During his bicycle trek through the California desert to raise money for children in poverty, Buffalo Grove resident Michael Polzin often reminded himself to keep pedaling.
Otherwise, he may have been late for a work conference, he said.
Polzin, who has lived in Buffalo Grove for more than 20 years, recently rode his bicycle from Santa Barbara, Calif., to Las Vegas with about 20 employees of Walgreens who took part in a fundraiser organized by People For Bikes.
Walgreens asked Polzin, divisional vice president of corporate communications for the company, to join the group that biked from the shore of the Pacific Ocean to the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino by May 4, which was the last day of a Walgreens leadership conference.
Even for a man who said he has enjoyed endurance sports since his childhood in Milwaukee, the fundraiser took special training.
Besides preparing for major changes in air temperature throughout the trip, Polzin also practiced with the resistance turned up on exercise bikes to try and simulate biking through mountains.
“That’s something you don’t get in the Chicago area,” he said.
Polzin, 53, said he turned to bicycle riding in his early 40s after experiencing knee problems following his days as a distance runner in high school and college, he said. After he completed a 100-mile trek through Wisconsin years ago to raise funds for a nonprofit, he said he was hooked on riding.
Q: Summer is coming. People want to get outside. And the lakefront and the 606 in Chicago are going to be zoos. Where is a good place for a bike ride that everyone doesn’t already know about?
A: The Des Plaines River Trail goes up to Wisconsin, and that’s a great ride. There’s some real nice paved trails that follow the railroad lines on the North Shore. If I want to ride on the roads, I’ll go to Barrington or Algonquin. There’s a few more hills out there, as well.
Q: You got to ride with pros, including Tim Johnson. What did you learn about that a first-timer on the Des Plaines trail might want to know?
A: Well, we were in fairly extreme conditions, so it was a little unusual. But when we started, they made sure everyone drank a full bottle of water and refilled it. They reminded us to finish the bottle every half hour.
Q: You could have spent a week in Las Vegas. Instead, you spent four days in the desert. Why?
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A: You know you’re doing it for a good reason that really helps children in poverty in the U.S. and around the world. But it’s hot. You’ve got 70 miles behind you, and you’re not sure if you can make it the rest of the way. You think about what you’re struggling with versus what a child in poverty is struggling with, and that keeps you going.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago.
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