Beach Park resident Doug Gillaspie is a longtime endurance athlete. He’s run marathons, has competed in triathlons and every summer rides his bicycle to Door County, Wis. — a three- or four-day trip.
If he completes his next challenge, however, it would surpass all his prior accomplishments. In March and April of this year, Gillaspie, 60, plans to ride his bike across America, from San Diego, Calif. to St. Augustine, Fla. His route, he said, will take him more than 3,100 miles.
“I thought, ‘The year I turn 60 is the year I want to do it,'” Gillaspie said. “And the stars kind of aligned this year.”
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For Gillaspie, the trip is an opportunity to combine two of his passions: cycling and the underprivileged children of Kenya, with whom he has worked for more than 10 years as part of a church ministry. He is using the bike trip, which he has dubbed the “Breaking the Cycle” ride to break the cycle of poverty in Kenya, to spread awareness about his work in the East African nation and raise money through a blog he has set up at www.breakingthecycleride.com.
Gillaspie, a semi-retired former information technology professional who spent 13 years working for Abbott Laboratories and now consults for nonprofits, has lived in Lake County since he was in the fourth grade. He and his wife, Debbie — a Waukegan native — first became interested in Kenya upon meeting and befriending a Kenyan national through their church who was studying in America. The Gillaspies helped his family travel to the U.S. When the family returned to Kenya, they made the Gillaspies promise they’d visit them.
The Gillaspies fulfilled that promise in 2005, when they took the trip through a Christian group called Shepherd’s Little Lambs, which provides food, education and medical to children with AIDS. The couple has been working with the organization ever since.
All the money Gillaspie raises through his cross-country trip will be donated to Shepherd’s Little Lambs, he said. He is hoping to raise $15,000. Possible uses for the money include extending the Little Lambs meal program to weekends, and helping with the construction of a new feeding center in Kenya where meals are delivered, Gillaspie said.
When Doug Gillaspie told his wife about his plans to make the cross-country trip, her answer was, “Go for it,” Debbie Gillaspie said.
“I know he’s wanted to do this for a long time,” she said. She will be traveling alongside Doug by car, carrying supplies and handling logistics.
Doug Gillaspie said the toughest part of the trip may be the first two days. As soon as he leaves San Diego, he said, he’ll gain 2,500 vertical feet within 40 miles, and on the second day, he’ll gain 4,500 feet in 45 miles.
“It’s the climbing right out of the gate that has me most concerned,” Gillaspie said.
Other parts of the trip won’t be so varied. Gillaspie will be riding through Texas for 21 days, he said, “which is a little hard to comprehend.”
On rest days, the couple plans on mixing in some sightseeing, such as exploring New Orleans or visiting national parks.
“I’m looking forward to the trip,” Debbie Gillaspie said. “It’ll be some interesting times, for sure, along the way.”
Twitter @lucashammill