During the winter months, one ISU student spent his spare time on an indoor stationary bike, preparing for this summer’s two-month long cross-country cycling trek. As a member of the “2000 Journey of Hope” team, Dave Adickes will bike from the Golden Gate Bridge to the U.S. Capitol Building as part of an effort to increase awareness about people with disabilities.

Adickes, junior in agricultural systems technology and animal science, will rise at 6 a.m. each day for two months during the event.

As the ISU Pi Kappa Phi fraternity representative, he will join 70 undergraduate men from across the United States on the 3,500-mile trip. Pi Kappa Phi fraternity is at 407 Welch Ave.

“I am excited for the chance to see the country on a bike vs. the interstate,” Adickes said.

On an average day, the group will ride 75 miles, he said.

“I need to get used to being on a bike seat for eight to 10 hours a day,” Adickes said. “When I can, I go to the Rec to run and bike.”

Aside from training, Adickes has been working to raise $4,000. Each team member is required to accumulate this amount for the “Journey of Hope.” Besides writing letters asking for donations, Adickes organized a “Fill the Helmet” fund-raiser involving ISU sororities. The five sororities that collect the most money will have their greek letters on Adickes’ bike frame.

Pi Kappa Phi members have supported Adickes by helping him publicize “Fill the Helmet,” said Ben Jones, the fraternity’s president.

“The guys have been helping make dinner announcements around campus,” said Jones, junior in computer engineering. “We also brought Dave before the Alumni Board to let them know what he is doing.”

Adickes is looking forward to “Friendship Visits” during the trip, which are events with local organizations that serve children with disabilities, he said.

“Through ‘Friendship Visits,’ we get to meet little kids,” Adickes said. “I like working with kids, through things like Dance Marathon.”

“Kids on the Block,” a puppet show presented to children across the nation, will be another highlight of the summer,” he said.

“[The team] puts it on to teach elementary kids about disabilities,” he said.

The trip has its difficult days, as well, Adickes said. Several times during the summer, the team will experience “Century Days,” which requires traveling 100 miles in one day.

“One of the longest days will be the 100 miles from Grand Island, Neb., to Lincoln, Neb.,” he said. However, he said the team will manage the long distance. “Anything can be done with control of the mind,” he said.

The team will sleep in a variety of places, Adickes said.

“Sometimes hotels are donated for the night, but we mostly sleep in high school gyms, churches and typical community centers,” he said. “Wherever we sleep, it will be hot.”

The group of 70 will ride together for the first week and then split into a north and a south team. Each team travels the 3,500 miles through different parts of the United States, Adickes said.

“They try to put us on the route that goes closest to our home,” he said. “The north team will go through Macedonia, which is three miles south of my hometown, Carson.”

The north team will be in Ames on July 18 and 19, Adickes said.

The “Kids on the Block” puppet show will be held on the back patio of Pi Kappa Phi, and it will be publicized to elementary school students, Jones said.

This annual Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity national philanthropy is in conjunction with the fraternity’s national outreach project, “Push America,” Adickes said. “Push America” provides service and education through camps and weekends dedicated to helping people with disabilities, Jones said.

Adickes applied for the “Journey of Hope” through the national Push America office.