CLARKSBURG W.Va. — Pushing his body as far as it could go, Frank Fumich’s race to raise awareness and money for the family of WVU student Ryan Diviney by biking more than 3,000 miles from coast-to-coast ended Saturday afternoon about 500 miles short of his goal.
But that didn’t matter to those Fumich inspired during the past 11 days. About 100 people waited for him outside Dave’s T&L Hot Dogs on Old U.S. Route 50. They held signs, sang songs, chanted his name and rang a cowbell in honor of his difficult journey. They also had hot dogs waiting for him.
It was a hero’s welcome upon his return to Clarksburg, as his awareness campaign had raised more than $85,000 for the Diviney family. Fumich hugged his grandmother and sister, shook hands with small children, and when he finally, mercifully stepped off his bike for the final time, he embraced Ryan’s father Ken Diviney.
“Anybody can do anything if your motivation is great enough, and I certainly went further then I would have had it not been for everyone’s help,” Fumich said.
The Race Across America cyclist rode more than 2,500 miles from Oceanside, Calif., to Chilicothe, Ohio, where he hit his 43rd time station. Soon after, Frank conceded what his body had been telling him for days. Between the limitless rides, incomprehensible sleep deprivation, and even occasional hallucination, Frank’s body had finally given out.
“I want to thank everybody for all the thousands of messages on Facebook and e-mails and following,” Fumich said. “I had no idea it was going to be that huge, and I felt the people behind me.”
So Fumich decided to end his race early and continued biking along U.S. Route 50 with his team in tow until he finally arrived in Clarksburg.
Fumich, not a professional cyclist by trade, pushed his body beyond what most would consider reasonable. At times, he would ride for 27 consecutive hours only to pause for an hour’s sleep. But it was all for a singular purpose: to raise awareness and money for former WVU student Ryan Diviney.
“I biked every night straight through the night to try to make the time,” Fumich said. “I did it for Ken and Ryan.”
Fumich was inspired to raise money for the Divineys after hearing of the tragedy six years prior. It had been a late night in November when a seemingly trivial dispute over baseball nearly ended Ryan’s life. Like Ryan, Fumich attended West Virginia University while hailing from northern Virginia. Something about the Divineys’ plight struck a chord with him.
“What Frank has done is so substantial and so difficult and so noteworthy that it brings both money and recognition to my son,” said Ken Diviney. “And it keeps my boy, Ryan Diviney, relevant.”
Nearly six years after Diviney’s story shocked the state, Fumich still drew motivation. During the final harrowing days where Fumich was unsure how much more punishment his body could take, his teammates began riding behind him and reading off donations and messages from supporters.
“Maybe the last three nights they’d get behind me and on a loud speaker read the donation site, the amount of money people donated, and the message they gave to me just to keep me going because it was so hard going,” Fumich said.
Before he ever raced, Fumich, having never met the Diviney’s before, contacted Ken Diviney with a wild idea–he would bike across the country in what is officially the “World’s Toughest Bike Race” and raise money and awareness for Ryan. Admittedly, Ken was skeptical at first. But then Fumich and Ken met in person.
“I didn’t put much stock in it because sometimes people are over-ambitious,” Diviney said. “But then he called me again and persisted and I looked into it, and I though sure enough this is a guy who might be able to pull something like this off.”
After they met, Fumich saw first-hand the dedication Ken offered in the care of his son, now in a vegetative state after the assault. Both men knew they could commit to this intrepid goal of racing across America. Ken knew Fumich was serious, and Fumich knew he’d have to dig deep down to have any chance at finishing a race that sees only a small portion of its participants ever reach Annapolis within the 12-day time frame.
“He said it’ll motivate it him through the race,” Ken Diviney said. “Every now and then he said ‘it’s for Ryan’ and not for him, but today is for him.”
Helping people isn’t particularly out-of-character for Fumich. After the Boston Marathon bombings, he similarly went to the aid of a family in need in New England.
“It’s just his character,” said Fumich’s sister, Sheila Liljenquist. “He is always helping somebody.”
Though Fumich’s ride ended with a “DNF” next to his name on the leaderboard, he knew he assisted a family and inspired an untold amount of people.
“If you combine your passion for helping others you can really make a difference in the world,” he said..
Fumich didn’t rule out another ride but he admitted it would take “a lot” to get him back on the bike for another go at the Race Across America–most notably the unlikely approval of his wife.
At the very least, after 11 grueling days and topping well over 200 hours on a bicycle in that span, he can finally enjoy one of those hot dogs.