Rotarian Ralph Zuke is riding his bicycle with “Rick-shaw” Barcalounger from St. Louis, Mo. to the Rotary International Convention in Houston, Texas to support Rotary’s mission of eradicating polio. The ride started on Tuesday, May 3, and will end the day before the conference on Friday, June 3. This ride will be a little over 1,000 miles long.
He and his safety coordinator Kevin King were met by DeQuincy Rotarians and local newspaper publishers, Doug and Jeffra DeViney to enjoy a tour of DeQuincy Railroad Museum on Saturday, May 28. Railroad Museum docent Katy Haley gave them an informative tour.
The Rotary Club of DeQuincy sponsored lodging for the travelers at Heritage Place Hotel & Suites after he reached Starks as a stopping point for the day. On Sunday, Zuke rode the west side of the Creole Nature Trail to see alligators.
He is no stranger to long bike rides. He earned international notoriety from Rotarians across the globe when he rode his Barcalounger Rickshaw from Fairview Heights, Ill. to Toronto, Canada for the 2018 Rotary International Convention. He raised just under $24,000 to help fight polio across the world. With the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation doing a 2-to-1 match, his final total became almost $72,000. The ride was 703 miles and took 22 days to complete. He raised the money through sponsorships as well as giving people rides.
As a current member of the Rotary Club of St Louis’ Civilians Satellite Club, Zuke and his club do many local service projects to help support the local community.
