SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – A group of cyclists crossing the United States this summer stopped by South Lake Tahoe this week as part of their 63-day, 3,955-mile trek to raise funds and awareness for those with disabilities.
Journey of Hope is a group of young men who are members of Phi Kappa Phi fraternity on campuses across the country. Annually, fraternity members take two routes across the country, the North Route and the TransAmerica Route. The North Route team started in San Francisco on June 4 and is made up of 27 riders and five support crewmembers. They spent Wednesday and Thursday in South Lake Tahoe this week, and were hosted by Hope Lutheran Church and treated to dinner at the Moose Lodge. They’ll be in Carson City Friday night, then head east to Utah with the eventual end in Washington, D.C., on August 9.
The Ability Experience is the philanthropic initiative of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity that remains, to this day, an unparalleled success in the Greek world. Founded in 1977, they strive to instill a passion for lifelong service in their fraternity members while helping to empower people living with disabilities. As their website states, they’re helping to change the way society views people with disabilities and fraternities.
The Ability Experience supports the riders as they fundraise and meet with people along their route. They annually raise $400k-$600k during the bike rides.
Highlights of a few of the North Route team who enjoyed dinner at the Moose Lodge on Thursday:
Kai Shapiro, a Galena High graduate and current mechanical engineering student at the University of Utah, is the most local of the group. The 20-year-old lived in both Incline Village and Reno, and his dad was able to make it out to watch the riders on SR88 as they climbed the Carson Pass. Kai was inspired to ride with Journey of Hope (JOH) from the experiences a fraternity brother had, and now, in turn, wants to inspire younger people to make the ride.
A recent graduate of the University of Mississippi is also one of the team, 21-year-old Cameron Geronios of Half Moon Bay, Calif. He will be starting graduate school in the fall at San Diego State, where he will be studying mass communication. He is a first-time rider with the group and started training last November. His training regime included a first breakfast of oatmeal before hitting the road, then returning home for a second breakfast after the ride and going to school. On weekends, he intensified that training to include rides of 3-5 hours.
Team Leader Ben Galbraith is a Wake Forest graduate who has a degree in business management. He completed the TransAmerica ride two years ago and is now overseeing logistics, handling public relations, and tending to anything else that comes up during the two-month journey. Ben has been teaching adaptive skiing at Breckenridge over the last two winters.
Team photographer is 18-year-old Luke McGinley from La Habra, Calif. He is currently a construction engineering and management student at Cal Poly-Pomona. Luke, like the others in the group, has enjoyed all of the new places they’ve already been to over the first 275 miles.
“No one day is the same,” said Luke. “I’m enjoying the friendship and meeting people with disabilities along the way.”
All of the riders echoed the same sentiments about the friendship, the teamwork, and the opportunities the unique experience is giving them. Meeting members of the disabled community is always the passion.
During their rest day, Thursda,y after the tough, 90-mile ride Wednesday heading up SR88 past Kirkwood, the JOH team stopped by the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center for the Inclusive Mobility Day event, Pedals and Possibilities.
For more information on the ride and how to donate, visit https://www.abilityexperience.org/programs/journey-of-hope/2025-team/.