Bayer is one half of a two-man duo biking across the country in the Ride for Mobility, a charity ride raising funds for a non-profit that provides inexpensive wheelchairs to Third World countries.
Bayer and his partner, Don Schoendorfer, will roll through Phoenix in the next couple of days. They were making their way through New Mexico on Monday.
"It's been really, really hard," Bayer said by phone from Kansas. "This has just been an incredible challenge. I've been exhausted at the end of the day."
It's no wonder. He bought his first bike just two months before the ride.
Bayer prayed as he willed his bike through the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania. High winds in Kansas made for a tough ride.
He's come to fancy Dairy Queen Blizzards and milkshakes. He goes everywhere with sunscreen and relies on a hat for the long days outdoors. Despite his biking inexperience, Bayer said his friends all had faith he could handle the cross-country trek. He's still trying to convince himself.
"It's kind of crazy," Bayer said. "It's like your whole body starts to kind of ache."
To him, the pain is worth it. It will bring attention to a cause that has changed his life.
An orthopedic surgeon from Irvine, Calif., Bayer gave up his practice in favor of international charity work. He and Schoendorfer are the co-founders of Free Wheelchair Mission, which delivers low-cost wheelchairs to the needy.
The mission already has delivered more than 215,000 wheelchairs in 64 countries. The two hope to raise enough money with the ride to buy 15,000 more.
The chairs, which cost about $45 to make, are built using sturdy plastic lawn chair-type seats. The wheels are the same as those used on mountain bikes.
"That's the unique part of it," Bayer said of the wheels. "They actually work better than skinny tires because of the terrain in Third World countries."
Millions of people who need wheelchairs go without, and Bayer has seen firsthand the positive impact a chair can make. He remembers delivering his first wheelchair to a girl living in India. She was lying on a dirt floor when he came to see her.
"Instantly, she just lit up and had the biggest smile. She was so happy," he said. "It really touched me in a way I was not expecting. I really saw that I could help more people doing this job than I can as an orthopedic surgeon."
Bayer and Schoendorfer started their ride April 20 in Pleasantville, N.Y. Reader's Digest is documenting the trip on its Web site, www.rd.com.
The two will finish their ride June 16 in Los Angeles, but not before cruising through Phoenix.
Bayer said he's a little worried about the heat, but he'll find a way to deal because the wheelchairs are so important to him.
"No one in this world should have to crawl to get around," he said. "You basically can save their life by making them mobile."
Reach reporter at lisa.nicita@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8546.
