As the 300-mile trek spans out in front of him, Schoolcraft College President Dr. Glenn Cerny didn’t think about the distance – he thought about the young faces full of hope and wishes waiting at the finish line. For him, the miles were more than a physical challenge; they were a promise to give children something priceless, the joy that comes from a dream fulfilled.
On July 25-27, Cerny participated in the 39th annual Wish-A-Mile Bike Tour that spanned 300 miles from start to finish. This was his second year participating.
Cerny’s journey with the Wish-A-Mile Bike Tour started with a conversation with President and CEO of Trinity Health Michigan, Rob Casalou, who is close friends with him. Casalou tried to convince him to join the event. At first, Cerny was apprehensive since he only ran marathons in the past, not biking events. However, last year he decided to give it a shot and loved it.
Before riders can even start the ride, they have to fundraise for the event. To participate in the 300-mile ride, bikers needed to raise at least 1,500 dollars for the Make-A-Wish charity. Participants have until the day of check in to raise these funds. This year the program raised 1.5 million dollars.
The first leg of the tour for the riders started in Marshall, Michigan at Marshall High School and bikers rode 105 miles to Holland. Then, on the second day, they continued their ride to Kalamazoo. Finally, on the last stretch of the route on day three, riders biked back to Marshall.
While this is a hard ride to complete, Cerny explains his process for staying in the zone.
“Each person is assigned a child who is receiving treatment at Make-A-Wish. Before the race begins, participants will meet with their kid and be given a bracelet with their name on it. Focus on why you’re there, you know? Look at your bracelet because it has Gina’s name on it,” said Cerny.
Even when it got tough, Cerny kept his mind on Gina.
Another aspect that Cerny found very motivating about this fundraiser was what happened on the second day. Riders would stop at a set location to eat dinner just like the day before. Instead of going to the hotels to settle in for the night, three to four kids come onto the stage to talk about the wish that they received and what it meant to them. After these kids give their presentations, three more kids are granted wishes that they didn’t know that they were going to get. He explains that this is what really locked him in to continue.
“If you weren’t committed then, you’re going to be totally committed for life,” said Cerny.
On the last day of the tour, instead of riders ending at their own pace they wait at the last checkpoint, six miles out from Marshall. The groups are then escorted to the finish line by motorcycle police.
When riders approached the finish line, the Make-A-Wish kids, their parents and riders’ families were there. The kids were handing out medals to the participants.
“You can see it’s meaningful to them. They are appreciative of what you are doing, and it impacts them in such a positive way.” said Cerny.
For next year, Dr. Cerny is hoping to recruit a team from Schoolcraft to get involved.
“I was the only Schoolcraft person this year and I said, okay, I got to get some others involved,” said Cerny.
He already has some people who have expressed their interest in the ride next year, but he is hoping to get more people to participate with him. He is looking to build a team of at least 10 individuals from the Schoolcraft community to join him next year.
Cerny plans to continue participating “until he can’t get on a bike anymore.”
For more information on Make-A-Wish go to https://wish.org/.
