BEL AIR, Md. 鈥� A 24-year-old from Bel Air, Maryland, made it his goal to spend the summer of 2017 traveling over 4,000 miles across the United States to help raise money for pediatric heart disease.
While he may have finished the ride of a lifetime at the end of July, he continues to make efforts to reach his fundraising goal.
Spencer Buchness, an amateur long-distance cyclist, quit his job as a graphic designer to begin his nearly three-month journey by bike on April 22 in Ocean City, Maryland, with the goal of reaching San Francisco.
He traveled through 14 states, raising $15,000 along the way for the Save a Child鈥檚 Heart foundation, an organization he volunteered with in Israel.
Buchness said that although he didn鈥檛 train for the trip, it was one he had always wanted to partake in.
鈥淚 was staring at a map of the world one day and I realized I could go anywhere and I think a lot of people forget that,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his ride is something I鈥檝e always wanted to do for the last three years, so I risked it.鈥�
He pedaled through Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California.
On average, he said he spent about six to seven hours per day on his bike, riding through the various weather conditions like hail, thunderstorms and tornado warnings, experiencing extreme highs and lows in temperatures.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 stop unless I physically can鈥檛 keep going,鈥� Buchness said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be riding up a hill, yelling at myself to keep pedaling, with sweat in my eyes 鈥� but right when you want to walk, you think about those children affected by heart disease, thinking OK, all right, we鈥檙e doing this.鈥�
Buchness said he chose to raise money for the Save a Child鈥檚 Heart foundation after spending the summer of 2016 in Israel volunteering for a nonprofit organization and seeing that they were a life-changing organization.
鈥淲hen I went there, I was just going there to learn about the organization,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize my life would be changed that day.鈥�
Save a Child鈥檚 Heart foundation is a nonprofit organization created 20 years ago by an American surgeon who was working overseas in Korea with the military, Rabbi David Litwack, the executive director of the U.S. office for the Save a Child鈥檚 Heart foundation, told the University of Maryland鈥檚 Capital 海角社区app Service.
鈥淗e realized that what鈥檚 easily treatable in Western countries is a death sentence in others,鈥� Litwack said about the founder.
Litwack said the organization鈥檚 headquarters in Israel is run by volunteers. There they can house up to 25 children and their mothers at a time and provide treatment for congenital heart disease. The organization has expanded to train other pediatric cardiac surgeons and medical teams, so they can perform surgeries in their own countries.
Buchness said when he met the children and their families he realized how real their situations and hardships were and how the organization is working to help relieve them.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e lucky and they鈥檝e struggled and this bike ride is my struggle,鈥� Buchness said. 鈥淪o, this is for them and for me.鈥�
Litwack said Buchness鈥檚 journey is unique compared to other campaigns he has seen.
鈥淔requently we will have students raise money for Save a Child鈥檚 heart, but they鈥檙e usually projects that are short term,鈥� Litwack said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unusual to have something so challenging and developing over a long period of time.鈥�
Litwack mentioned sports tournaments and marathons as common fundraisers he has seen from supporters.
While it is an unusual way to raise money, Litwack said, Buchness鈥檚 campaign is multidimensional.
鈥淔or us it鈥檚 great that he鈥檚 raising money to save a child, but it鈥檚 equally important to make aware the fact that congenital heart disease is such a serious problem and there鈥檚 a very strong educational component (to his campaign),鈥� he said.
Buchness kept in contact with his supporters on his Facebook page, Pedal to the Heartbeat, which had over 700 followers as of Aug. 10. He uploaded posts, photos, and videos and used Facebook live to update those following along on his journey.
In these updates, followers saw Buchness in all stages of raw emotion:聽optimism, defeat, excitement, exhaustion, terror and gratitude.
His posts showed his amazement when he came into contact with different animals, like cows, turtles, sheep, a bear and even whales, sometimes stopping to 鈥渕oo鈥� or 鈥渂aa鈥� at them. They also showed his appreciation for simple things in life, like cereal and a warm shower, frequently giving two thumbs up to the camera and getting many in return from those he met at various stops along his route.
Stephen Fosdick, a resident of Idaho who housed Buchness during his trip, said that he and his roommate have followed Buchness鈥檚 journey via Facebook and text messaging.
鈥淲e are impressed with the (charity) he is riding for and hope he is successful in raising funds for them,鈥� Fosdick said.
Fosdick explained that Buchness contacted them after seeing their listing on warmshowers.org, a website used for cyclists to find a place to stay at night. They treated Buchness to dinner, breakfast and drove him to the highway. While Fosdick and his roommate were on an outing in Oregon, they met up with Buchness again.
Melanie Kramer, a resident of Fort Collins, Colorado, met Buchness in Israel the summer he volunteered with Save a Child鈥檚 Heart Foundation and said when she found out he was biking through her town, she offered him a place to stay.
鈥淗e stayed for a few days to rest and fix his bike, so I took him around to all the local stops and breweries,鈥� Kramer said. 鈥淲hat he is doing is absolutely amazing and I am so excited to see him cross the finish line.鈥�
Buchness鈥檚 ride was far from easy as he hit various roadblocks, like run-ins with dogs, close calls with cars and tractor-trailers, a flooded basement, unkempt roads, construction and a mixed-up route. He even lost Miles, a teddy bear his mom gave him early on in his journey as a travel companion, hesitating a few moments before jumping into what he called freezing water to save the stuffed animal.
Buchness admitted to having negative and discouraging thoughts throughout the duration of his trip, but wasn鈥檛 afraid to ask for words of reassurance and prayers from the followers on his page.
鈥淭his might鈥檝e been an easy ride for someone you know, or for a friend or for you, but for me it鈥檚 the single hardest thing I鈥檝e ever had to do in my own personal accomplishments,鈥� Buchness said.
Throughout his passage, Buchness emphasized faith, referring to God as the 鈥渂ig guy鈥� and frequently thanking God. In his videos, viewers also saw glimpses of the people Buchness encountered along the way, some of which he deemed 鈥渞oad angels,鈥� people who stopped to give him water, buy him food, offer a ride, provide him shelter or say a prayer and wish him well.
Karen Ader Berry, a truck driver who, traveling through Kansas with her husband on a job, met Buchness in Ellis, Kansas, at a restaurant late at night in early June. Ader Berry said they overheard Buchness on a phone call to his dad.
鈥淲e heard him say something about getting a ride because the roads he had been on were dirt and he couldn鈥檛 pedal very well on them,鈥� she said.
Ader Berry said after he hung up, they struck up a conversation with them and he ended up eating dinner with them.
鈥淚 felt an instant connection with him,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e is warm, open, passionate, caring and very funny,鈥� she said.
Ader Berry said that while they do have financial constraints, they were so touched by Buchness, they paid for his dinner and continued to follow his journey on Facebook.
While his dad biked with him the first two days of his trip, he spent most of the journey riding solo. He celebrated Mother鈥檚 Day, Father鈥檚 Day and his sister鈥檚 21st birthday away from home. He sought shelter from family, friends, and strangers, in churches, motels, hotels, his tent, a fire station and a police station.
Buchness decorated his bike, which weighed around 117 pounds at one point in the beginning of his ride, with a Maryland flag, an American flag, a flag representing a company he founded that sells bike-themed accessories, called Married to My Bike, and a flag representing the Save a Child鈥檚 Heart foundation.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that what Spencer is doing is going to inspire other people to follow his lead and find ways to help us save the lives of more children and educate more people about the scope of the problem,鈥� Litwack said.
Buchness reached San Francisco on July 22.
As of Aug. 10, Buchness鈥檚 gofundme page had raised $7,150 and now that he is back in Maryland he hopes to partner with local organizations to continue to bring awareness to the organization and raise money.
He believes he will reach his goal of $19,000, with $4,000 of it dedicated to funding his travels.
鈥淚 can foresee us raising $15,000 to save one child鈥檚 heart and the impact we will have and it just makes me really, really happy,鈥� he said.
