Chrysta Lienczewski found common ground with a colleague whom she learned was a cyclist.
They didn’t hit it off right away though. In fact, it took Lienczewski telling him she rode a Cervelo Soloist bike to get his attention.
“That was appropriate in his eyes to be a real cyclist,” she said with a laugh. “So we started riding together, and that’s when he told me about the Make-A-Wish ride.”
The Wish-A-Mile Bicycle Tour is an annual cycling fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Michigan, which grants wishes to children facing critical illnesses. Lienczewski joined the effort in 2009 and has not missed one ride since, even taking the reins of leading the Michigan Medicine team in 2014.
“I used to do triathlons when I was a little younger and my knees were a little healthier. I was a pretty competitive athlete,” said Lienczewski, a clinical research program manager with the Michigan Kidney Translational Medicine Center in Michigan Medicine. “I went to the international world championships for the Team USA four times, I’ve run the Boston Marathon, so I’ve done a fair amount of competitive events.
“I still say, this is hands down my favorite thing I did every year,” she said of the Wish-A-Mile event. “I was training and doing half ironmans and triathlons and all this stuff, and I’m like, ‘What would be a better way than to use some of that ability for something good?’”
The ride itself is an easy lift for Lienczewski, who admitted she barely did any training outside of two lengthy rides for this summer’s three-day, 300-mile trek between Marshall, Holland and Kalamazoo.
But she’s not in it for the cardiovascular benefit. It’s far deeper than that for Lienczewski, who calls her team the WAM Fam.
“This truly is a family of people and how much they care for each other,” she said.
The memories and experiences her team’s efforts have helped create also keep her coming back. The cyclists get the opportunity to interact with Make-A-Wish children along the route, and these “Wish Heroes” are excited when they see the Block M on the team’s kit.
“The kids see that, and say, ‘I was in Michigan. Can we get our picture with you?’” she said. “We get to meet them, and they tell you about their wishes, and it’s really exciting and really impactful.”
Organizers conduct what they call the WAMMIES on the second night of the event and typically grant a wish on the spot to an attendee.
In 2012, a child who had wanted to see the Summer Olympics in London was granted that wish at that year’s WAMMIES. A limousine pulled up and whisked him and his family to the airport.
“I was blown away by that,” she said. “What a phenomenal wish.”
At this year’s event, a 4-year-old girl and her family were informed they were going to Disney World. That brought back memories of a parent who told Lienczewski her young teen son had a disease where his muscles could not keep up with his growing bones, resulting in pain. That family, too, was granted a week in Disney World.
“They said the whole week they were in Disney World, he didn’t take his pain medication once,” she said. “The joy that it brings them and the hope, I always get emotional talking about it, because it’s just so fantastic.”
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But Lienczewski has learned the wishes are not always about a memorable trip. She spoke to a father whose teenage son was battling cancer and would rest in his parents’ bedroom after treatments. The son had been chosen to receive a granted wish but had trouble deciding what he wanted.
One day, as the end seemed near, the son called his father into the bedroom to tell him he had made up his mind.
“He said, ‘‘I know what I want for my wish. I want them to redecorate your room, for you,’” Lienczewski recalled through tears. “Just the selflessness of these children is really astounding. He was 15 or 16, and all he wanted was his parents to have a nice bedroom.”
The father continues to take part in the annual WAM rides.
Lienczewski has made the annual bicycle tour a family affair for her as well. Her sister resides in Germany, and after expressing a desire to take part in the event for many years, decided in 2018 to do so.
Not a seasoned rider like Lienczewski, her sister did not have a proper bike for the ride — which then started in Traverse City and ended in Eaton Rapids — and had not ridden a bike for longer than 35 miles.
Lienczewski loaned her sister one of her quality bikes and made sure she knew she didn’t have to log all 300 miles over the three days.
“There’s no shame in sagging, just do what you can the first day, a little more the second day. You raised the money and you’re giving your heart to this effort, so it’s OK,” she said she told her sister. “I learned a lot about my sister on this event, she rode the entire 300 miles. I was so impressed.”
She’s participated every year since, including the virtual pandemic events, and her mother also volunteered at this summer’s event. Lienczewski is already looking forward to the July 25-27, 2025, ride and hopes her team can top the nearly $17,000 they raised this year.
“We definitely take care of each other out on the route and afterward. I do really feel like they are a family to me,” she said of her teammates. “I make a big effort to demonstrate my gratefulness for what they do.”
