Written by: Luke Zavala, Orange Ride

Four years ago, right after graduating college and getting my first teaching job, I was looking for a meaningful way to spend my summer break.  Previously, I had spent my summers working with an organization called Young Life.  I’d been an administrator at several of their camps, headed up dishwashing crews, and mentored the teenage camp staff.  But the best jobs I had were the two summers I spent leading mountain bike tours for them in Virginia and northern Michigan.

So I started looking for ways to spend my summer biking, and discovered the Fuller Center Bike Adventure.Continue reading→

Written by: Steffani Zavala, Orange Ride

This morning we got up early, even though it was a short day, to try to beat some of the heat.  The high today was well over 90, with a swamp-like humidity after the big storm yesterday.  So we were up before 5am, so we could eat, clean the church, and be on our bikes before 6:30.Continue reading→

Written by: Brianna Kelly, Orange Ride

As soon as I finished yesterday’s ride, I was worrying about today. Yesterday was so hard, painful, as well as mentally and physically exhausting for me that I didn’t know where I would find the willpower to get on my bike this morning. We slept on air mattresses last night, and it was the best sleep I have had so far on the trip. When I woke up today at 5:30 a.m., I laid in bed for five minutes, trying to convince myself to get up and ready for the day. It was hot and muggy as soon as I walked out of the air-conditioned dorm rooms, and it didn’t make me too excited. During breakfast, I tried to convince myself to go the first twenty miles of the day.Continue reading→

Written by: Nicole McLeod, Orange Ride Van Driver

Rest stops have been the highlight of my days so far since I have started support driving with The Fuller Center for Housing. Being able to support these riders during their days of biking up and down hills, through storms, and even through the 100% humidity has been the most amazing experience.Continue reading→

Written by: Cathy Eastman, Orange Ride

September 7, 2015: I had driven from Scottsbluff (my home) to Lincoln (where my son attends UNL) to celebrate his twenty-first birthday. Looking at a 400-mile drive home, I wanted to get a short, twenty-mile bike ride in before starting. It had been raining on and off, and the roads were wet. But, I had ridden in rain before. This day, however, the bike slipped off the edge of the asphalt on a bridge, and I went down hard. There was a hematoma the size of a cantaloupe on my left hip by the time the doctor looked at me in the emergency room. And, an MRI two days later showed two hairline fractures in my pelvis.Continue reading→

Written by: Patrick Roberts, Orange Ride

Another great day biking in Nebraska started out with a challenge—road construction on Highway 30, which caused us to detour on a gravel road for thirteen miles. A vote was taken, and, to my surprise, ten out of thirteen riders said they would ride the gravel road again. I was one of those that voted no! To me, that says a lot about the spirit of The Fuller Center for Housing riders!Continue reading→

Written by: Robert Hilkemann, Orange Ride

Wow! What a day! Yesterday I was ruing this day. Sunday was hot—strong, hot, southerly winds. The thought of 103 miles in those conditions was playing a head game with me.

This morning, we woke up to temperatures in the sixties and strong northwestern winds—Pinch me. Is this real! Indeed, it was. The ride that I was ruing suddenly became, How fast can I get this accomplished? People were talking about their personal bests for a century! Could I have my best ride ever?Continue reading→

Written by: Steffani Zavala, Orange Ride

Today was a much needed off day, after concluding our fourth segment, which included four bike days, one build day, and another three bike days, all leading us to Cheyenne, WY and the First United Methodist Church, where we set up camp yesterday. Several of us ended up sleeping in this morning, and it felt wonderful! Continue reading→

Written by: Susan Pratt, Orange Ride

Why do I keep coming back year after year? Perhaps it’s because it allows me the opportunity to see, feel, and experience every mile of the country from Seattle to Washington, D.C. Perhaps it’s because it allows me the opportunity to meet people of each community, and share our faith in action. Perhaps it’s because of the opportunity I have to pound nails, hang drywall, replace doors and windows, and reroof a home as we begin to transform lives of others. Or, perhaps it’s because it gives me the opportunity to build a new family out of thirty-eight strangers and develop a cohesive group that together cries, laughs, encourages, cheers, hugs, and so much more.Continue reading→

Written by: Noori Mallaji, Orange Ride, Communications Intern

Today was a build day—my favorite kind of day—in Craig, Colorado. This morning, after having breakfast with my brothers and sisters in Christ and talking with Henry Downes about how tasty Honey Buzzers are (the generic brand of cereal that gives Honeycombs a run for their money), and after Anne Frey told those gathered at our breakfast table how bees swarm and how she wanted to build the things the boys did in Boy Scouts, instead of making craft bunnies out of old egg cartons and cotton balls, because she was a “tomboy brainiac” as a child, and after Sherry Dire told me that one really can live in Hawaii without being into the touristy commercialism and fit in just fine, since the interior of Hawaii is generally down-to-earth, laid-back, and lives simply, we divided into our service teams. One team was responsible for putting plasterboard on walls; another group was responsible for cleaning windows; another team was in charge of chopping wood, and another team, the team I was in, was responsible for weeding and painting a house.Continue reading→