The third annual “Tour da Host” might be your best excuse to head out to a bar Sunday afternoon.
The concept is relatively simple. River Forest resident Robert “Legstrong” Hosty and “The Field,” a group of mostly friends and family members, ride their bikes through Forest Park eateries and bars including Kevil’s, Molly Malone’s, Doc Ryan’s, Healy’s Westside, Duffy’s and Goldyburgers, soliciting pledges from patrons and bar owners for Misericordia, a Chicago-based home for adults and children with disabilities.
The group then returns to Kevil’s, 7228 Circle Ave., for a finish party with live music, hot dogs, and an opportunity to lend support to the riders, all funded by the restaurant. The party also serves as a refueling session, as, weather permitting, the group’s more ambitious riders will then embark on a 25-mile bike ride to conclude the day.
Hosty, who readily admits that his size makes him an unlikely candidate to lead a bike tour, began the annual event three years ago after receiving a new bicycle as a Father’s Day gift and rediscovering the sport of cycling.
“I’m 57 today, and I hadn’t been on a bike since I was 13 or 14,” he said. “I told my family, but nobody believed me.”
Several friends, including Frank and Colleen Kevil of Kevil’s, suggested Hosty use his newfound hobby for a good cause. Hosty thought of his family friend, Oak Parker Tom Monaco, who has a son at Misericordia, and the Tour da Host was born. He then reached out to a Misericordia volunteer who helps organize the event and even accompanies the bikers to the bars, announcing their arrival at each stop.
“It’s sort of taken on a life of its own,” said Hosty, who has spent the last few weeks soliciting pledges by mail. Those who cannot make it out Sunday can also pick up pledge sheets at any of the participating bars and restaurants. Last year, the fundraiser brought in $11,000, up $3,000 from the year before.
But for those who can come out, the look on unsuspecting customers’ faces as anywhere from 20 to 40 cyclists ride into the bar can be quite a sight.
“When a very large man in a Lance Armstrong-type bicycle shirt comes riding through the room, it obviously turns some heads,” said Robert Hosty’s cousin Mark Hosty, an owner of Healy’s Westside.
Despite the initial surprise, Robert Hosty said, the bikers have always received a positive response from bar patrons.
“We’re grateful to hear [the feedback],” he said. “We’re even more grateful when they include a check, of course.”
Misericordia, operated by the Sisters of Mercy under the auspices of the Catholic Bishop of Chicago, has been serving people in need since 1921, but began focusing its services on the disabled in 1954, according to its Web site, www.misericordia.org.
Today the home, located at 6300 N. Ridge Ave. in Chicago, serves 550 people, about 20 of whom are from the near-western suburbs.
“We do have a lot of different fundraisers, but this is one of the most interesting in that it’s one guy riding his bike and putting it all together,” said Paula Conrad, a spokesperson for Misericordia. “It’s also different because usually the families put on the fundraiser, but this is a friend of the family.”
Though Hosty said his roster of bikers is already filled to capacity, he hopes people pack the bars to provide both monetary and moral support-especially monetary-to the bikers on Sunday.
The tour through Forest Park will take place between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, with the after-party at Kevil’s lasting until 9 p.m. Pledge sheets will be available all week at the participating restaurants and bars.