Three Stage Tour to Endure

Cycling for Autism Speaks

Stage 3: 3,300-mile Cross Country Ride takes place this summer

COURTESY OF RICHARD DiSALVO

The third and final stage of the Three Stage Tour to Endure, a cycling fundraising event to raise funds and awareness for Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, is set to begin next month near Seattle, Washington.  Team D-Tour, comprised of the DiSalvo family from Derry, Hampshire, including Saint Joseph's College 2015 graduate Joe DiSalvo, is about to cycle across the United States covering roughly 3,300 miles in one month's time.

Joe, who along with his family hails from Derry, New Hampshire, recently capped his collegiate athletics career after competing for the Monks' cross country and track & field programs for the past four seasons. A three-year team captain for both programs, Joe raced in 33 cross-country events during his college career and placed in the top-15 on 13 occasions. He also holds the SJC outdoor track & field 3000-Meter Steeplechase record.

The Tour began with Stage 1 on August 10-11, 2013 a two-day 249-mile ride covering the entire state of New Hampshire from the Canadian border to the Massachusetts border raising more than $1,000 for Autism Speaks.  Joe joined his Dad Rich for about 55 of the 249 miles during the 2013 ride.

Stage 2, a 1,400-mile 17-day ride from Kittery Point, Maine to Yulee, Florida was completed last summer with an additional $3,500 in donations coming in.   More members of the DiSalvo family took to the roads last year with Joe, and siblings Christina, James, and 8-year-old Jennifer riding on multiple occasions as well as three of Rich's brothers, Phil, Steve, and Dave, who joined in the New England area.

Now comes the big one, Stage 3: a 3,300-mile trek from the Pacific Coast near Seattle to the Atlantic Coast in New England.

"It's a great way to support such a great charity while at the same time going on an awesome family adventure," said Joe.  "Not everyone is given the opportunity to go out on a trip like this so I am excited to take it all in. I am riding to support my family, my Dad, and everyone who is touched by Autism in some way." he added

With each stage has come more visibility, more awareness, and more in the way of donations to Autism Speaks.   Rich is hopeful that trend will continue.

"Our initial goal was $5,000 in three years, but after Stage 2, we've raised more than $4,500 so the goal is now $10,000 total by the end of this summer's trip," he said. "I'm hopeful we can make it happen."

"Last year's trip from Maine to Florida was a true team effort, but this year we'll be taking that to the next level," adds Rich, a former marathoner and president of the Greater Derry Track Club. He also was the captain and coordinator of a National Kidney Foundation Boston Marathon fundraising team from 2006 to 1993 and helped raise over $30,000 for the cause.

In order to cover the distance in the time the team has available, some of the longer mileage days will be covered in "relay" fashion with the family riders splitting up the mileage when necessary.

Joe's goal all along has been to ride as many miles as possible, ideally the entire distance, while Christina is hoping to put in up to 50 miles a day if possible.  For Rich, anything in the range of 100 miles per day will work.    While James doesn't plan on riding this time around, he does have a key role as driver of the bike vehicle that will offer support along the route.   Rich's wife Sue has perhaps the most important role of all as she sets up, breaks down, and drives the family trailer from destination to destination (mostly campgrounds) along the way.

While there has been lots of training going on, there's been just as much excitement and work spreading the word as well.

"Lately all I can talk about is my Dad's cycling fundraiser," said Christina, who is wrapping up her junior year at the Rochester Institute of Technology, "I'm so excited and proud of my family for getting out there and spreading the word about Autism Speaks."

Autism Speaks is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and a cure for autism as well as increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders, and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.

And while the primary focus of each day of Stage 3 of the Tour will be covering the necessary miles, there will be sight-seeing and rest stops along the way as well.  The family plans on visiting Glacier National Park in Montana, crossing Lake Michigan on a ferry, stopping in at Niagara Falls, and riding into Deposit, New York for an annual family re-union at the Deposit Lumberjack Days festival on the last weekend of the trip.

For more information on what's going on with the Tour and for updates once the trip is underway, visit the Tour Facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Three-Stage-Tour-to-Endure/641436889270618

To make a donation to Autism Speaks on behalf of the Three Stage Tour to Endure, please visit:

http://fundraise.autismspeaks.org/Markslist/campaign/display/profile.do?campaignId=2221

Contact:  Rich DiSalvo, disalvo.richard@yahoo.com, 603-475-0125

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.