Tales From a Bicycle Seat

I want to take the opportunity to thank all of you who contributed to the 4th annual Lynne Mohr Big Sky Ride. We had a very successful campaign this year, thanks to all of you and your generous donations.

Yesterday, my ride ended at the outskirts of a small town in southwest Germany where my great-grandfathers were all born. It’s fitting to come full circle back to “family”, as “for family” has been the reason I have been riding.

My cousin Lynne Mohr looked out for many people in her life (including me on many previous bike journeys). That’s what “family” does for each other.

You have all worked together to create a legacy in Lynne’s name that will go on to create scholarships for many years to come. Thank you for being a part of that wider family, where we all do our part to look out for each other!

And now, time to trade my bicycle seat (once again) for a piano bench…

https://gofund.me/7d9702b7

Views from a drone, while bike-packing through the Alps.

We have raised $12,565 towards our goal! Half-way there!

Here’s how you can help us knock down the 2nd half (while we continue to knock down kilometers):

https://gofund.me/7d9702b7

4th annual Lynne Mohr Big Sky Ride: Day 5-7 Highlights (via drone) Raw drone footage covering days 5-7 oh bike packing through the Swiss Alps.Drone footage by Kurk BennettMusic by George MaurerLearn more about our cause:http...

Day 2 begins! Our goal is to raise $1,000 today towards our cause.

Read more at: GoFundMe.com (keyword: Lynne Mohr)

Day 1 Highlights as I bike across Switzerland and Germany to raise funds for a worthy cause.

$6300 raised thus far! Thank you!

https://gofund.me/7d9702b7

Day 1 Highlights: 4th Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride Donate to our cause at:https://gofund.me/7d9702b7

And…we’re off!! Over the Alps we go! Donate to our cause?

https://gofund.me/7d9702b7

Contact:
Sarah Hartwick
Vice President of Education & Workforce Policy
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
220 East Adams Street
Springfield, IL 62701
O: (217) 718-4211
M: (217) 691-1368

July 1, 2024

Adventure bicyclist to pedal over the Alps in 4th annual ride to raise funds for Illinois Manufacturer’s Association trade school scholarships

Springfield, Illinois — Former Brite-O-Matic Manufacturing, Inc. President Lynne Mohr was a such a huge fan of British glam rock band Queen that her cousin is building this year’s bicycle ride in her memory around the band’s song “Bicycle Race.”

Lead singer Freddie Mercury wrote the song after watching the 18th stage of the 1978 Tour de France pass through Montreux, where Queen was recording their “Jazz” album in Mountain Studios. Mohr’s cousin, Minneapolis-based musician and adventure cyclist George Maurer, will honor her fandom in the most literal sense when he bikes over Europe's highest and most extensive mountain range for “Big Sky Bicycle Ride — The Alps and the Black Forest: Fourth Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride” to raise funds for the Lynne Mohr Endowment for Trade Scholarships at the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association Education Foundation.

Maurer departs July 10 for a 25-day, 1,000-mile trek that starts at the base of the Freddie Mercury statue on Lake Geneva in Montreux. He will be accompanied by Aussie friend and triathlete Kurk Bennet, whom he met randomly in the Faroe Islands as he was wrapping up his Second Annual “Big Sky Ride” in 2022.

Maurer and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association hope to raise another $25,000 for the Lynne Mohr Endowment, which helps fund post-secondary education for Illinois students pursuing the trades that Mohr respected and supported so much. Maurer’s first three rides raised $55,000 and enabled the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) Education Foundation to most recently award the Lynne Mohr Scholarship for Skilled Trades Students to three men and women pursuing manufacturing careers.

*“The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is proud to honor Lynne Mohr and continue her legacy of supporting women and men interested in pursuing a career in the trades,” said Sarah Hartwick, Vice President of Education & Workforce Policy at the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Her passion for manufacturing will continue to live on in the scholarship recipients who will benefit from the funds raised during this ride. We are honored to carry on her commitment.”

Mohr was deeply committed to the Midwest manufacturing industry and served on the board of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the unifying voice of manufacturers at the State Capitol regarding issues such as tax policy, environmental regulations, health care reform and labor law. She worked at Brite-O-Matic, the specialty car wash systems manufacturer founded by her father William Gasser, from age 14 through her retirement in 2018.

After Mohr died in August 2020 from complications related to liver cancer, Maurer approached her immediate family about dedicating his next rides to a cause important to her in honor of the unfailing generosity she showed him and the unflagging optimism she radiated even as she faced a terminal illness.

The 2021 Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride covered the 1,700 miles from Brite-O-Matic’s headquarters in Arlington Heights, Illinois to Mohr’s vacation home in Eureka, Montana. The 2022 ride gave a nod to her love for Monty Python and took Maurer through Scotland, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales. He veered north for 2023, taking a 1,700-mile trek along the Atlantic coasts of Norway and Finland and through the Arctic Circle.

And he still wants to ride his bicycle.

“Big Sky Bicycle Ride — The Alps and the Black Forest” is the 14th of Maurer’s annual epic bicycle journeys, which have covered 25,000 miles and raised over $135,000 for various causes.

Mohr always contributed liberally as Maurer rode through countries including Iceland, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and inspired his virtual edutainment program “Tales from a Bicycle Seat.”

Donations in support of the endowment in Lynne Mohr’s honor can be made at: https://gofund.me/18e505fb

Donate to Fourth Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride, organized by George Maurer Contact: Sarah Hartwick
Vice President of Education & Workforce Policy
I… George Maurer needs your support for Fourth Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride

-10 summers of bike adventures (2014-2024) across 14 countries
-26,000+ miles biked
-close to $250,000 raised

This is video #10 of 10, via the Arctic Circle of Norway in 2023.

Join me and my Aussie mate Kurk Bennett as we bike-pack over 100,000 feet and 1,000km into the Swiss Alps from July 10 onwards, as we raise funds for scholarships in memory of my cousin Lynne Mohr.

We’ve raised nearly $5,000 of our $25,000 goal already!

Donations towards our cause are being taken at GoFundMe.com (keyword: Lynne Mohr

George Maurer Bike Adventure Story #10 of 10: 4th Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride Countdown Donate to our cause at GoFundMe.com (keyword: Lynne Mohr)

Imagine stumbling across a brass band from Italy doing a cover of Prince's "Kiss" in Durham's town square whilst bike-packing across the UK in the summer of 2022.

The things you discover riding a bicycle...

Join me starting July 10th as I bike-pack across the Alps on the 4th Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride, raising funds for a cause that was dear to Lynne.

Learn more about why I'm riding at GoFundMe.com (keyword: Lynne Mohr)

George Maurer Bike Adventure Story #9 of 10: 4th Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride Countdown donate to our cause here:https://gofund.me/d0fe30daor gofundme.com: keyword LYNNE MOHR

Video retrospective #8 of 10: Iceland's Highland Interior via bicycle (2021)

It's the 10th anniversary of an annual ride I do via bicycle across another country to raise funds for a cause. Out of all my bike-packing adventures, Iceland is the only country I've returned to on numerous occasions.

You can see why!

Join me from July 10-31 as I bike-pack over the Swiss Alps with my Aussie riding companion Kurk Bennett, raising funds for scholarships in memory of my cousin Lynne Mohr.

More at GoFundMe.com (keyword: Lynne Mohr)

George Maurer Bike Adventure Story #8 of 10: 4th Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride Countdown donate to our cause here:https://gofund.me/d0fe30daor gofundme.com: keyword LYNNE MOHR

In Winter of 2020 (just before lockdown), I spent a month bike-packing Chile and Argentina; from the Andes to the Sub-Antarctic.

This is video retrospective #7 of 10, as we count down the days to my 10th anniversary ride-for-a-cause, this time over the Swiss Alps and into Germany.

Stay tuned, and in the meantime, check out why I am riding in memory of my cousin Lynne Mohr at GoFundMe.com (keyword: Lynne Mohr)

George Maurer Bike Adventure Story #7 of 10: 4th annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride countdown Donate to our cause!GoFundMe.com (Keyword: Lynne Mohr)

I'm bicycling 1,000km over the Swiss Alps starting July 10th, to raise funds for scholarships in memory of my cousin Lynne Mohr.

It's the 10th anniversary of my first bike-packing adventure, and below are video-highlights of my 6th ride in 2019, this time across Vietnam. It was quite the experience to navigate the roads on a bike 1,000km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

I'll let the video footage speak for itself!

We have raised over $5,000 towards our $25,000 goal already!

Follow along my bike adventures with my Aussie mate Kurk Bennett over the month of July. You can donate to our cause at GoFundMe.com (Keyword: Lynne Mohr)

George Maurer Bike Adventure Story #6 of 10: 4th annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride Countdown Donate to our cause at GoFundMe.com (Keyword: Lynne Mohr)

It's Day 5 of the 10 day countdown to my 2024 bike-adventure across the Swiss Alps!

I have been posting one video-retrospective a day, taking a look back at 10 summers of bike-adventures-for-a-cause across the world. Today, we feature highlights from my 2018 trek across Newfoundland on the T'Railway, an amazing rails-to-trails route across this Canadian province.

We have raised close to $5,000 so far for the 4th annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride. You can donate towards our cause at GoFundMe.com (keyword: Lynne Mohr), or you may share my profile picture (with QR code).

We begin July 10th!

*Music by Newfoundland artist Gordon Cromier (used with permission)

George Maurer Bike Adventure Story #5 of 10: 4th Annual Lynne Mohr Memorial Bike Ride Countdown donate to our cause here:https://gofund.me/d0fe30daor gofundme.com: keyword LYNNE MOHR