran Fondo, a lightweight, performance bike with carbon-fiber frame and 20 gears, which "will be great going up hills."

He'll need the help climbing high-elevation, mountain peaks in the Rockies.

Training for the two-month journey started in October.

Workout regimens, created by two staff trainers, had riders lifting in the gym and cycling -- either outside rides or inside on stationary bikes. Workouts were anywhere from one to three hours six days a week.

They also listened to webinars on nutrition and hydration that tout a diet high in protein, fruits and vegetables.

Martone said the arduous rides burn 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day, which means riders should consume 5,000 to 6,000 calories daily.

Cyclists will be accompanied by a support crew of bike mechanics and medics. The crew also will scout and map routes in advance to ensure safety.

For example, Martone said, he got an email last week advising that one of their routes -- a mountainous pass out of Seattle -- is closed until July because of snow.

A typical day will begin around 7 a.m., he said, with a light breakfast before getting on the road at 7:30 a.m. Most days, the group will ride five to six hours, the distance covered dependent on terrain.

If it's flat, he figures they can achieve 100 miles; a mountain might keep distance traveled to maybe 40 miles.

They'll have afternoons off -- free time to "see what's in town, sleep, do laundry," Martone said.

Every night, the team eats together at a dinner sponsored by various organizations.

Afterward, they interact with people with disabilities at "friendship visits" -- cookouts, baseball games, bowling events, dances -- "something fun like that to connect with people."

Martone calls their lodging "indoor camping" where bedding is sleeping bags in school gyms or church basements.

Journey of Hope encourages family and friends to reunite for a day with riders in Denver to "celebrate us getting out of the Rockies," Martone said. His parents and brother, who "are excited" about his adventure, plan to go, and he expects they'll have a "nice dinner" and attend a Colorado Rockies baseball game.

Advice from fraternity brothers who've completed the trip is to "train hard," Martone said. The first two to three weeks test physical endurance; the third to fourth test mental.

"The entire time, they hammer home that the mental side is much more daunting than the physical side of completing this trip," he said.

The culmination is Aug. 11 in Washington, D.C., where the three teams merge and with a police motorcade ride to the front lawn of the Capitol, where they'll reunite and celebrate with family and friends.

"It's a nice way to finish riding," he said.

Martone, a newly minted civil engineer, said he has "a job lined up when I get back."

He starts the first week in September in the Atlanta office of Moffatt & Nichol, a global infrastructure advisory firm, doing roadway design.

He said his Journey of Hope trek is "a long commute" to the "next chapter of my life."

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(c)2018 the Beaver County Times (Beaver, Pa.)

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