Andrew Suchocki ’01, a fourth-year medical student at Ohio State University, and his friend, veteran cyclist Chris Dangler ’03, spent this spring on the Ride for World Health—a 3,700-mile cross country bicycle ride. Joining 20 other medical students, healthcare professionals, and concerned community members, their goal was to raise awareness of global health issues and to raise money to support the work of Partners in Health, an organization striving to provide adequate health care to all nations.
The Ride for World Health includes a 16 stop lecture series through which the riders speak about global health at urban hospitals or high schools. But Suchocki believes the ride’s message is best spread informally, as it was in Baker, Nevada, population 300. “About one-sixth of the town was there. We had a pot luck,” said Suchocki, phoning from the Kansas prairie.
Physically, Suchocki knew he was ready for the grueling trip and its 100-mile days through the plains. He was pleasantly surprised, though, by people’s willingness to learn more about global health and how it affects people from Sudan to Topeka.
Dangler, an adventurer, recently returned from a trip to South America where he gained an understanding of global health issues while working with local gauchos. “So many of the problems that we have there are preventable,” he said. The basic key to global health is equal access to clean water, and all the basic healthcare services that many Americans take for granted. But the riders also cite critical issues such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, and women’s health.
With the Rocky Mountains behind him, Suchocki looked forward to the second half of the trip, which would conclude 1,700 miles away in Washington DC. “At least it’s a lot flatter,” he said.