By Ray Birch
SAN DIEGO—Having survived 60-mile-per-hour sidewinds that shoved his bicycle off the road and also having faced a mountain on a bike packed with 25 pounds of supplies, George Hofheimer last week said he had no thoughts of turning around and calling off his “epic adventure.”
Hofheimer, the former chief knowledge officer at the Filene Research Institute who is known to many in credit unions, set out March 4 to bike across the United States—3,000 miles over eight states, from San Diego to St Augustine, Fla. The journey includes dusty desert plains, high winds, mountains, and a state where you are sure to get chased by dogs.
Hofhemier spoke with CUToday.info one-third of the way through his bike trip that’s scheduled to end in early May.
The decision to do the ride comes at a perfect time in his life, said Hofheimer, who emphasized not only is he going to manage through the elements, camp when he can, sleep in motels when possible, but he’s going through it all to draw attention to a worthy cause—helping people get out from under medical debt.
Hofhemier has been cycling for more than 10 years, mostly doing commutes from his home in Madison Wis. to Filene’s offices in the same city, he explained.
‘Fairly Epic’
“I just turned 50, all the kids are out of the house, and I left my job at Filene—and the pandemic started. All those factors led to a decision to just try something fairly epic and see if I can do something I've always wanted to do,” said Hofheimer.
The goal is to finish in two months, averaging about 60 miles per day, explained Hofheimer.
“On some parts of the trip, 60 miles is easy. But then, some parts are hard—with wind and mountains the going is slow,” he said.
What’s making the suffering easier, according to Hofheimer, is knowing with every turn of his bike’s crank arms he’s raising money to help consumers get out from under heavy medical debt.
“I'm doing a fundraiser for something I think impacts credit unions and their members,” said Hofheimer. “There's not enough awareness around medical debt. It's the number-one cause of personal bankruptcy in this country. So, I am biking across the country to get more people to pay attention to this issue.”
George Hofheimer
Buying Tranches of Debt
Hofheimer is partnering with RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit organization that buys medical debt. As CUToday.info has previously reported, medical debt is a rising issue among Americans. Companies such RIP buy tranches of medical debt that have been sold off to the secondary market, and don’t have a great deal of value. This debt can usually be purchased for pennies on the dollar.
“My goal was to raise $15,000 from by trip,” said Hofheimer, who admitted he had no fundraising skills going into his ride. “But I quickly blew past that goal and now I am at $30,000. That $30,000 will pay off $3 million worth of medical debt. Hopefully that'll have an impact for hundreds of people.”
Hofheimer set out on his journey alone. He’s taking the Southern Tier Route, a course designed by Adventure Cycling. He recognizes that cycling is a dangerous activity, especially when traveling on main roads. He aalso knows going it alone ratchets up problems.
“But this is a popular route and I hoped I would meet up with others going my way, and I did early on in my trip,” said Hofheimer. “I met up with four other guys. We’re a pretty good, cohesive group.”
All the Skill Sets
The Wisconsin cyclist said the pack is fortunate to have within its ranks a former bike racer.
“On the really hard, windy days, he pulls at the front and we all draft off him,” Hofheimer said.
There’s also a bike mechanic among the fivesome.
“He’s a huge help,” said Hofheimer, who noted that when he was talking with CUToday.info the mechanic was replacing one rider’s bike chain. “He’s teaching us a lot.”
And, one of the riders has a great sense of humor, which Hofheimer said is appreciated, especially on difficult days.
George Hofheimer (L) and fellow riders
The riders should make it to St. Augustine on schedule, said Hofheimer, after having rolled through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana , Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
With 2,000 miles left to go, Hofheimer said he was already dreading pushing through Louisiana.
“We ran into a rider who was heading the other way on our route and he said to expect a lot of dogs in Louisiana,” said Hofheimer. The group has air horns with them to hopefully discourage dogs from running them down.
How to Donate
When the ride is over, Hofhemier said it will be time to focus on his credit union consulting business that’s just getting started.
When he sets his bike cleats down in Florida, he hopes the fundraising total will be higher.
“People can still contribute. It’s a very good cause and we can pay off a lot of medical debt when this is over,” said Hofheimer.
To learn more about the fundraising effort and to contribute go to: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/gh/
Bikes loaded down and rolling