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'Epic journey' leads cancer survivor to Fort Scott
Fred Vlchek has been told he's on an epic journey.
He's not sure he sees it that way, although he said he does feel what he's doing is special.
"I tell them I'm just a schmuck from Cleveland, born and raised," Vlchek, a six-year cancer survivor, said. He is biking across the United States to raise funds for cancer patients who cannot afford their treatments. Vlchek stopped in Fort Scott on his way through Kansas.
"Is it epic like Martin Luther King, Jr. marching on Washington, D.C.? Is it like Rosa Parks sitting and refusing to give up her seat on a bus? No. I'm doing this to satisfy what my heart is telling me to do," he said. "It's what I feel right doing."
Vlchek, an endurance cyclist, is nearly halfway into his five-week cross-country trip. On July 26, 2013 he ceremoniously dipped his bicycle tire into the water of the Pacific Ocean in Oceanside, Calif., to start his pilgrimage across the U.S. to the Atlantic Ocean.
Vlchek said he became inspired to complete the bike ride because it was "hard to watch" cancer patients go through treatments and try to "put food on the table for their families." He said he was fortunate enough to have a good job that provided insurance to defray the high cost of the treatments and now he feels called to help families who cannot.
Being a Catholic, Vlchek said Lent is a "reflective time" that he used to pray to learn "how to be a better Catholic citizen." This is when he came up with the idea for the journey.
"I thought I want to ride a bike across the country," he said. "It's something that struck me that I should do."
His route is taking him across 12 states reaching elevations more than 11,000 feet. Throughout the course of 37 days he will be travelling more than 3,200 miles alone on his bicycle. Although this is a solo ride, he is relying heavily on the support of the local Knights of Columbus councils along his journey.
Vlchek said he is a fourth degree K.of.C. and the organization has been "an integral part of my life." He said the organization, which has eight million members, is a great philanthropic organization and has been helpful to him during his trip.
"If I break down in the middle of nowhere, if I have a wheel fall off, I can call the local (K.of.C.) council to get me," he said, adding he's needed their assistance twice so far on his journey.
Although he is the only one out on the road during his trip (he is not using a chase car, which is helping him save on expenses for the trip), Vlchek said he is not without support. Through the use of technology on his bike, his team can track his location at all times through GPS devices. He also has earphones he uses to listen to audiobooks and music, and a microphone for communicating with his team, including his ride coordinator and media contact.
"I'm the one out there turning the cranks, but I'm not unsupported," he said.
Vlchek said his most useful tool on the trip has been his credit card, which he can swipe everywhere he goes for his expenses. He also said two very important items for the cross-country bicyclist are chapstick and sunscreen.
And of course, he has plenty of time to think while out on the road.
"Sometimes I think about why? Why am I allowed to do this," he said.
The goal of the trip is to raise funds for Fred's Difference, a nonprofit charitable organization he founded in 2011 to help increase cancer awareness and support for those who cannot afford costly cancer treatments. The organization has been raising funds to support the journey through individual and corporate sponsorships.
Vlchek said he was diagnosed with testicular cancer six years ago and still remembers how he felt that day.
"That was a horrible day," he said.
He underwent nine months of intensive chemotherapy treatment which caused the loss of his hair, which he said was scary to both himself and his children. He has now been cancer-free for the last five years.
"This first time is about awareness," he said. "I'm allowed and given the privilege to walk around. I want to give back to the karma of the world, whatever that is to a person. I've been given a gift from somewhere."
Vlchek said Friday about $22,000 has been raised toward a $250,000 goal, $16,000 of which was needed for the preparation and planning of the trip.
"We're not going to meet that goal, we realize that," he said. "But if we can do a little bit, enough to spark interest. Our goal is to do this every other year."
The trip has been challenging at times as Vlchek said the chemotherapy "kills part of the body." He also doesn't have full lung capacity, which he said is partly from smoking and partly due to the chemotherapy, but is much healthier now than he was a few years ago.
Donors and supporters can follow Vlchek's ride progress and make contributions online at his website, www.fredsdifference.com. Fred's Difference also has a Facebook page and a Twitter page. His website features a daily video blog that recaps his travels that day.
Vlchek is also a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Army. He has spent the past six years actively engaged in the fitness communities of Denver, Colo., and Washington, D.C., as a fitness trainer for Gold's Gym and a team captain for Rooster Racing. He has made significant changes in his own life and has a passion for improving the lives of others.
Vlchek said he once weighed more than 360 pounds and smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. He had a epiphany one day when he felt winded climbing the stairs of his home. He said he had previously thought he had a good life, with a good job and home. But now he needed to make a change.
"I thought, 'What am I doing?,'" he said.
Vlchek started hitting the gym with a group of other overweight men and is now a non-smoker and is down to about 225-230 pounds. He's also now a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor. He has two children; a 17-year-old daughter who he will now get to see graduate and a 22-year-old son. He said both of his children are also involved in athletics.
"I'm a much different person," he said. "It's sheer drive and determination."
While getting fit, Vlchek also started conditioning for his bicycle trip, learning the engineering for his bike and riding to work every day, 60 miles per day, five days each week. He also rode on weekends and began practicing on hills and mountains.
He is riding six to eight hours per day during his cross-country trip with no breaks.
Vlchek will mark the end of his trip in the same manner it began. He plans to dip his tire into the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Md., on Sept. 1, thus completing his long journey.
Vlchek said he planned to stay Friday in Fort Scott and depart Saturday morning to continue his trek across the U.S.
Founded in 2011, Fred's Difference is a certified 501(C)3 non-profit organization committed to increasing awareness and to support/fund treatment of all types of cancer plaguing the world today. The elements of the threefold mission of Fred's Difference are; fundraising to help cancer patients offset the costs associated with cancer treatments, increasing awareness of the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of those affected by cancer, and support community efforts to increase awareness and raise funds for the assistance of cancer patients and their families.