The following is a message from President & Founder Don Schoendorfer as he and Michael Bayer are set to ride 3,000 miles across the country:

Today, I start the Ride for Mobility.  I will ride my bicycle starting in New York and ending in California on June 16th. 

Fifty six days away from home, over 3,500 miles, against the wind, snow back east, rain, crossing the desert, 58 years old, and on a bicycle.  In case you are wondering, these are the most common reasons I hear for why I should not be doing this.

One hundred million of the poorest people on earth wait for a wheelchair.  These are the best one hundred million reasons why I should be doing this.

By the time you read this, we may be at Reader's Digest headquarters celebrating our start, or we may be on our first leg, leaving New York City for California.  It could be a beautiful spring day, or we could be facing rain and wind and maybe even snow.  Such a contrast pretty much sums up life.  Years ago I spent almost as much time planning life as I did living life.  I know things are different now.  I know God makes the plans.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by tremendous people who think this same way.  God has enabled us to provide 230,000. 

How do we reach a million?  My best answer right now is to have faith and go and tell our story through the grass roots of this our beautiful country, and to do it on bicycles.  We will be escorted by an artistically decorated RV and equally stunning SUV. Dr. Mike and I will stop wherever we can find listeners.  We will try our best to melt their hearts with our stories, just like we have melted yours. 

People ask me how I will deal with the boredom of riding a bicycle for hundreds of hours.  For me this is a great opportunity to remember the faces of the millions of people we have served, to wonder how they are doing, and to pray for them. 

Will we capture the hearts of this nation, or will our accomplishments be limited to very sore muscles and stories of agony and despair?  What we know is that we will do our best to fight the good fight.  Please pray for us.  Please pray for our families.  Please pray for those who come along side to join us in this adventure, as we ride for those who cannot walk.

You can track our progress as we ride across the country on our web site at www.ride4mobility.org. 

Stay with us.