Written by: James Cirocco

Two days into this ride, I already have made many observations. Yes, the scenery is terrific, the hills are hard, food and lodgings are basic. This is exactly what I expected, but there was one big surprise. This is not your standard group ride where everyone is out to get their personal best time. No, this has been something very different; it is more like a professional bicycle team were individual riders will sacrifice themselves for the good of the team, but a team were everyone is respected as the star rider.

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Written by: Kert Emperado

Today’s ride was from Bayfield to South Fork, Colorado- an 85 mile route with many rolling hills, and a huge mountain pass, resulting in roughly 6600+ feet of going up. There was a very nice winding downhill after the top of the Wolf Creek Pass (elevation 10,857 ft). My top speed today was 48 mph- Woohoo!

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Written by: Rick Nowlin

On Saturday, 6-27-15, we rode from Durango to Bayfield- a short distance of only 23 miles. There was some  climbing but we all made it in! What a way to spend your 62nd birthday. At only 23 miles it was also a light day.

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Written by: Eldon Eigsti

Greetings from the Fuller Center Bike adventure. This week has had several milestones in it. We have completed over 1000 miles so we are one fourth done of reaching our goal of riding across the country. This week also included our longest and shortest riding days and the first week that we had six days of consecutive riding.

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Written by: Fred Smoak

Today we had less than 50 miles and ended up only a few hundred feet higher than we started. However, we had to climb to around 8,500 feet to reach the destination. As an East Coast resident, the Rockies worried me more than any distance. But all the climbs and time spent over 5,000 feet has made it doable. Every place we have stayed has had its own beauty, and Durango is no exception. The spare beauty of the desert has been replaced by lush forests and delightful streams.

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Written by: Curt Wildemann

The over whelming open arms and support by total strangers on this ride has astounded me. We started this journey in Carlsbad, Ca., at the Faith Community Church, thank you. We went up to Oceanside, took pictures in the ocean and on the beach, then off to Temecula United Methodist Church, thank you. Palm Springs was our first build where the satisfaction definitely comes in the reaction of the homeowner.

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Written by: Mark Smith

Hello everyone! My name is Mark Smith and today I’ll be writing the daily blog for the Fuller Center Bike Adventure. Today we rode 69.4 miles from Kayenta, AZ to Bluff, UT. At roughly mile 21 we crossed over from Arizona into Utah. Most everyone stopped at the large Welcome To Utah sign and got their picture taken. That marks the third state we have biked through so far in the trip. Once we entered Utah we were able to weave our way through the beautiful Monument Valley along highway 191N. Monument Valley is a valley where there are huge rock formations that jut out of the relatively flat Earth. The rock formations ranged from 100 to 1000 feet wide and from 50 feet to a few hundred feet high. A fun fact about Monument Valley is that this is where a scene from the movie Forest Gump was shot. The scene is where Forest is running across America and as he jogs down the Monument Valley highway he stops and says something about how he’s getting tired and then just stops running. It’s kind of comical because he had a huge crowd of followers with him and they were all dumbfounded when he decided to suddenly stop running. There is a sign on the side of the road that indicates where the scene was shot.

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Written by: Susan Pratt

What a perfect day to write the blog. It was a day that truly lived out the reason I have decided to go on this trip. I have been participating on Fuller Center bike trips for seven years, enjoying it every time. I love the adventure, the kinship of my fellow cyclists (and support crew), the selflessness of all, and our passion for living out the word of God by striving to eliminate poverty housing. But, this year has been different from the previous six years. A medical condition nearly kept me from going on this trip. My family and friends all encouraged me not to go. However, I knew it was the right thing to do. My heart lies in the mission of the Fuller Center. And, most of all, I know God would be by my side the entire time. I decided early on the trip that my focus should not be on reaching my destination, but on the journey itself. Yes, I have been cycling from church to church, from city to city and making it nearly ever time. But, I realized that if I couldn’t make it to that destination, I would still be satisfied because now my focus is on my journey.

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Written by: Jennifer Wells

Today we left Page, AZ and rode to Kayenta, AZ. A typical morning with this group for me is to get up about 45 minutes before breakfast, rush around getting dressed, putting my belongings into my bag, getting bag out to the trailer to be hauled to the next town or city, do my chore if I have one (I did today), eat breakfast and put sunscreen on almost simultaneously, pump up my tires, get my Garmin ready and prepare for our morning team meeting and devotion.

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Written by: Sara Dobbs 

Today was a welcome day off the bikes! It was also Father’s Day, and many of us spent time calling and texting the fathers in our lives. After the morning church service at Faith Bible Church, several riders in the group headed for Lake Powell for jet skiing, swimming, and relaxation along the water’s edge. Another group took a guided tour of the Lower Antelope Canyon with an added stop at Horseshoe Bend to view the Colorado River. The day concluded with a painting project opportunity for a member of the congregation in need.
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