By Camila Bello Castro
Capital News Service
A Chicago man biked around Lake Michigan in eight days, battling self-doubts and a major thunderstorm and raising $25,000 for the Michigan Credit Union Foundation, which advocates and promotes the credit union movement by providing educational opportunities and consumer awareness.
Lamont Black, a finance professor at DePaul University, biked approximately 1,000 miles to raise funds without expecting that level of financial success. He traveled alone and carried his camping gear.
“We came up with an initial target of $3,000 because we had no idea who would respond,” Black said.
“I’ve gotten to know the credit union movement very well. And I love credit unions because they’re all about helping people and are very community-focused. It’s about giving back,” he said.
Black said that he got to know Michigan Credit Union League President and CEO Patty Cokery “very well over the last few years.”
“She’s now a friend of mine,” he said, “so I mentioned it to her, ‘Hey, I’m doing this ride, what do you think?’ They have the Credit Union Foundation. So we agreed that we would set this up as a little fundraiser.”
The foundation is the league’s philanthropic arm, said Andrea Tucker, its director.
Corkery put Black in touch with Tucker.
“We got talking, and although he has never done rides like this, not nearly as long, but solo trips, he’s never had it for a fundraiser,” Tucker said.
“He and I joked that we’d be happy if we got $3,000 to $5,000, and we ended up with $25,000, which was not what we were expecting,” she said.
“Around the Lake in 8 Days” became the hashtag for the fundraiser.
The title was a play on the novel “Around the World in the World in 80 Days” by Jules Verne.
Black said, “It became that theme of adventure. I wasn’t circling the world – I was circling this lake. Eight days just kind of worked out.”
“It ended up being about 125 miles a day. I was already nervous about whether I would be capable of doing that,” he said.
Black said that physical training was a big part of his trip.
On Saturdays, he went for long rides with his camping gear “just to get used to carrying the weight.”
“I had my sleeping bag and my clothes tucked into this bag on the front of my handlebars and then my tent and some other gear in the back,” he said.
Starting on Aug. 29, “it took me two days to get through Wisconsin and then two days to get through the Upper Peninsula. And then I took the ferry across to Mackinac Island and then the ferry across to Mackinaw City. And then it was four days coming down the Lower Peninsula,” Black said.
“There were lots of moments of discouragement where I would get physically tired and then mentally started to question everything,” he said.
For Black, the first two days were the hardest. “I’ve only ridden a century [100 miles in a day] once before. I just wasn’t sure whether I was capable,” he said.
“I started to second-guess myself – all those doubts and fears. Once I started building on the third and fourth day, I started to get a little more confidence.”
“But there was quite a bit of pain throughout,” Black said.
Starting his sixth day, Black was met by a thunderstorm while riding from Leland through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore along the Lake Michigan coast.
“That was my worst weather day by far,” he said.
“The wind was in my face constantly. If you’ve ever ridden a bike into the wind, it makes it 10 times harder,” he said.
“And I was so soaked. My feet were like puddles of water. I had to keep pulling my shoes off, dumping them out, wringing out my socks and then putting them back on,” he said.
“There were moments where I was like, ‘this sucks,’ – that was a really hard day.”
He finished on Sept. 5.
While other people would consider such pain an obstacle, Black said he considers it a teachable moment.
“I am a spiritual person. I believe there is a God. It was like, ‘Thank you God for teaching me through this moment what it means to persevere,’” Black said.
“Every time I face a challenge now and get anxious or afraid, I’m reminded of that other thing that was really hard and really scary – but I did it. I can do this too,” he said. “It’s been such a big confidence booster for me.”
“Sometimes exercise can feel selfish, like I’m taking time away from my family. I’m taking time away from other types of service. I’m just out there doing my thing.”
“This felt like a real win-win situation. I’m getting to do what I enjoy, and it’s helping serve this bigger purpose.”
Tucker said, “At its core, Michigan families are stronger, more resilient and more financially secure because of the generosity of Lamont Black and those who supported his ride.”
“The $25,000 raised is inspiring, and it isn’t just about the number, but it’s about what it will enable us, the foundation, to do, which includes things like expanding financial education for Michigan youth, providing relief when disaster strikes for families and communities, and then supporting youth as they develop as leaders and launch new community programs,” she said.