IU students to cycle 1500 miles through Appalachian Mtns

Seventy-seven students ranging from middle school to college-aged set out Saturday morning to cycle 1,500 miles across eight states in three weeks.

The students are members of deCycles, a nonprofit youth leadership organization. The group had an enthusiastic send-off from Bloomington on Saturday with a parade around the city square and motivational speeches from IU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack and Jill Bolte-Taylor, a New York Times best-selling author.

In 1999, the first group of deCyclers set out for its first three-week trek. The organization was developed by a native Bloomington couple to promote emotional growth and self-discovery for young people.

Norm Houze, director for the organization, said the physically intense excursion sets high goals for participants.

“The trip encourages participants to achieve superior fitness, meet superior goals and set out for unbelievable experiences to broaden their horizons on the quest,” Houze said.

Throughout the organization’s 13-year history, it has developed different routes each year spanning different parts of the country. In years past, cyclists traveled routes from coast to coast, Florida to Vermont. Last year, the cyclists traveled throughout the Southwest.

“Every year is different. We try not to overlap routes so our cyclists can explore the country’s scenery and encounter different environments,” Houze said.

Houze and his wife, Cricket, directors for the organization, said cyclists might want to quit, but quitting is not an option. If students get sick or injured, they can break to recover, but to quit because they are sick of riding isn’t allowed, Cricket Houze said.
Norm Houze compared the mind-set for a lengthy endurance trip like this one to going to college.

“In college you set out for a degree, you work at it every day, because it doesn’t happen overnight,” he said. “Cyclists have to push through like students and follow a structure set out day-by-day to take a road to achieve a goal. Our road just rises, and it rises pretty steep in some places, but no matter how steep you have to just put the gear in and go. You don’t give up until you get there.”

Norm Houze and his wife are among 12 adult riders traveling with the student cyclists for encouragement and safety along the journey. The adult riders have a cycling background and have worked as coaches for Little 500 teams. They shift between riding and driving vans that haul equipment, safety gear and food for participants.
The IU Student Foundation sponsors the trip and provides juice boxes, food, radios and other safety equipment used during the trip.

Local church Unity of Bloomington is another sponsor for deCycles and supplies the group with vans and food throughout the 21-day trip. The riders were sent off with a pancake breakfast Saturday morning. The church also kept the bikes in its chapel the night before the race, with a church member sleeping in the chapel to protect them.
Norm and Cricket Houze are longtime members of the church and asked the church for support while starting the organization.

Since the deCycles’ 1996 start in Bloomington, it has gained staff members, coaches and support to make each year’s journey a safe and successful trip.

The Rev. Lynette Carlson, co-minister of Unity of Bloomington, said the bike journey represents a positive message to IU and the Bloomington community.

“We live in a world of unlimited possibilities. If we think we can, we can, and these young riders prove that,” Carlson said. “An individual can make a bigger difference than they ever imagined possible. These kids are realizing they have more stamina, strength and determination than they thought. The youth involved must work together in groups of six and be responsible for each other and cooperate to achieve success.”

This year, student cyclists will endure an average of 80 miles per day through the hills of West Virginia and the heat of North Carolina and will arrive home in Bloomington on July 12. This year marks the first time a deCycles trip will begin and end in Bloomington. 

Participants said the journey is a life-changing opportunity providing different experiences for different people. 

“I was overweight before the trip, but during the training series and the trip I lost 30 pounds and felt like I accomplished more than I thought I could,” rider Nick Cumings said.