E-8, son raise funds on nationwide bike ride - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

E-8, son raise funds on nationwide bike ride

James Frigo wants to see the nation while he still can. He’s only 18, but already he’s lost nearly all of his peripheral vision and could be blind by the time he’s 40.

So Frigo has decided to seize the moment, bicycling cross country this summer to drink in the scenery and help find a cure for retinitis pigmentosa, the degenerative eye disease that is taking his sight. Along for the ride is his dad, Senior Master Sgt. James Frigo, a fuel superintendent for the 452nd Logistics Readiness Squadron at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., and a prison counselor full time.

“I wanted to see the United States while I still have vision, so I have those memories,” said the younger Frigo, whose nickname is Bubba.

The father-son team left their San Diego home June 14 for New York City. Dubbed “Frigo’s Big Challenge,” the 4,063-mile trek through 13 states should take 40 to 45 days if everything goes according to plan, James Frigo said.

A crowd of about 30, including airmen and neighbors, showed up for the send-off, and six rode with the Frigos for the first day, an 80-mile leg. One of the riders was Maj. Zachariah Jensen, James Frigo’s commander and close friend.

“I just wanted to be a part of it,” Jensen said. “A lot of people focus on day-to-day life, but it takes a lot to do something like this.”

The Frigos want to raise $125,000 for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which funds eye disease research; so far, their total stands at nearly $7,000.

“It’s putting us on the path to a cure,” the foundation’s Christina Donatelli said. “Every dollar raised is one dollar closer.”

About 100,000 Americans have RP, which causes night blindness first, then gradually erodes the field of vision; Bubba Frigo received his diagnosis four years ago.

“At first I didn’t know how to react,” Bubba Frigo said of his condition, “but then I decided I’m not going to let this stop me.”

So far, Bubba Frigo still leads a normal life except for at night. He needs a hand to help him negotiate curbs, and the family cats and laundry on the floor can trip him up, his mom, Christina Frigo, said.

The idea of a coast-to-coast ride came to the younger Frigo not long after he was diagnosed. His dad agreed to the plan right way; his mom took a little more convincing. She wanted him to ride the 250 miles to Las Vegas instead, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

“He told me, ‘No one is going to remember me if I just do that,’ ” Christina Frigo said.

She finally relented after a heart-to-heart talk one night with her husband.

“I asked for her help and said, ‘Your son is relying on you,’ and she thought about it overnight,” James Frigo said.

By morning, Christina Frigo was onboard. The real work could begin.

The Frigos decided they needed sponsors and explained their project to 400 companies; nine came through at “crunch time,” James Frigo said.

One donated two road bikes so the Frigos wouldn’t have to ride their mountain bikes; another donated a recreational vehicle that the family is staying in during their six weeks on the road.

Christina Frigo is behind the wheel of the RV, keeping close tabs on her son and husband in case they need a bicycle part, a snack or even the occasional pick-me-up.

“I’ll be their No. 1 fan,” she said. “We are a close-knit family, and this will draw us even closer.”

After the Frigos wrap up their ride, it’s back to work for the senior master sergeant and a few weeks off for the new high school graduate before he heads to his freshman year at California Baptist University.

To donate

To make a donation to eye disease research, click here and click on “Frigo’s Big Challenge.” To follow the Frigos on their ride, click here.