Man on 6,000-mile bike journey stops in Americus

Local News

May 4, 2009

Becky Holland

AMERICUS — Late into the evening Saturday, the phone at the Times-Recorder offices rang, and the voice, tired, yet kind sounding on the other end, said, “Is this the newsroom?”

Within a few seconds, Glenn Fenster, founder of DestinyMaker, a nonprofit charity organization based in Aventura, Fla., told his tale.

He was in town for the evening as part of his 6,000-mile bicycle journey that he does to help find a cure about epilepsy.

According to Fenster, his reason for undertaking such a ride is his now 14-year-old son, Nyle, who has had epilepsy since he was a small child.

Glenn said he does this ride for his son and others living with epilepsy, not only to raise awareness, but to show them, “that they can do anything, and achieve their dreams, even with their disability.”

Fenster’s 2009 journey is not his first but his fourth. In 2006, he biked 4,036 miles from Seattle, Wash., to Miami, Fla., to promote epilepsy awareness, then in 2007, he rode from Alaska for 2,500 miles.

His goals for this ride are simple. One, he plans on meeting a little girl named Cassidy in Halifax, Canada, who challenged the whole world to wear purple on March 26. Cassidy Megan founded Purple Day in 2008, in an effort to get people talking about the disorder of epilepsy and inform those with seizures that they are not alone.

Fenster then plans to head into Chicago to meet with Idea League — an organization, according to Fenster, that helps those with Dravet’s Syndrome, a severe form of Epilepsy.

Two, he had plans on contacting every newspaper and television station along the way to share the story and get the word out “about epilepsy.”

Though his stay in Americus was short, he was looking forward to starting out on Sunday for his next destination.

Fenster is keeping a blog which can be viewed at his website at www.destinymaker.com, along with more information about his organization and his route.