Notre Dame student bikes across country, raises $4,500 for Fuller Center

By Madeline Buckley
The Observer

When sophomore Aaron Patzwahl decided to spend his summer after high school biking 3,300 miles across the country, he knew it would be a challenge.

Cycling through California deserts and the Rocky Mountains was, at times, painful. Often, the temperature surpassed 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

But Patzwahl had the opportunity to “see the country from the ground level,” and he raised about $4,500 in the process.

Before coming to Notre Dame in the summer of 2008, Patzwahl participated in the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure, a service project started by Ryan Iafigliola, a 2007 Notre Dame graduate, to benefit housing projects of the Fuller Center for Housing.

Patzwahl and Iafigliola were among eight riders that participated in the complete inaugural bike trip. This summer, Iafigliola will organize the third annual excursion, and he said he hopes to raise about $250,000. The last two trips garnered about $200,000 collectively, he said.

"The experience is something you’ll never forget. There’s kind of a sense of freedom in being on the road every day, riding at your own pace and meeting all kinds of interesting people," Iafigliola said.

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Learn more and sign up for the 2010 FULLER CENTER BIKE ADVENTURE here!