After five years as Deputy Mayor of the great City of Chicago, it is time to hit the road!  My friend and cousin (and person of equally questionable sanity) Chris Donnelly and I intend to touch our back tires into Canada, ride 120 miles south to the source of the mighty Mississippi River in Itasca, Minnesota, and then follow the path of the mightiest river in the world south all the way to its mouth, 120 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana.

This ride is a chance to recover, reflect on the extraordinary experiences of the last five years, re-connect with lots of friends who will hopefully join the ride, and raise critical dollars for a need that should not exist - feeding children in the third biggest city in the wealthiest country in the world.

I have had the opportunity to think about and work on a wide variety of fascinating and difficult projects and issues over the past five years.  It seems appropriate at this point, as I return to a more normal life, to address the most basic of human obligations - to feed children who are hungry and need help.

- Steve Koch

Ride the River 2017 hopes to provide 3 million meals for hungry children in Chicago.

Ride the River is a 2,500 mile bicycle ride from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico, following the Mississippi River, to raise funds and awareness to fight child hunger in Chicago. With a goal to raise $1 million, this ride aims to collect enough funds for the Greater Chicago Food Depository to distribute 3 million meals for Chicago children in need. At the same time, the ride will shine a light on the sobering reality of child hunger in our community, encouraging more people to take action.

By the Numbers

More than 203,000 children in Cook County are at risk of hunger. That’s nearly 1 in 5 kids who don’t have enough food to grow up healthy and strong.

$1 million = 3 million meals

Every mile cycled = 1,200 meals

To reach $1 million, we need $400 per mile 

Please join us in addressing this most basic of human needs.