By Doug McCarty
Being rather new to the Fuller Center Bike Adventure family, today was my first “build day.” I’d heard from others that build days can be a lot of physical work but also quite emotional as we interact with those residing in Fuller Center homes.
Today was not so much about an 85 mile ride from Ottumwa to Burlington in Iowa, but more about a single rider from amongst the bike adventure team who achieved a lifelong ambition.Continue reading
Written by: Mark Murphy
I’ve found that transitions in life tend to be daunting. Whether it is getting married, getting unmarried, new job, addition of kids, sending kids off, going on an adventure, etc. While many of these transitions are joyous, they still cause me (and I’d imagine a lot of other people) some level of angst. Continue reading
Written by: Larry Cooper
It’s been a week since we met in Seattle to commence our FCBA Seattle to Washington D.C. cross-country bike ride. Most of the 35 support staff and riders had never before met, and for many, this was their first FCBA Ride. Continue reading
Written By: By Dan Sheridan
Today we arose to a delicious breakfast provided by John, and elder at the Woodinville Unitarian Universalistic Church. My favorite was a crockpot full of steel-cut oatmeal and raisins. What a wonderful way to start our day!
At our devotion Ryan shared the Rag Man story, written by Walter Wangerin. This always touches our hearts and helps us to understand our mission of changing lives as we cycle across the country.
We started our day with a challenging climb followed by a beautiful downhill. We rounded a curve on a country road and saw beautiful Mt.
Rainier in the distance. It was a day of incredible views, which only got more beautiful as the day went on and we drew toward the Cascade Mountains.
After our first snack stop we climbed a long hill, with grades as steep as 13%, followed by a joyous downhill on a curving wooded road. Soon after reaching the bottom we arrived at our second snack stop, which was near a rushing river.
We cycled through the beautiful town of Index and followed the river through the gorgeous Sky Valley until we came to the beautiful town of Skykomish. With incredible generosity, school superintendent Thomas Jay invited us all to his daughter’s 6th birthday party, held at a park a mile from the village. This park is in a valley along the Skykomish River. Thomas, his wife Lena and their older daughter Rebekah teamed up with Jennifer and David Childs, Ashley Church, and Lynne Kelly to make us a delicious picnic dinner.
We are staying in the gym at the school in Skykomish. It’s a gorgeous old building with 60 students making up grades preschool through 12. We heard of the challenges of living in this rugged land, including a school that was flattened by an avalanche (fortunately, on a weekend) and a highway that was washed away soon after Jennifer and David drove across it.
Each time a community takes us in and feeds us, it allows us to devote more money to our mission of giving people a hand up to a simple, decent home. We’ll always be grateful to the kind people who open their hearts to us along our journey.
Dan and ShellyContinue reading
Written by: Kaleigh Willie
Washington State is my home; I have struggled through Seattle traffic and looked up at the space needle more times than I can recall.Continue reading
Written by: Diane Bies
Fields of yellow, white, lavender, and red flowers. Dogwood and Redbuds in bloom. Sunny skies with puffs of white clouds providing some shade along with the many trees. What a beautiful show of God’s glory!
Continue readingWritten by: Melissa Safran
I’m writing this afternoon with a perfect view of the beautiful Mississippi mountains … of laundry. Laundry day is such a special time on the bike adventure; everyone’s opportunity to fully give into the adventure and throw their smelly bike clothes into a pile with everyone else’s smelly bike clothes and trust it all comes back a little cleaner. And the Bike Adventure’s true saints shine – the laundry team, who hauls it all to the laundromat (extra heavy today – everything is soaked from two rainy days in a row) and loads it into the machines with their bare, saintly hands.
Continue readingThanks for reaching out to us, we’ll be in touch with you soon!
