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Monday evening I attended an informal dinner meeting hosted by Chai Lifeline to hear about a proposal for bike riders from Chicago to join in the amazing BIKE4CHAI 150 mile ride in NJ that ends at Camp Simcha. It’s an interesting idea that I’m really considering, since this year’s Bike the Drive event is on Shavuos.

That night I met two very inspiring people.  The first person was also attending our meeting.  He’s a 75 year old businessman who has joined the ALYN ride six years in a row.  ALYN’s ride is an intense 5 day ride in Eretz Yisrael along some serious routes. His biking chevrusa (and gemara chevrusa) also was at the meeting and related that this 75 year old man doesn’t get off his bike to walk up any of the inclines on the ALYN ride…amazing!  To be 75 years old and have that much koach is something to admire.

After our meeting, a man at the next table in the restaurant came over and asked the Chai Lifeline representatives, Rabbi Sruli Fried (director of Chai Lifeline NJ) and Rabbi Shlomo Crandall (director of Chai Lifeline Midwest) about their program.  As introductions were being made, it turns out that this fellow (a medical doctor visiting Chicago for a meeting) is, in fact, the founder of www.dafyomi.org.  He started the website in the mid 1990’s and doesn’t solicit donations or have advertisements on the site to help offset the maintenace costs.  He is one of the most l’shaim shamayim people I’ve ever met.