A recently retired teacher from Withrow University High School's cross-country bike journey to raise money for his former school's students was imperiled before it began when his camper van broke down on Interstate 70 in Colorado.
Former teacher Mike Finnegan and his team, Rahim Spence and Rebecca Jansen-McKinnis, hope to raise money for the Mike Finnegan Health and Wellness Scholarship Fund for vulnerable students pursuing college degrees in health, wellness or education. They were towed to a garage and back on the road within 24 hours of the Colorado breakdown.
More: Withrow teacher retires after 36 years, bikes cross country to raise funds for scholarship
But the van broke down again in Utah the following day, was briefly fixed and died once more in San Bernardino, California. That's where the camper has now "retired," Finnegan said. He wrote his team has been feeling "desperate" and was in need of a reliable vehicle to get them through the rest of its journey to Washington, D.C.
"It turned out to be a very dangerous day for me without the proper support to eat and properly hydrate," Finnegan wrote in a text to The Enquirer. "I have a limited budget and the crew is getting very demoralized and doesn't want to cross the desert. Praying for a miracle today."
Finnegan and his team are now using a U-Haul to get them to Williams, Arizona, where a friend is meeting them with an extended Ford van. The solution will be costly, he said. He set up a GoFundMe to help with transportation.
“The one thing I’ve learned is people are so amazing and so helpful when you’re in trouble," Finnegan said. "People just step up and help you. It’s been incredible.”
The team lost a couple of days due to the "series of unfortunate events," Finnegan said, but hope to be back on track by Friday. Finnegan, a self-proclaimed "eternal optimist," told The Enquirer he is having fun on his journey despite all of the obstacles. He plans to wake up early Tuesday morning and bike most of the desert before the sun comes up, to avoid the heat.
“These kids are counting on me and I’m not going to let anybody down. I’m not letting anybody down, no way," Finnegan said. "Come hell or high water. I don’t care how long it takes, I’m going to be there. I’m going to get to D.C. if it kills me.”
You can donate to the Mike Finnegan Health and Wellness Scholarship Fund through GoFundMe or through the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation.
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