For the last five years, Joel Frick of Springfield Township has been bicycling in the WAM (Wish-A-Mile) 300, in order to raise money for Make-A-Wish-Foundation of Michigan.
‘All the rest of the riding is about the ride, but this (the WAM 300) is about the kids in the end,? Frick said.
The WAM is 300 miles long over the course of three days, July 26-29, 100 miles per day from Traverse City to Chelsea. About 700 riders celebrated the WAM’S 20th year and raised $1.4 million in donations. Frick has also received an ‘award of excellence? for having donated more than $10,000 over the past five years.
His first year riding in the WAM, Frick rode with the Flying Rhinos, and then rode independently for a few years. This year he rode with Team Blizzard.
‘It’s nice having a bunch of people that you ride with every year,? said Frick.
Team Blizzard sponsored a 6-year-old girl, Alexandra H., from Bloomfield Hills. She has an illness known as ‘glioma,? a type of tumor. Her wish was to go Disney World, which came true last March.
According to Frick, he originally competed in the WAM for the bike ride, but at the finish line he found so much more.
‘It’s the smiling faces of the children who you know have some kind of illness, but they are still smiling when you pull in,? he said.
Frick is a part of the Flying Rhinos cycling club out of Kinetic Systems bike shop in downtown Clarkston.
He started riding about nine years ago after a friend from work mentioned they needed to go buy some bikes and go riding.
‘It gets addictive,? said Frick. ‘You meet a lot of interesting people, and it’s good for you.?
Over the past four or five years, Frick has rode over 7,000 miles per year.
He said he takes out a group every Wednesday for a casual back road ride and anybody is welcome.
Frick was born in Pontiac, but has been a Clarkston-area resident for the past 24 years. He has put in 29 years at General Motors in Pontiac as a forklift driver.
Frick has also competed in cycle cross racing in the fall season the past three years. His first year, he took State Championship Gold. Since then, he has moved up to a higher level.
For more information about Make-A-Wish foundation, visit www.wishmich.org. For more information about the Flying Rhinos, visit www.flyingrhinocc.com.