4000 Miles, 300 Heroes and 1 Incredible tour...

A few weeks ago, Joe and I took a trip to Chicago for the weekend. We love to travel, explore new places and see new things.

But this trip wasn’t for pleasure.

This trip was for pain. Freezing cold, jumping in Lake Michigan in January pain. A very good friend of ours founded the Chicago Polar Bear Club 19 years ago and every year hundreds of people arrive on the beach, strip off and plunge into a freezing cold lake to raise money for families in need.

The Polar Bear Club started small, with just friends and family doing their bit. Over the years it has grown and this year over 300 people braved the cold to raise nearly $30,000. I have been promising I would front up and take the plunge for years but being a teacher always meant that I couldn’t get the time off. But this year was my year!! In September of last year Joe and I decided that this would be our Christmas pressie to one another, had a few G and T’s and got our flights booked.

As the date rolled around, I realised that I was fully, utterly and completely unprepared for a winter visit to Chicago. I didn’t even have a coat in the house let alone anything else to keep me warm in the freezing temperatures I would be facing. So, I got myself a woolly hat, some thermal leggings, dug the coat out of storage and off we went.

Chicago is an incredibly cool city. It was so foggy when we arrived that we were given what we have now dubbed the ‘You can’t see it but..’ tour. But what was even cooler was being part of something as awesome as the plunge. The day before there was a question mark over whether it was going to happen (although Joe and I made it clear we were going to be jumping in regardless, I didn’t fly to Chicago for fun). America has some serious health and safety rules and Brian and the other amazing people involved in the plunge were tearing their hair out trying to make sure this thing was happening.

Do you prefer sandy or stony beaches?
…or ice?

When the big day arrived, we tramped down to the beach to help with the set up. The people who volunteer their time for this event are truly wonderful. They arrive on the beach at 8.30 and it is COLD. It’s snowing, it’s windy, it’s absolutely freezing. Some get started hacking ice from the shoreline so we can all run in safely, some are setting up gazebos in the wind, some are bagging up the goodies that every participant gets given. The people who do this truly do it for the love. There is no reason to stand on a freezing cold beach for 6 hours otherwise.

The atmosphere on the beach was incredible. Plungers had been trickling onto the beach for the hour beforehand, dancing around to keep warm. The families who we fundraised for were there (and some of them plunged themselves!). There are people who have plunged every year, there are newbies like us. An 8 year old boy  was my hero of the day.

I dressed as a taco, Joe had his union jack cape. Patty (Brian’s wife and another of our best friends) had a penguin outfit at the ready. We had surprised Brian by arranging for another of our Brighton friends to join so the UK representation was pretty strong. The music was blaring and we were ready to go.

It was honestly so cold I had to stop myself from hyperventilating after we came out of the lake. I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes. I had dutifully double knotted the trainers I wore to run into the lake, my thought process being that I didn’t want my laces to come undone but not considering that I would have no function in my fingers afterwards to get a double knot undone…

I was freezing from head to toe (you have to get your head under if you want to call yourself a true polar bear…) but post plunge I was BUZZING. It was the most fun you can have at -3 degrees. And warming up with Fireballs and Mexican food at the after party certainly didn’t hurt either. Knowing that we had raised money to help families in need was the icing on the freezing cold cake.

Chicago is ace, the donuts are ridiculous, the bars are cool, the food is delicious and the vibe is great. But if you fancy a trip to Chicago, why not take yourself over on the weekend of the 30th January. It won’t be sunny, it will be cold and it may be so foggy that you are subjected to the ‘You can’t see it but…’ tour. But you will be able to join 300 crazy people who want to do something amazing for charity. Just don’t double knot your goddamn laces…

Want to join the plunge for it’s 20th Anniversary? Check out the website here for more information!
(I will be there, dressed as a taco)