John Crouch, age 29, is a Music Composer who is currently finishing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at Peabody Conservatory – the Music School of Johns Hopkins University. On May 20th, he embarked on a bike ride that spanned the course of 1,700 miles to raise money and awareness for the American Wheelchair Mission, in a campaign titled Biking for Wheels.

Leaving from Baltimore, the first leg of his expedition was a ride to Manhattan for the birth of his nephew on the 22nd. He made it to Mt. Sinai Hospital in perfect time to be present for his nephew, Oliver James Jilka’s birth. His route via the George Washington Bridge spanned roughly two-hundred and ten miles. At the rate of about seventy miles per day, the trip took him a total of three days to complete.

A few days later, John left New York to ride an additional seven-hundred miles to Cincinnati, which stacked another ten days onto his trip. John stayed there with friends in Cincinnati for a few days before heading off once more to continue his ride.

For the last leg of the journey, John returned to Northwest Arkansas from Cincinnati, where he was greeted warmly by the mayor. This added another seven-hundred miles and ten additional days to the overall length of his ride. In total, John rode his bike for twenty-three days over a whopping distance of approximately 1,700 miles after crossing the finish line.

Having made this trip once before, John was confident in his ability to do it again. “I have a very light tent and sleeping bag that I carry on my bike rack,” he explained. “When I made this trip four years ago, I only camped about a third of the time. This time I was hoping to be more self-sustaining by not staying at any hotels, and using a small stove to cook when I camped.”

John’s greatest hope was that his ability to complete this bike ride would inspire others to donate to the American Wheelchair Mission, and allow those in need to receive the gift of mobility. “Through the donations that my efforts bring in, it will make greater mobility possible for those that cannot cycle with me!”

John’s inspiring bike ride touched the hearts of so many, and brought people all over to donate toward delivering the gift of a new wheelchair to somebody without mobility. In all, his efforts raised over $2,300 for delivering wheelchairs!

Please click here to visit our donation page and pledge your contribution to continue the support of John’s cause, “Biking for Wheels.”