Many of
you know Mark (Tank) from the old days at Window Live Space, I through some of
you may like to know what he doing for the Vet’s, Mark left on this ride
yesterday, If you’re on FaceBook, just go to his page and you can keep up with
how he going
Out-of-shape smoker plans 48-state bike ride
to raise awareness of veterans issues
From The
Kenosha News
Mark Hansche’s legs will
push the pedals, but the drive to bicycle all 48 contiguous states comes from
his desire to raise public awareness of American military veterans living in
less than honorable conditions.
“The new packet for the
paperwork for the VA is five pages long. Even to get benefits, you have to have
a permanent address. And a lot of these guys don’t have an address. A lot of
these guys are living on the street,” said Hansche, 58, a Kenosha resident and
Vietnam-era Marine.
During his two-year
enlistment in 1971-73, he served in southeast Asia, on Okinawa and in Quantico,
Va. He never saw combat but knows others did.
“It got to me everytime
I turned around: Benefits are being cut for this; benefits are being cut for
that. The government is not hearing the guys that are hurting,” Hansche said.
Against the odds?
Hansche smokes, is 6
feet tall, 260 pounds, hasn’t ridden a bicycle in 40 years and, by his
estimate, has never ridden more than 100 miles all at once.
“I’ve been told it can’t
be done. I’ve been told I’m too old. I’m too out of shape. What they forget is I
was a Marine. I still am. If I fail, well, I will have tried,” Hansche said. “I
know this is going to challenge every ounce of my body, every ounce of my
being. But the drive is still there.
“The only thing that can
stop me is me. And God. And maybe a bear. The guy at the bike shop said,
‘Whatever you want this bike to do,
you’ve
got to be the one to
make it do it.’
“My kids don’t want me
to go. I’ll miss my grandchildren terribly. My wife thinks I’m insane. I’m sure
there are a lot of people out there who think I’m insane, but I’m not.”
Starting slowly
The plan is to start
slowly, pedaling baby strokes, if you will, not only to break in the new Trek
1.2 Alpha road bike custom fitted for him at Zion Cyclery, but to break in
Hanshce’s body little by little, enabling him to increase duration on the
saddle more each week.
If all goes as planned,
he’ll complete the trip in eight months.
On the way, he hopes to
kick his decades-long cigarette habit. When he leaves Thursday from the bike
shop in Zion, he’ll be armed with nicotine patches prescribed by his doctor to
help him quit smoking.
He figures the riding
will help him shed a lot of excess poundage, too. So long as his knees and the
rest of his body hold up, he plans to go the distance.
Reaching deep
In late fall, he started
a Facebook page dedicated to his upcoming pedal-athon. It’s drawn a lot of
attention from supporters and well wishers.
“This is deep within my
soul. It’s almost that something is driving me, and I can’t let it go. I
started this page back in November just to see what people thought. The more I
got into it, the more I had to do it. Or at least try and do it,” Hansche said.
“Most of these guys don’t even have a tent or a sleeping bag. They sleep where
they can.”
He insists he isn’t on
“a crusade or anything like that. I just want America to remember what
sarifices anyone who puts on a uniform makes, whether it’s losing an arm or
being away from your family for 18 months at a time. My goal is to help one guy
who is hurting — at least one guy a day — whether it’s getting him a cup of
coffee, a meal or gettin’ him to the VA.”
High hopes
Hansche worked most of
his adult life in retail, was unemployed for two years and most recently did a
five-year stint as a security guard.
That doesn’t add up to
big bucks for a guy figuring to bankroll the ride on his own. But when word got
out on Facebook, others came forward — are still coming forward — offering
donations, and inviting him to stay at their homes en route.
He remains conflicted
about accepting financial donations and hasn’t yet opened an account to receive
such funds, though that may change.
“The whole idea was not
to take money but to give back. I didn’t start out with my hand out. But it
seems the more word gets around, the more others want to support me,” he said.
According to Hansche, a
budding author wants to write a book about his experience, and Hansche plans to
photograph vets he meets and document their stories.
“I don’t have the
background to put a book together.” Hansche said. “ But if that all works out,
I can help some vets that have no place to stay.”
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