Rolling to D.C. on an electric wheelchair
By GARY A. SCHLUETER
Sentinel-Standard writer
Published: Tuesday, August 7, 2007 12:09 AM CDT
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The “Rolling Dutchman” Robert VanVranken rolled his way through Ionia County over the weekend. He found a fork in the road near Ionia and decided to take it. Sentinel-Standard/GARY SCHLUETER
MUIR -Robert VanVranken, the Rolling Dutchman, is on a wheelchair mission.

The Minnesota native is on a solo roll from his home to Washington, D.C. to raise money for veterans.

Although he is not a veteran, he is an amputee - missing his left leg below the knee.


“I'm a government employee and a news junkie,” he said from his wheelchair somewhere west of Muir on Bluewater Highway.

He has a number of relatives who are veterans and was inspired to do something grand for their cause.

“I decided to take a leave of absence from work to roll across the country to raise money for vets, all vets, not just Iraq war vets,” he said.



Naturally, this is the adventure of his life.

Take Sunday for example. It rained. He was camping at the Ionia State Park.

“I wanted to go to church but because of the rain I couldn't,” he said. “Besides, I didn't have any idea of where the closest church was.”



VanVranken is quick with his religious slogan ‘Catch Christ. He's a keeper.'

He also drapes his rolling electric wheelchair and small, enclosed trailer with U.S. flags, which serve both to declare his colors and his presence.

Driving along M-21, he ran out of shoulder past Westbrook Road and had to hug the white line on the right as heavily laden trucks whizzed past his ear at upwards of 60 mph.



“I can make nine miles per hour,” he said. “I'm planning to spend the night in St. Johns. What's that about 20 miles from here?”

Since he is on disability, his checks are automatically deposited in his checking account and he can draw on it from anywhere. So money is not a problem.

“Here's my supply of beef jerky,” he said, holding up a 10-inch slab of dark red, dried meat.



He has a cell phone around his neck and keeps a daily log.

In addition, he laminates the news stories about him. The latest one was from the Grand Rapids Press.

He left Minnesota on June 1 and made it to Wisconsin on his first vehicle, a hand powered wheelchair.



There he was treated for blisters on his hands and foot.

He also traded the wheelchair in for an electric one, which got him down to Chicago where, he said, “I didn't like the vibe, so I turned back around and came up to Milwaukee.”

There some kindly vets in a wheelchair recycling facility took his old one and rigged up his present vehicle, which can take a charge in all the batteries at once. This is handy because of snakes.



“I was outside of Madison one day and had to charge my batteries,” he said. “So as I was down there unbolting the battery I got bit by a snake.”

It struck him near the knee of his amputated leg.

“It was swollen up for three days,” he said.



In Milwaukee, he caught the ferry across the big lake to Muskegon.

“But I sat in my chair the whole way so that counts, doesn't it?” he asked.

In Muskegon, he was treated royally and received a police escort out of town, he said.



He plans to cross the St. Clair River on the Blue Water Bridge into Sarnia, Ontario.

“I'll have to learn to talk like a Canadian,” the Minnesotan joked.

How does he like it so far?

“You'd be surprised, but even though I'm not peddling, it's still work,” he said. “I have to learn to sit in different positions.”

And about the other stuff?

“No rules. No time frame. If I see a sign that says ‘World's largest cucumber two miles,' I'm off to have a look,” he said.

He doesn't have a running total of how much money he has raised, but if you ask he'll give you a small yellow paper which says, “For the Veterans. Donations to . . . V.A. Medical Center, One Veterans Drive c/o 135.”

To keep up with his adventure try myspace.com/dutchmanrolling or www.dutchmanrolling.org.