When retired Naval Submarine Commander David Mackovjak dipped the front tire of his bicycle into the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach, Va., he wasn’t alone. Next to him, 17-year-old twins James and John joined their father for the symbolic gesture – the finish of a 3,900-mile cross-country ride they call Riding 4 Hope Coast to Coast.
Their journey began 43 days earlier in the family’s hometown of Silverdale, Wash., when they dipped the rear wheels of their bicycles in the Pacific Ocean before setting off on their trans-American road trip.
“It should be more than a bike ride”
The Mackovjaks have been involved with the Boy Scouts of America for years – David, James and John are all Eagle Scouts – and have participated in a number of physically challenging activities. It wasn’t until the summer of 2007 during a five-day bike ride in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington that the elder Mackovjak broached the topic of a cross-country ride with his sons.
“That was the kernel,” Mackovjak says. “It’s been about a year and a half of planning and we really started kicking it around last summer.”
The plan was to complete the ride between the twins’ junior and senior years of high school, and David took time off his job as an engineer for Sandia National Laboratories. They were excited at the prospect, but wanted the trip to have a larger purpose.
“We thought it should be more than a bike ride,” Mackovjak says. “That was when we started looking at charities.”
Recently retired from the Navy, David knew he wanted to help a military-related cause. He chose the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that provides unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of service members who have been severely injured while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
And, as teenagers, James and John looked for a cause that would benefit young people. They opted for their local chapter of the Boys and Girls Club, which offers before- and after-school programs to young people, in the hopes of guiding them toward appropriate life decisions.
“In the military, families move around a lot,” Mackovjak says. “But there are Boys and Girls Clubs at most military installations, so it was a perfect tie-in.”
The Mackovjaks planned their ride to include several military installations and their accompanying Boys and Girls Club chapters, and also aimed to raise $10,000 to divide among the Wounded Warrior Project and the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound.
Charting a course
Several months of planning and research went into the final route for the Mackovjaks’ ride. David used the Internet to conduct research on the best routes and contacted others who had completed a cross-country bike ride.
He used the interactive street view feature of Google Maps to get a realistic look at the challenges in certain areas.
“We used that a lot to make sure the road was safe, the shoulders were wide enough, and to see what the intersections looked like,” Mackovjak says.
Each of the cyclists had experience in long-distance rides, but usually in one or two days. This trip would require more than a month of back to back long-distance rides – an average of about 100 miles per day.
“We had to figure out a training program that fit into school schedules, work and sports,” Mackovjak says. “A couple of months into training, they [James and John] felt confident in the ride.”
Hitting the road
David Mackovjak had specific goals for the trip. “I wanted the boys to know that if they set their minds to it, they could accomplish anything,” he says. “And I wanted them to work on their public speaking.”
The cyclists were treated to a sendoff from the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound in Bremerton, Wash., then made stops at chapters in Spokane, Wash., Colorado Springs, Colo., Fort Knox, Ky., Roanoke, Va., and Virginia Beach, Va. James and John were able to practice their public speaking when they talked to members of the Boys and Girls Clubs about their charity ride and answered questions from the children.
“They talked about the importance of physical fitness and setting goals,” Mackovjak says. “They were very apprehensive at the beginning, but they improved each time.”
They also performed minor bike repairs for members of the Boys and Girls Clubs, having been trained to repair their own bikes in preparation for their trip.
The Mackovjaks had help throughout their journey. Their neighbor, Skip Junis, offered his marketing expertise to help with fundraising and publicizing the event. And he served as the wheelman for the group’s support vehicle – a Subaru donated for the trip by a local dealer in Bremerton, Wash., which also covered fuel costs for the trip. Costco supplied energy bars, sports drinks and water for the cyclists, and many hotel, motel and inn managers offered free or discounted lodgings for the group. First Command’s Silverdale, Wash., office also sponsored the ride.
Mackovjak documented the group’s daily rides using an online journal format. Each entry features a description of the day’s ride, memorable quotes from the day and a few photos. “Technology was key,” Mackovjak says of the web site. His GPS-enabled watch allowed him to upload information about the day’s route, elevation gain and even his own heart rate. But Mackovjak didn’t predict the amount of time it would take to keep the site updated.
“I averaged about three and a half hours of sleep each night, after uploading photos and GPS information and then writing the entry,” he says. “But it worked out well. We got somewhat of a following of folks looking for the updates. It kept me going every night.”
While most teenagers spend summers hanging out by a pool, playing video games with friends or sleeping in until lunchtime, James and John Mackovjak say they enjoyed the opportunity to see the country on two wheels.
“Biking across America and stopping every 20 miles for water, you meet a lot of people,” John says. “And not a lot of people can say they’ve done this, so it was a good opportunity.”
James says he preferred this trip over a more traditional road trip. “Doing this for a cause was cool,” he says. “And the scenery is way better on a bike than cruising in a car at 60 miles per hour.”
The twins say they also enjoyed bonding with their father. “It was a good chance to hang out with our dad since we’re leaving next year,” John says.
Still, the journey wasn’t without its challenges. Harsh road conditions, stormy weather and bike repairs slowed the group down a few times, and John suffered a fall on a busy highway in Colorado.
“We were headed to Colorado Springs and the cars were going about 60 with no shoulder,” he says. While switching positions in their pace line — a formation designed to let cyclists draft behind a lead rider for a few miles at a time — the twins’ bikes made contact, sending John into a guardrail. “I took a tumble, but I didn’t break anything,” John says. “But I do have a few scars.”
“They would either love me or hate me”
James and John traded navigation responsibilities each day, which meant keeping the group briefed on the day’s route and any obstacles to expect along the way.
“Safety was really important, from our jerseys to flashing lights on the bikes, to talking about any safety concerns the day before each ride,” Mackovjak says. James and John “worked together to make it successful and I’m very happy with how it all turned out.”
Mackovjak says he’s glad to have had the unique bonding opportunity with his sons. “My concern was that, in the end, they would either love me or hate me,” he says.
After 43 days, 11 states, 3,900 miles and exceeding their initial $10,000 fundraising goal – the Riding 4 Hope team is proud of what it has accomplished.
“And they’re still talking to me,” David says with a chuckle.
To read Mackovjak’s journal entries from the road or to donate to Riding 4 Hope, visit riding4hope.org.
Mackovjak is a current client of First Command Financial Services, Inc. (Member SIPC, FINRA)