Riding for the kids

John Norman of Port Washington was preparing for a training ride in Seymour a couple of weeks ago when it happened.

He and his wife Michele found a park near the Newton Blackmour State Trail where they could change into their biking gear. A woman walking her dog near the park spotted Norman in his jersey.

The large “Great Cycle Challenge” and “Riding to fight kids’ cancer” over the bright orange and blue color scheme was easy to see.

The woman said her 3-year-old grandson was just diagnosed with brain cancer.

“He’s who you’re riding for,” she told him.

“That,” Norman said, “made it all worthwhile.”

Norman will participate in his ninth Great Cycle Challenge USA in September, again riding 300 miles to support the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. The national ride started in 2015.

“I don’t know anybody who doesn’t have a family member or friend” who hasn’t been impacted by cancer, he said. Norman’s father and mother-in-law both died from the disease at 63.

The Great Cycle Challenge has participants setting a miles goal for each September. They log their miles online and seek sponsorships.

Norman has raised more than $10,000 in eight years. This year, he is hoping to raise $3,000.

He will embark on his ride on the Labor Day Weekend, starting in La Crosse with his wife and trail-riding back to Veterans Park in Milwaukee, including traveling on the Glacial Drumlin State Trail.

They will cover their journey’s 225 miles over five days, taking in the scenery and visiting friends along the way.

Norman’s introduction to mountain biking came as an adult. He hadn’t ridden a bike much since the days when he biked to and from school as a child, but picked up the hobby after two of his three sons got into bike racing. It soon became a family activity with trips to races across the state through the Wisconsin Off-Road Series.

A few crashes leading to brain injuries that Norman has recovered from put an end to his racing career, but he still loves biking.

“It’s awesome. It’s low impact. It’s relaxing. You can veg out, think about nothing and enjoy the scenery,” he said. “You can take it at your own pace.”

While biking does help keep Norman in shape, it’s nothing like his time in the University of Wisconsin-Madison marching band, where he and his wife both played baritone horns. “We’ve never been in as good of shape as we were then,” he said.

Norman has lived in New Mexico, Alaska and Colorado. His father was a hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Society.

Norman works in information technology for Harley-Davidson and did a motorcycle ride last Saturday to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. He and Michele, who works as a hydrologist, have lived in Port since 2000.

They love taking bike jaunts to coffee shops in Cedarburg or Thiensville, mostly traveling on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail.

“It’s nice here. We don’t have to go uphill to get out of town,” Norman said.

He said he will definitely reach 300 miles in the Cycle Challenge, getting up early to get a quick 10-mile ride in if necessary.

Norman and Michele have come to love biking so much that they have done multiple trips across the state and have gone from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., traveling through the Cumberland Gap. They’ve also done trips in the U.P. and around Austin, Texas, when the wildflowers were blooming.

They don’t travel light, packing water, electrolyte tablets and snacks, along with tubes for tires, a repair kit, pump and carbon dioxide cartridges.

Supplies add about 30 pounds to their 22-pound bikes.

Norman’s cancer-fighting efforts also include donating platelets every two weeks. He likes to get to know some of the people he’s helping. He saw a photo of someone on the wall of the blood center and the two became friends.

Norman, with permission, posts about his efforts and the cancer patients on social media.

“The main thing is to raise awareness. Inspire other people to donate,” he said.

While his bike jersey caught the eye of the woman whose grandson has cancer, Norman hopes another jersey can raise the boy’s spirits.

Raising $2,500 earns a superhero jersey through the Great Cycle Challenge. Norman has donated those to a child with cancer.

Norman’s efforts have been featured in videos and on podcasts. A piece done by Versiti can be found at https://tinyurl.com/55bkhcdh. He has been on the “Act to Impact” podcast, and he traveled to Memphis to be on “An Army of Normal Folks” podcast.

To donate, visit https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/JohnNorman.