Local trying to raise $5,000 for READY! For Kindergarten

SANDPOINT — After more than 12 hours on a bike, battling wind, rain and exhaustion, Sandpoint cyclist Billie Jean Gerke felt a wave of euphoria when she finished her first  CHaFE 150 ride recently.

About an hour later, however, she passed out, no doubt the end result of pushing her body harder than she ever had. Thankfully a quick swill of orange juice snapped her back to reality.

Gerke, 45, has set a goal of raising $5,000 for Panhandle Alliance for Education and its popular and successful READY! for Kindergarten program. With the help of several community residents, plenty of fundraising effort and a whole lot of pedaling, she is close to fulfilling her goal.

Gerke is a relative newcomer to cycling, taking up the sport only two years ago when she began training for the first of two half-CHaFE rides — a mere 80-mile jaunt. With a host of friends involved with PAFE, and realizing the importance of READY! for Kindergarten, Gerke was eager to raise money for the cause.

“I know the difference early education can make,” says Gerke, whose grandson took the class. “If they (students) start ahead, they stay up.”

After raising $2,300 during last year’s CHaFE, Gerke decided to more than double that total, and received a wealth of help from the community. Local artist Scott Kirby donated a signed print titled “School on the Medicine Line,” then Ward Tollbom and Hen’s Tooth Studio donated the framing. The print was raffled off, and won by Tawnie Sleep of Sleep’s Cabins. Justin Dick and Trinity at City Beach let Gerke be a guest server and sell raffle tickets, also donating all of the desert proceeds to her tally.

After finishing the previous two 80-mile rides on a 1980’s Shogun bike, which was akin to a Winnebago in a world of Ferraris, Gerke knew she would need a better bike to conquer 150 miles. She asked local Wayne Pignolet, who clocked a 7:41.41 to finish first among the 87 brave souls who finished the 150 miles, about a ride and he didn’t hesitate to help.

“He said ‘I have a bike you can borrow,’ just like that,” says Gerke, whose official time on the much sleeker and lighter cycle was 12 hours and 35 minutes.

Local Suzanne Kaplan was the top female finisher in the 150 mile ride, while another 81 cyclists finished the half CHaFE.

While the bike helped, it was local Mel Dick who might have played the most instrumental role in finishing. Gerke rode her first ever century ride — alone, no less — two weeks before the race, and the 110-mile trek took her more than 12 hours.

She wrote a ride report describing the day’s many challenges, and sent it out to all of the people who had already sponsored her, including Dick, a board member of PAFE. Dick, who hadn’t ridden much since breaking his neck, ribs and injuring his shoulder last year while training for the Race Across America, was inspired by Gerke’s gumption, and offered to ride with her.

“I simply decided that if she was going to do the ride and raise that kind of money the least I could do was to be her riding partner,” recalls Dick, who marveled that nearly 200 riders attacked the course in support of the cause despite awful weather conditions. “They ranged from experienced riders going for the fastest time to first-time riders taking on the most challenging bicycle ride of their lives.”

Gerke freely admits that she could not have finished without the yeoman effort of Dick, who rode into the teeth of a wind, allowing Gerke to draft and preserve precious energy.

“He’s a fierce competitor who would normally be in the front of the pack,” says Gerke, who got a second wind with about 30 miles left in the race. “When we got to Clark Fork, he said ‘are you ready to sprint back to Sandpoint?’”

If Gerke can raise the full $5,000, she will receive a brand new state of the art bicycle from PAFE. While she is still about $1,000 short, she vows to continue fundraising until she meets her goal. With a new bike, she hopes to continue participating and raising funds for years to come.

To make a donation, go online to www.active.com/donate/chafe2012/bgerke.

Information: www.chafe150.org.