Rolling reverends on a ride to help the hungry

Three Lutheran ministers from West Virginia pass through Peoria Heights on Thursday morning on the second day of their 100-day, 13,000-mile trip to raise money to fight world hunger. They are (from left) the Rev. Dr. Fred Soltow, the Rev. Ron Schlak and the Rev. David Twedt. (Leslie Renken - GateHouse News Service)

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PEORIA – Sometimes three is not a crowd, especially when you have to climb some steep, hilly roads.

Three Lutheran pastors from West Virginia rode into Peoria on Thursday on a one-of-a kind bicycle – a triplet – with the goal of helping to feed the world’s hungry.

They call it the Tour de Revs, and their 100-day journey, which began Wednesday in Chicago, will take them through 65 cities and more than 13,000 miles. They want to raise awareness, and money, to help alleviate world hunger. Their destination in Peoria was Salem Lutheran Church, where they had lunch and gave a presentation.

While people along the Prospect Road route gawked at the trio during the lunch hour Thursday, most did not get a close-up look at the bamboo-frame, custom bicycle built by Craig Calfee of California.

“It is only 52 pounds,” said the Rev. Ron Schlak to some members of Salem Lutheran who cheered as they rode into the parking lot. “This is the only bamboo bicycle in the world.”

With an average age of 60, the pastors, who have been friends and colleagues for 15 years, are all athletic men who enjoy running and cycling.

“I’m the youngest; I’m 59,” Schlak said.

The other two are the Rev. Dr. Fred A. Soltow Jr. and the Rev. David A. Twedt.

The group hopes to raise $5 million by the time the 100 days are up. It is their contribution to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s goal of $25 million to help eliminate world hunger. More importantly, they hope they can convince people to change their lifestyles so they can think of the needy and feel good about themselves.

Before they raised a cent for the needy, however, the pastors raised $100,000 to finance their trip, which they have been planning since 2004. That includes the cost of the bicycle, which is about $10,000.

“We also got about $40,000 from grants and different agencies,” Schlak said.

Local church members had been raising money since Lent. Salem Lutheran’s pastor, the Rev. Stephen Barnes, asked his congregation to contribute the cost of something they would forgo during the season of abstinence toward the project. On Thursday, the church presented the visiting pastors with a check for $2,000.