By MADDY VITALE
Will Kleemeier knows there is no cure for what he has, polycystic kidney disease (PKD), which can lead to renal failure.
But that doesn’t stop the 58-year-old married father of three from not only achieving his dreams, but also helping others along the way.
On Saturday, he triumphantly arrived in Ocean City to complete a 3,500-mile, cross-country cycling journey that began in June, all to raise money and spread awareness about PKD in a fundraiser called Pedaling for Kidney Disease.
“I reached out to some other people who biked across the country and they all said 30 percent of it is physical. The rest is mental,” Kleemeier said in a phone interview Saturday when he was just 15 miles outside of Ocean City.
So far, Kleemeier, who lives in New Hope, Pa., has raised nearly $55,000 of his $100,000 goal for the non-profit organization, the PKD Foundation, to help others with the disease, which is a life-threatening genetic condition that affects 600,000 Americans, according to www.pedalingforkidneydisease.org
Kleemeier left from Seaside, Oregon, on June 17 with the goal of arriving in Ocean City by November.
Along the way, he went through areas he said he will never forget. He cycled through Portland, Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago, Marion, Columbus, Wheeling, Pittsburgh, Cumberland, Gettysburg and Philadelphia.
And he cycled it alone. He noted how fortunate he was to have his 19-year-old son, Patrick, a Penn State student, who volunteered to be his support vehicle driver. When Patrick had to return to college, another family member took over for a bit.
He recalled some of his memories of the trip.
“The scenery was phenomenal. There was good and bad food. There was one thing that stuck out at me,” he explained of his journey. “There were students in a class in Ohio, where I actually met with their teacher. He handed me cards that the kids made in the class to support me in my journey. I will never forget it.”
The monumental ride began with Kleemeier dipping his rear wheel in the Pacific Ocean in Oregon, a tradition for long-distance cyclists.
By Saturday afternoon, and five months later, he dipped the front wheel in the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean City.
“I chose Ocean City because I grew up near Reading Pa., and as a child Ocean City was the beach we always went to,” he explained. “Today was really full circle for me in honor of my mother, Magdalene.”
Kleemeier’s mother died of kidney failure as a result of PKD.
Kleemeier was greeted by his wife, Judy, and their children, Patrick and their 15-year-old twins, Andrew and Ian, at the Scarborough Inn at 720 Ocean Ave. in Ocean City.
He even crossed a finish line banner held by his wife and his son, Andrew.
“I’m ready for bed,” he said with a laugh shortly after crossing the finish line. “Someone else is driving home. I’ll be sleeping.”
Afterward, the family headed to the ocean for the ceremonial dip and then went back to the porch at the Scarborough Inn to enjoy a champagne toast to celebrate.
“Will could have chosen any of a hundred places to mark the end of his transcontinental ride,” said Sne Avichal, innkeeper and owner of the Scarborough Inn. “The fact that he chose Ocean City as the place he wanted his bike to touch the Atlantic Ocean, it speaks volumes about what this town means to so many people.”
PKD has affected Kleemeier in one way or another for many years.
In 2004, he was diagnosed with PKD. His mother also was diagnosed with it around then. She died in 2007.
Despite his diagnosis, he felt well for many years, until 2017, he said.
“My health changed dramatically. I exhibited many PKD symptoms,” he noted.
Some symptoms of the disease that he experienced were declining kidney function, high blood pressure, side and back pain, headaches, and increased abdomen size due to enlarged kidneys.
Years later, Kleemeier, who is an engineer and lives a healthy lifestyle, was well enough to do a trek across the country to help others confronting the challenges he and his family have faced over the years.
“It was my lifelong dream to complete a cross-country bike ride,” he said, adding that making it a PKD fundraiser was what made it so important to him.
It also meant, no matter what, that he had to finish his ride, despite obstacles. And there were two major ones.
He had a bike accident in Chicago and broke his elbow. He had to sit out for a while until he healed.
Later in the trip, he contracted COVID-19 and had to take time off to get better.
He admitted that he couldn’t wait for the journey to finally end.
“To be honest, since I had so many mishaps, it is just a big relief to finish. But I do take a sense of accomplishment from it,” he said. “You put your mind to it, and you can do anything. I know every journey is different for people with this disease. But you just have to stay positive and do what you can.”
To donate visit www.pedalingforkidneydisease.org
