My bicycle adventure is less than
a month away. I’ll be riding to
eliminate poverty housing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly
Zaire, provide rural health care workers in Africa with bicycles and provide
opportunities for youth to grow in Biddeford, Maine through The Community
Bicycle Center.
My bicycle ride is from Seattle,
Washington to San Diego, California, 1,650 miles. It is a mission ride, a
charity ride, a sabbatical ride and as well as an adventure. The ride begins on Sunday, afternoon
July 15th from a downtown UCC church in Seattle. It will be a
leisurely 36-mile ride. We’ll
finish 28 days later with a 47-mile ride into San Diego and then a build day at
a Fuller Center Housing project before the members of the group head their
separate ways.
Speaking of the group: there are
38 of us riding the Pacific Coast Highway. Of the 38 riders 10 are riding segments of the 1,650 miles,
meaning they are not doing the entire ride. The rest of us will be riding the whole way. We range in age from 20 to 70. The 70 year old is doing the entire
ride, and more. He’s currently
riding the East Coast version of the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure. He’ll complete 1,800 miles and six days
later head to Seattle, WA to start the second half of the Adventure, the West
Coast Ride. I have yet to meet Tom
W, but he is already my inspiration.
There is a 21-year old cancer survivor riding the entire way. He’s been
cancer free for two years. Most of
us could think of more relaxing ways to celebrate two years of being cancer free. There’s a teacher from Alaska, a young
guy from the Azores, a recent college grad from Harrisonburg, VA, a school
librarian/pastor’s wife who is just shy of 60 and riding with her niece, sounds
like I might be riding at the same speed as Sher, the aunt and not Sarah the
niece, a number of college students and an assortment of other folks. I’m the only pastor on the ride. I don’t know what that says about me or
my clergy colleagues, but I’m sure I’ll find out how tough my glutes are riding
1,650 miles.
Our daily ride schedule so you
can follow along:
July 15 Bike day 1 Seattle, WA to Tacoma, WA 36-mile
est. distance
July 16 Bike day 2 Tacoma, WA to Chehalis, WA 60-mile
est. distance
July 17 Bike day 3 Chehalis, WA to Naselle, WA 89-mile
est. distance
July 18 Bike day 4 Naselle, WA to Tillamook, OR 81-mile
est. distance
July 19 Bike day 5 Tillamook, OR to
Newport, OR 73-mile
est. distance
July 20 Bike day 6 Newport, OR to North Bend, OR
97-mile
est. distance
July 21 Bike day 7 North Bend, OR to Port Orford, OR 55-mile
est. distance
July 22 Day Off Port Orford, OR to Port Orford, OR No
miles
July 23 Bike day 8 Port Orford, OR to Crescent City, CA 84-mile
est. distance
July 24 Bike day 9 Crescent City, CA to Eureka, CA 87-mile
est. distance
July 25 Day Off Eureka, CA to Eureka, CA No
miles
July 26 Bike day 10 Eureka, CA to Redway, CA 81-mile
est. distance
July 27 Bike day 11 Redway, CA to Ukiah, CA 96-mile
est. distance
July 28 Bike day 12 Ukiah, CA to Santa Rosa, CA 62-mile
est. distance
July 29 Bike day 13 Santa Rosa, CA to San Francisco, CA 79-mile
est. distance
July 30 Bike Day off San Francisco, CA to San Francisco, CA No
Miles
July 31 Bike day 14 San
Francisco, CA to Santa Cruz, CA 80-mile est. distance
August 1 Bike day 15 Santa Cruz,
CA to Carmel, CA 63-mile est. distance
August 2 Bike day 16 Carmel, CA
to Cambria, CA
100-mile est. distance
August 3 Bike day 17 Cambria, CA
to Santa Maria, CA 71-mile est. distance
August 4 Bike day 18 Santa Maria,
CA to Santa Barbara, CA 83-mile est.
distance
August 5 Day off Santa Barbara, CA to Santa Barbara, CA No miles
August 6 Bike day 19 Santa
Barbara, CA to San Fernando, CA 96-mile
est. distance
August 7 Build day San Fernando, CA to San Fernando, CA House building
August 8 Bike day 20 San
Fernando, CA to Huntington Beach, CA 68-mile est. distance
August 9 Bike day 21 Huntington
Beach, CA to Oceanside, CA 65-mile est.
distance
August 10 Bike day 22 Oceanside, CA to San Diego, CA 47-mile
est. distance
August 11 Build day San Diego, CA
to San Diego, CA Build Day
Total Miles 1,650 est. distance
A bit about the three charities I
am riding for:
The Fuller
Center for Housing
Mission Statement
The Fuller Center for
Housing, faith-driven and Christ-centered, promotes collaborative and
innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting
quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide.
Foundational Principles
We at the Fuller Center for Housing believe that:
We are part of a God movement, and movements don't just
stop.
We have been called to this housing ministry; we didn't
just stumble into it.
We are unashamedly Christian, and enthusiastically
ecumenical.
We aren't a church but we are a servant of the Church.
We are faith driven, knowing that after we've done all
we can do the Lord will help finish the job—something that requires us to
stretch beyond our rational reach.
We are a grassroots ministry, recognizing that the real
work happens on the ground in communities around the world through our covenant
partners, so a large, overseeing bureaucracy isn’t needed.
We try to follow the
teachings of the Bible and believe that it says that we shouldn't charge
interest of the poor, so we don't. Government has a role in our work in helping
set the stage, but that we shouldn't look to it as a means to fund the building
of home.
Tour
d’Afrique Ltd. Foundation
The Tour d’Afrique Foundation is an integral part of our
company vision. The foundation was set up at the same time as the Tour
d’Afrique Bicycle Race/Expedition to fulfill key elements of our mission:
◦
To give something back to the people
and the communities of the areas that we pass through on our cycling tours.
◦
To raise consciousness about bicycles
as an alternative and, in many ways, better and more beneficial means of
transport.
To fulfill these objectives the company has focused on:
donating bicycles to individuals and organizations in Africa.
Bicycles for an HIV/AIDS outreach program in Africa. In a month, a community HIV/AIDS health
care worker, under normal circumstances can reach somewhere between 20 and 100
people on foot, covering a total of about 5 to 9 miles. From my own personal experience as a
Peace Corps Volunteer in the Congo rural health care workers cover regions with
a radius of up to 10 miles with 10 to 50 villages within the radius.
With a bicycle, an HIV/AIDS rural health care provider can
reach a minimum of 60 and up to 800 or more individuals in a month covering
over 38 miles, a dramatic improvement with the simple addition of a bicycle for
transportation.
Community
Bicycle Center
Providing
Opportunities for Youth to Grow
Mission: To empower youth through bicycles and bicycle-related
experiences, with a concentrated focus on youth considered "at-risk."
The Community Bicycle Center exists to empower youth
through bicycles and bicycle-related experiences, with a concentrated focus on
youth considered “at-risk.” Through our research-based programs, youth are
building relationships, practicing goal persistence, and developing
problem-solving and organizational skills. They receive direct time and
attention from caring adults, helping kids construct postive self-perceptions.
Youth have the opportunity to develop life skills, attitudes, beliefs and
behaviors that will contribute to success in relationships, work/school and in
community life. We operate year-round and often six days a week with expanded
programming during the summer months to meet the needs of kids during summer
vacation.
Core Values & Guiding
Principles:
◦
Youth asset building through
caring, intergenerational relationships
◦
Solution focused rather than
problem focused program designs
◦
Bicycle repair & bicycling as
a tool to develop mind, body, and spirit
◦
Collaborations and partnerships
with community organizations
◦
Focus on social, vocational,
recreational, physical, and civic development
The Community Bicycle
Center is committed to:
◦
Welcoming all individuals
in its programs and facilities
◦
Developing programs that respond
to the needs of its participants and community
◦
Utilizing employment and
volunteer management practices that are free of bias
◦
Maintaining a diverse and
high-quality staff and volunteer corps
Maintaining a physically
and emotionally safe environment that is free of acts of discrimination or
harassment against any individual.
You will be able to follow my
ride on Twitter @revtimleighton, Blogspot http://revtimleighton.blogspot.com/,
and on The Fuller Center’s website, http://www.fullercenter.org/bikeadventure.
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