Why Fathers Leave Their Children

Opinion   |   OP-ED COLUMNIST Why Fathers Leave Their Children David Brooks       June 16, 2017 Millions of poor children and teenagers grow up without their biological father, and often when you ask them about it, you hear a litany of male barbarism. You hear teens describe how their dad used to beat up their mom, how an absent father had five kids with different women and abandoned them all. The children’s tales often reinforce the standard image we have of the deadbeat dad — the selfish cad who spreads his seed and leaves generations of wreckage in his wake. Yet

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Mike Cruz Completes 52 Day, 2,500 Mile Route 66 Journey

Congratulations to fellow endurance bike rider and Great Dad Coin recipient Mike Cruz (69) from San Diego who completed his 52 day, 2,500 mile, Route 66 bike ride from Santa Monica to Chicago. Mike encountered the Dads Honor Ride crew in Adrian, TX at the Mid Point Cafe on June 10th and he arrived in Chicago July 7th. He and David Hirsch enjoyed breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s, the famous Route 66 diner, took a photo at the Route 66 Begins sign, and then hit a few of the sites downtown. Bravo Mike!!!!  

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June 20 — Lincoln, IL to Monee, IL (151 Miles)

We decided to shift the end point for today from Dwight, IL to Monee, IL, which meant adding approximately 40 miles to today’s ride and taking 40 miles off tomorrow’s ride into Chicago, to build a cushion in the event of more inclement weather or other obstacles. We got an early start and were on track for our 10am stop at Bloomington Cycle & Fitness, until reaching a road closed sign on Old Route 66. We’ve been able to get through all the other “road closed” signs by bike, but not this one. The stop at BC&F was a good

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June 19 — Edwardsville, IL to Lincoln, IL (122 Miles)

We donned our rain gear and headed out for another day in paradise, that is if you’re a duck or an amphibian. It rained almost all day. Loved the On The Hill Golf Course sign indicating Rain, Rain Go Away …. We actually received flash flood warnings on our phones. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any flooded out roads. By the time we approached Springfield the rain had subsided. I was able to connect with my sister Teri who lives in Chatham and works in Springfield. We were greeted in Springfield by friends Carla Knorowski and the Grubes; Gary, Kathy and

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June 18 — Sullivan, MO to Edwardsville, IL (94 Miles)

After a good night’s sleep at the Best Western it was time to hit the road in the rain and make the transition from MO to IL. Some of the rivers were swelling and looked like chocolate milk. After 65 miles of switching back and forth from Old Route 66 to US 44, we arrived in St. Louis at 2pm for a visit with long time friend Nancy Yawitz and her father, Aubrey, a WWII veteran who turned 99 just yesterday. It was great to listen to Wilk and Aubrey talk about their WWII experiences. From there it was off

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June 11 — Amarillo, TX to Shamrock, TX (102 Miles)

The day started with a magnificent sunrise and an early morning cab ride to News Channel 10 for an in studio interview with my bike. Courtney Olson, the cab driver/owner is the gold standard. Two minutes into the ride she’s shoving a $20 bill at me and insisting on making a donation to the 21st Century Dads Foundation.  FYI, the cab fare, including a generous tip, was only $28. The folks at the studio were also top notch and great human beings.  FYI, the video below indicates the Dads Honor Ride is 21,000 miles in 21 days.  For the record, it’s only 2,100 miles

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June 9 — Santa Rosa, NM to Tucumcari, NM (110 Miles)

Today was scheduled to be a half day with a modest 60 mile ride from Santa Rosa to Tucumcari, except for the fact we didn’t make it to Santa Rosa last might. We got up a little earlier and headed back 44 miles to yesterday’s stop point and started pedaling from there. Air temps were in the low 60s, elevation was favorable, legs felt strong and (thank God) we had a tail wind. I covered the 44 miles in 2 hours averaging just over 22 miles/hour. Easily the strongest two hours of the entire journey. We arrived back in Tucumcari

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June 8 — Albuquerque, NM to Santa Rosa, NM (84 Miles)

I got up at 4:45am and biked, in the dark with a headlamp, a few miles (not included in the total miles for the DHR), over to NBC4 for a 5:30am appointment. The in-studio interview with Kim Tobin went well and I got back to the hotel by 7:30 for a bite to eat and to hit the road for Santa Rosa. Getting out of Albuquerque proved a little more challenging than expected. I felt a little vulnerable navigating the expressway, so I decided to take some bike paths and local streets. Getting up early also set me back from

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June 7 — Gallup, NM to Albuquerque, NM (141 Miles)

After a good night’s sleep and breakfast at the Hampton Inn, it was time to hit the road for our longest scheduled ride (140 miles) of the entire three weeks.  Good news, no rain in the forecast and moderate temperatures.  White fluffy clouds most of the day with wonderful panoramic views.  One of the highlights was stopping at the WOW Diner in Milan, NM, a classic 60s style diner.  Great food and great service.  We also passed the Continental Divide at 7,245 feet.  Except for some extreme cross winds, including tumble weeds, it was a great day for riding.  We

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June 6 — Winslow, AZ to Gallup, NM (140 Miles)

This was supposed to be a 125 mile day, except for the fact the ride was cut short by 15 miles yesterday, due to lightning. So we started riding today, 15 miles west of Winslow, where we left off yesterday. Did I mention it was still raining when we started riding? No time to complain, just start pedaling. After snapping some photos at the infamous “Standing on the Corner” location in downtown Winslow it was off to Gallup. The rain subsided after a few hours and it was smooth sailing the rest of the day. We said good bye to

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June 4 — Wickenberg, AZ to Cottonwood, AZ (111 Miles)

Greetings from Cottonwood, AZ.  The day started out on a precarious note.  Google Maps took us up a dirt road for about five miles before we sent an SOS.  Addie and Wilk came to the rescue in the RV to bring us back down to the main road. The ride out of Cottonwood was easy going until we got to the foothills leading up to Prescott.  After riding up a slight incline for a few miles we entered the switch back area that took us up to Yarnell, elevation 4,850.  After riding at that elevation for 10 miles, and experiencing flat number

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Memorial Day Ride & More

Went for a short ride to watch the parade and attend the solemn Memorial Day ceremony at Evergreen Cemetery in Barrington. Thank you to Ann & Bob Lee for the nice photos afterwards. Shortly there after I suffered my first flat tire in about 1,300 miles.  Fortunately, I was meeting up with Dads Honor Ride, ride director Lincoln Baker and assistant ride director Maciej Wierzchucki just a 1/2 mile away. After a quick tire repair we connected with long-time friend Gary Grube, who has graciously agreed to allow us to use his F250 diesel pick-up truck for the entire ride.

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Biking 101 (as in miles)

Completed a another century ride Saturday.  Perfect day, 75 and sunny.  Rode to Lombard and back along the bike trail. Treated myself to some DQ (at mile #80) and then happen to notice good friends Young Chung and son Peter (looking very red, white and blue) in their yard (at mile #90) planting a peach tree on Kris’ birthday. Hard to believe the Dads Honor Ride is just one week away. Please be sure to Like the new FB page: www.facebook.com/DadsHonorRide and encourage others to do the same.

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133 Miles And Still Smiling

On Wednesday I decided to ride to Milwaukee to meet a friend for lunch.  It was a clear but crisp day with temperatures in the mid 50s.  Happen to notice a yard sign with the number 2211, which coincidentally is the exact number of miles for the Dads Honor Ride, not the 2,100 we’re telling everyone.  The ride up was uneventful except for a brief encounter with a Milwaukee police officer who wasn’t too happy that I decided to ride a short segment on Interstate 43.  He issued a stern warning and escorted me to the side streets of Milwaukee. I enjoyed a

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Springfield Fatherhood Essay Contest

We are staging a Faces of Fatherhood event featuring Springfield students who have written essays about their dads. The event will take place on  on June 19th (day #19 of the ride). For the essay contest, each student is asked to write a 250 word (or less) essay on the theme “What My Father Means To Me,” describing their relationship with their father or father figure. Here is a brief overview of the 2015 Springfield Fatherhood Essay Contest : Each student will receive a Certificate of Participation, Each student will receive a Great Dads Coin to present to their dad, Up to ten

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Another 200 Mile Weekend

The first ride took me from Barrington to Evanston, where I met with Jean Anderson, a marketing specialist, who has agreed to put together an overall communications strategy for the Dads Honor Ride. From there I pedaled to Lincolnwood to visit my mom (AKA grandma Claire). I also enjoyed meeting one of the other Lincolnwood Place residents, Monty Nachman, a 96 year old WWII vet, who shared a handful of amazing stories. From there I pedaled to visit my friend Jim Mullen and his daughter Maggie, who will be riding on day 21 of the Dads Honor Ride. From there

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David Hirsch: Dads Honor Ride Training

Training for the Dads Honor Ride is coming along nicely.  I was able to get 180 miles in this weekend. The first ride was a solo round trip to Lake Geneva and back, with a stop at Gino’s East to refuel. I also treated myself to a Dog N Suds rootbeer float on the return ride. On Sunday I went for a small group ride with long-time friend and 11x Ironman, Phil Lageschulte, and some of his Barrington Endurance Club friends.  Was great put some long rides in advance of heading to Santa Monica on June 1st.  For the other

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Bloomington-Normal Illinois – Fatherhood Essay Contest

Exciting news! Bloomington Cycle & Fitness will collect essays from local students for the Bloomington-Normal Fatherhood Essay Contest. For the essay contest, each student is asked to write a 250 word (or less) essay on the theme “What My Father Means To Me,” describing their relationship with their father or father figure. Here is a brief overview of the 2015 Bloomington-Normal Fatherhood Essay Contest : Each student will receive a Certificate of Participation, Each student will receive a Great Dads Coin to present to their dad, Up to ten students per grade (K-12) will be recognized at a June 20th

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