by Dennis Dalman
Gene Boysen of St. Joseph returned home recently from a five-day bicycling event in Wisconsin during which he biked 450 miles while raising (so far) $4,200 for Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity.
Donations will still be accepted for Boysen’s efforts on behalf of the local Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer organization that builds new homes or refurbishes older ones for people in need. The families purchase the homes, making very affordable monthly payments.
The annual fundraising event Boysen joined took place in and near LaCrosse, Wis. from July 12-16. It was dubbed “Bike.Build.Home.” It was Boysen’s seventh year participating in that event. Many other bikers from far and wide joined the effort, all of them raising money for their back-home Habitat for Humanity organizations.
The original “Habitat 500” bicycling fundraiser started 30 years ago and was coordinated by Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota. Throughout the years, it raised more than $7 million to build affordable homes.
The relatively new Bike.Build.Home 500 Committee includes past riders and volunteers who are keeping alive the spirit and purpose of the original Habitat 500. Bike.Build.Home is now coordinated by long-time dedicated Habitat riders. Same cause, different name.
Boysen, a long-time St. Joseph resident, husband and father, is the owner of Boysen Animal Hospital, founded 30 years ago in St. Joseph and now located in Waite Park.
“I have found this event to be very rewarding,” said Boysen in an early July interview with the Newsleaders. “Being part of something bigger than myself and supporting a great cause keeps me coming back each year. All the funds raised from my efforts are going to Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity. They are active and making a difference in our community.”
To donate funds, go online to the Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity website: cmhfh.org/make-a-gift. Click on the “Donate” space, then click the pull-down menu arrow in the box that says, “My donation is for.” In that pull-down menu, click on “Bike.Build.Home 500 Ride” and proceed from there.
After his trip to Wisconsin, Boysen noted he and the other bikers did a lot of their biking in a place known as the “Driftless Area” near LaCrosse. It is an area that rises from flat prairieland to towering, rugged bluffs, one of which (Granddad Bluff) offers a view of parts of three states. Biking in that area, Boysen said, involved an elevation gain, all told, of 10,000 feet.
Bikers pause while going through rugged cliffs in an area near LaCrosse, Wis. The biking event, which included Gene Boysen of St. Joseph, is an annual event to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity.
