Bicycle Adventure completes successful 3,700-mile journey

From Atlantic to Pacific, another Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure is in the books as cyclists were welcomed to their final destination of Vancouver, British Columbia, on Friday. It’s the Adventure’s first venture into Canada.

The journey officially began June 9 in Savannah, Georgia, and covered 3,700 miles through the hot and humid South, across vast Plains states, over the Rocky Mountains and into the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, the cyclists had six build days, made countless new friends of The Fuller Center for Housing and garnered loads of media coverage.

“Everyone is really excited,” ride leader Melissa Merrill said of Friday’s arrival at Vancouver’s Community of Christ church. “We’ve had a wonderful trip. It’s just really great to finish on a good note and have a successful ride and successful mission accomplished.”

On Saturday, Merrill will be among those on hand when The Fuller Center signs a new covenant partnership in Vancouver, one that will address the needs of indigenous people on Vancouver Island. (Click here to read more about the inspiring story of the new covenant partner and its native leader.)

The signing will take the Bicycle Adventure full circle as they met with leaders interested in forming a Fuller Center partner in Savannah, something expected to be formally announced very soon.

“It’s a great thing and a testament to what the Bicycle Adventure does — bringing people’s attention to ways they can help communities,” Merrill said. “Helping these things get started along the way makes it an even greater success.”

As a Christian housing ministry, another important element of the ride is the connection made with churches along the route. Churches who put their faith into action are crucial to The Fuller Center’s success. Cyclists were able to tell the story of The Fuller Center in many of these churches that opened their doors to them and offered them a place to bed down for the night — even if bedding down was just lying on a mat on a floor.

“That’s one of the best parts of the trip, to get to meet so many amazingly generous people across the country,” Merrill said. “For the most part, we just call these churches and ask people who don’t know us at all if we can sleep on their floors — and they wind up cooking us dinner and waking up at 4 a.m. to make us breakfast and just showing us God’s love in so many ways all across the country. It’s been wonderful, and I know it renews a lot of people’s faith in God and in people all across the United States.”

Click here to view scores of high-resolution photos from this amazing journey!

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