Emmaus High School Grad. Bikes from Florida to Alaska

On Feb. 23 in Key West, Florida, John-William Frye, formerly of Emmaus, will set out on a 7,500 mile bicycle journey to raise awareness about hospice care.

“Let Me Go: One Bike, One Cause, 7,500 miles” is Frye’s way of giving back to St. Luke’s Hospice in Lower Saucon Township for the care given to his mother, Tara Mullin Wright, in 2006. Wright was dying from a brain tumor.

Frye, known as J.W., said the care shown by the nurses, doctor, and social worker at the hospice alleviated some of the worrying, so that he could focus on “loving my mother and taking advantage of every moment I had left with her.

“I was never asked to pay back anything, but I was charged to pay forward,” Frye said.

His plan is to ride from Key West, Florida, up the East Coast where he’ll take a left through Pennsylvania to the Midwest and then up through Canada to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

While out on his journey, Frye intends to fundraise and blog about his experience through his website, www.OneBikeOneCause.org.

Now a Florida resident, Frye lived in the Lehigh Valley for six years. He graduated from Emmaus High School in 2002.

He plans to take six months for the journey, which is how long Medicare and Medicaid will cover a person’s stay in hospice, he said.

Frye doesn’t plan to stay in any hotels. Instead it will be just him, his tent and his bike.

He jokes that he’ll pretty much live on berries.

The total cost of the trip is $8,500, he figures. Frye anticipates investing about $6,000 of his own money into this project.

His bike is a Surly Long Haul Trucker Touring model made of steel. Not exactly lightweight, the bike and his gear together actually weigh about 100 pounds, Frye said.

He’s not worried about pedaling that weight, he added, as he has already done a 1,000 mile test trip.

“Steel is still the best material used for touring bikes,” Frye said. “It absorbs a lot of the shock from the road and holds its gears.”

The longer frame in the back allows him to not only carry all of his gear, but also do it without hitting it as he pedals.

Frye believes that since hospice began with volunteers in Europe, that volunteering is what he should do.

“I owe a debt of gratitude that I feel I can never repay,” Frye said.

Linda Moller, director of St. Luke’s Hospice said, “We are so grateful that J.W. is honoring St. Luke’s Hospice, as well as raising awareness of hospice care on his cycling journey. We wish him good weather and a safe journey as he completes his mission.”

In fact, Frye’s vision has inspired St. Luke’s Hospice to plan its own Let Me Go Charity Bike Ride for Saturday, April 2 here in the Valley.

Phil Esempio, a current board member and past president of the Lehigh Valley Wheelmen Association, said participants can choose to ride 11, 25 or 62 miles. The ride begins and ends at the Bob Rodale Cycling and Fitness Park in Trexlertown.

“To raise awareness of hospice through cycling is an effort that should be applauded,” Esempio said.

Registration for the can be done at www.bikereg.com and is limited to 300 participants.

Frye plans to be here in time for the local event.  

“I will never forget the tireless work of hospice,” Frye said. “They cared not only physically for my mother as she died, they loved and nurtured an entire family back to life.”