Man on a bicycle rides with a mission

At 5:15 this morning, just as has been the case nearly every morning the past three weeks, the ungodly blare of Russell Bordeau's alarm clock will buzz somewhere in America and rouse the Plattsburgh native from his slumber and propel him into action.

Bordeau will scoop up his clothes -- neatly set out the night before -- grab a quick bite to eat and squint through the dawn at a landscape of a city he's never before seen. At 7 a.m., he will climb on his dark red bicycle and continue peddling his way on a 3,442-mile journey across the country, passing through deserts, over mountains and in torrential rain storms toward his final destination in Boston at the end of May.

'Sometimes, the going gets tough,' says Bordeau, a retired biology teacher. 'But I think about my friend Rich Goerlitz. And I think about my brother. I think about how tough they had it, and that's what keeps me going.'

Bordeau lost both his brother and Goerlitz -- a fellow Plattsburgh teacher and good friend for 30 years -- to kidney cancer. Bordeau is riding for them and to raise funds to support an innovative 'at home' dialysis program which helped Goerlitz enjoy a higher quality of life while managing his illness.

After being diagnosed with kidney cancer in 1998, Goerlitz began standard, in-center dialysis treatments and found his life revolving around the standard three times a week dialysis treatments. Unhappy with his declining quality of life, Goerlitz investigated The Daily Nocturnal Hemodialysis program at the Hortense and Louis Rubin Dialysis Center in Saratoga Springs. This form of treatment allowed Goerlitz to perform treatments at home while the center staff monitored him at night via the Internet. The longer and slower nature of the kidney dialysis treatment restored some of Goerlitz's energy and allowed him to manage his illness while enjoying traveling and other activities of his active lifestyle.

'When he came to the Rubin Center, it just made a world of difference to Rich. He thought very highly of the center,' Bordeau said.

Shortly after Goerlitz passed away in 2003, Bordeau retired from his teaching job and came up with the idea to make a cross-country biking effort to honor the memory of his friend. The journey began April 26 in Irvine, Calif.

'The first day we left Irvine and went through Southern California they said it was 112 degrees. When we came to Winslow, Ariz. -- you know like the song 'I was standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona' -- well, I was standing on the corner in Winslow, Ariz., and it was about 30 degrees,' said Bordeau, describing the varying climate as well as the ever-changing landscape.

By day eight, he biked past Dalhart, Texas, and hit the 1,000-mile mark. For the former biology teacher, there was a lot to experience firsthand.

'I have seen a lot of interesting things, from riding on Route 66 to seeing things off the beaten track. In New Mexico and Arizona, I was impressed with the rock formations, the 'painted' desert and being in the canyon with nothing but a few hawks circling up overhead,' Bordeau said of the journey that included sightings of rattlesnakes, armadillos and coyotes.

As last Friday's 150-mile ride wound its way to Quincy, Ill., Bordeau passed the journey's half-way point at 1,800 miles. He was accompanied by rain the entire way, but was also happy to be joined for the recent leg of the trip by his daughter, Maggie. The two had biked together previously in 1997, making a journey from Seattle to New Jersey's Asbury Park.

As Bordeau continues on his journey east, riding up to 150 miles per day, pass through the Capital then continue onto Massachusetts reaching his eventual conclusion on May 27 in Boston. In total, the cross-country bike trip will cover 3,442 miles in 32 days. Bordeau has been documenting the journey with his 'picture phone,' posting images and notes on www.rubindialysis.org.

by Thomas Dimopoulos
The Saratogian, 2005