CHARLOTTE REICKS
I first learned about and began bicycling for families with Huntington's Disease in 1999 when Marie Nemec joined me
and a friend for our first coast-to-coast ride from Pacific Ocean to Atlantic Ocean (3000 miles). It was Marie's plan to pass out information and collect donations for HD.
My friend and I were bicycling for The Year of The Bible and the American Bible Society, passing out literature. It was on this bicycle trip where I learned about HD with
my first unforgettable meeting just two days into the ride with a woman in California with HD who could not speak and was in a wheelchair. It was then I realized
the enormity and devastation of HD, and, to my great surprise, learned from Marie that we have HD families in Grand Junction and, at that time, a new HD support
group was beginning, in which I have also become involved. That first ride across America was memorable for meeting other HD families along the way, the surprising
generosity of people handing us donations, and the churches of all denominations taking us in overnight. It was also very difficult as we carried our gear up and
down all kinds of terrain in all kinds of weather, but such a blessing from God; it was to be our Mission which He put us on that first year (unbeknownst to us)!
You know the rest of the story. We are truly blessed by God that we are bicycling our 11th year for HD families. He has put us in all areas of the US with our
destination always the site of the Convention. We have handed out thousands of flyers across the US, collected thousands of dollars by His plan. The blessings to
me personally are immeasurable. First, having a Mission to serve others is immense, the friendships formed over those years with HD families all over the United States
and in Grand Junction is immense, and the privilege of bicycling all over the US seeing the beauty of God's creation and the goodness of God's people is immense.
And, this year for the first time with the Convention being in Phoenix, which is drivable from Grand Junction, several of our HD families are able to attend
their first Convention, and we know the many benefits they will derive from that experience, and for the first time, Marie and I will be staying with a Navajo church.
On a more personal note:
My cross country bicycling adventures began in 1992 when a friend suggested we bicycle across Colorado from Utah to Kansas.
It was a life-changing experience to learn I could bicycle across a state and over the Continental Divide! I could go anywhere! After that, each year I bicycled a 5-6 day ride (400 miles) in
Colorado for various charities--Make A Wish, Habitat for Humanity--then came the life-changing first bicycle ride in 1999 for HD.
My family continues to be supportive and my rock, although they were naturally worried in 1999, but are now more at ease with my annual cross country
bicycle trip. They include my oldest son who is a CPA and lives in Phoenix and my youngest son who is a doctor and lives in Grand Junction with his wife
and my 3 grandchildren. My two granddaughters are in college and my grandson is a Junior in high school.
I grew up at Amherst, Nebraska in the Kearney, Nebraska area. My husband and I came to Grand Junction as teachers. I taught at
Grand Junction High School and Mesa College. My husband taught at Fruita, Colorado and then became a realtor. Upon leaving teaching
after 25 years, I then was a legal secretary for 5 years and, for the past 20 years and presently, am a medical transcriptionist
for a group of pediatricians and family practice doctors, transcribing via computer in my home. I will be 74 in July,2009.
