Brothers Come Through La Grange Cycling Cross Country for Charity

On October 31, a pair of brothers on bicycles spent the night in La Grange on their way across the country. For the past month and a half, Frank and Bob Hurley have been riding bicycles across the states for charitable purposes alongside their RV driver, Jim Frank, and their dog, Yeti. They plan to travel all the way to the west coast to raise money for three separate charities.

One of these charities is the Choice Food Pantry in Greensboro, North Carolina, which Frank Hurley is currently contributing to. This food pantry is run by Greensboro Urban Ministries; this ministry has assisted countless people who are in need. Not only do they provide food, but assistance with housing, rent, utility payments, etc. Specifically, Frank Hurley is passionate about raising money for Americans who struggle to feed themselves and their families because of difficulties like inflation and poverty. The Global Report on Food Crisis 2022 Mid-year Update predicts that 205 million people will deal with food insecurity, and Frank is making an effort to support those included in that number.

Another charity, K9s for Warriors, is supported by Bob Hurley. Providing service dogs to disabled veterans, the goal of this organization is to restore the mental health and dignity of those who have served in the military. But these heroes are not the only ones who are given a restored sense of purpose; in addition to supporting veterans, K9s for Warriors aims to rescue dogs who would have otherwise been abandoned. These dogs are instead trained to help veterans recover from issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The brothers’ RV driver, Jim Frank, leads a charity called It Starts with the Shoes. He provides soccer shoes for the underprivileged high school students in the Cincinnati area. Starting off as a volunteer for a soccer coaching staff, he noticed that the main problem of many high school athletes is not a lack of dedication but a lack of efficient resources, especially shoes. He began to raise money to buy functional shoes for the players and is now able to give shoes to several high schoolers who play soccer through donations; most recently, It Starts with the Shoes has been able to raise money through Jim Frank’s involvement in the Hurley brothers’ bike ride.

However, the Hurley’s haven’t always been able to journey across the states by bicycle; just a couple of years ago, Bob Hurley was involved in an accident that left him bedridden for three months. He wasn’t sure that he would even be able to walk again. But as he was coming out of rehab, his brother, Frank, reached out. He suggested training to ride their bikes long distances. “I just felt that… it was the motivation I needed to get me through the hard times,” Bob said. After a lot of time spent training together, they were able to ride across Georgia. Another trip, this time across Iowa, prepared them to ride all the way across the United States.

Frank and Bob Hurley started their trip on September 29 of this year in San Diego, California on Dog Beach. After 1,750 miles of biking, they arrived in La Grange and enjoyed exploring the town. They aren’t sure how many miles they have left because they haven’t decided on an exact path, but they expect to arrive in St. Augustine, Florida just before Thanksgiving. The bike ride will end up taking approximately two months. They average about fifty to fifty-five miles a day, but they once biked 108 miles in one day.

The Hurley brothers’ and Jim Frank’s inspiring dedication to raising money for charity will result in food for the hungry, service dogs for veterans, and shoes for high school students in need. They’ve trained for several months for this journey, and now it is paying off. Their trip from coast to coast and the money and awareness being raised will definitely be worth the effort.

To keep up with the Hurley brothers adventures check out their facebook page called Coast2Coast4Charity