ELKHART — Dutch cyclist Gregory Maassen, 54, is biking across the country to raise awareness for peripheral neuropathy.
He’ll travel more than 3,400 miles, following the route taken by President Eisenhower as he traveled in 1919 as part of a military convoy, inspiring the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956.
The historic Lincoln Highway, starting in Washington D.C. and ending near the Golden Gate Bridge in California, boasts U.S. bicycle routes 44 and 50, regional trails and many new routes that e-cyclists rarely explore. Maassen is also developing a trail, divided into 10 segments, to give other cyclists the opportunity to follow the route.
On roughly mile 900 of his 3,400-mile tour, Maassen’s e-bike tour shows no signs of slowing down. In a matter of less than a month, he’s raised $28,000. On Friday, Maassen stopped in Elkhart to tour the region and talk about his experiences.
“I’m called many things now,” he admitted, “They call me a cyclist, a documentary maker, a photographer.”
Equipped with video camera, camera and a drone, and custom supports for each of the cameras, Maassen, a film student, is also recording his travels for the tour and for a future documentary.
Maassen didn’t start out as a cyclist, though. It wasn’t until after he was diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy, that doctors recommended he make a change.
As a former hiking guide in Africa, Maassen was no stranger to physical fitness or travel. He lived in the Netherlands, Armenia, South Africa, Botswana, Afghanistan, Russia, Iraq, Macedonia and Jordan. While touring the landscape in 2019 of Africa, unbeknownst to him, Maassen was inundated with ticks. It didn’t take long before he became horribly ill. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him, so he went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. All remnants of the infection were gone, but what remained was small fiber neuropathy, a type of peripheral neuropathy that affects the small nerve fibers in the skin.
Neuropathy and its various forms affect people differently. For around 10 million people, it’s associated with diabetes. It affects more than 30 million people in the United States alone.
“Whenever I meet people, they either know someone who has it, or they have it themselves,” he said. “I was in Fort Wayne, [I spoke with a man] and his wife has peripheral neuropathy because of cancer treatments. The medications are a big cause of peripheral neuropathy. It’s no joke.”
For Maassen, it felt like his skin was on fire.
“It felt like I was sunburned all the time,” he said.
The disorder left Maassen weak, anxious and perpetually depressed. Doctors offered him a variety of treatments including medications, but advised that the only way he’d ever feel better was to get exercise.
So in 2019, Maassen picked up the habit of e-biking. After months of preparation, he decided to begin his tour.
“This whole notion of e-biking is cheating?” he said. “I mean, I never knew that cheating would give you such a great workout. As far as I’m concerned, as long as your exercising, whether it’s swimming or running or in my case cycling, it’s good — it’s good for your brain; it’s good for your body.”
Maassen’s load, including his bike, weighs more than 400 pounds and allows him to be fully self-sustaining on his one-man-tour, equipped with everything from a tent to his Dutch wooden clogs.
Working alongside the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy, Maassen’s goal is to raise $50,000 for promotion and research of the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy.
“He inspires me every time I talk to him,” said Nancy S. Frohman, director of Development and Marketing for the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy. “You can imagine someone who has chronic pain in their feet and the doctor tells them to exercise. It’s a very determined person.”
Averaging 11 mph, Maassen hopes to reach the end of his tour in July. To follow him on his journey, donate to the cause or for more information, visit ebiketour.com.
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