Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
MONTGOMERY CO. – The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure, on its way to Washington D.C., rode through and stopped in Montgomery County.
The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure is a 10ten-week over 4,000-mile bike ride for charity that, this year, rode from Seattle and will arrive in Washington D.C. on Aug. 3, 2024. This year’s ride will cover 12 of the 50 states in the U.S. with the riders seeing historic and natural landmarks along the way. The Fuller Bicycle Adventure entered Montgomery County on Thursday, July 25, 2024 entering through Christiansburg and going into Blacksburg after an almost 80-mile ride from Tazewell.
When they stopped to rest, they stopped in Blacksburg at a resident’s house who had previously been a part of the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure for a warm meal and to rest their bodies for a bit. Together, with the new Sequoia Partnership Fuller Center located in Blacksburg, the cyclists also did work in the community on Friday, July 26, 2024 for community members in need of a helping hand.
The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure is not a race, but rather a way for people to get together and help others in need. The cyclists average somewhere between 45-75 miles per day of the 10-week adventure cross-country. Cyclists can join in at any point in the cross-country route. This summer’s ride has had 18 riders who have gone cross country and about 55 who have come in and out along the scheduled route. This is possible because, according to Ride Leader Neil Mullikin, in the planning process of the routes they ensure the weekends are in transportation hubs so that people can join in throughout the ride. They ride alongside a support vehicle and have churches and volunteers who support them along the way. They also pair with Fuller Centers throughout the country, like the one in Blacksburg, The Sequoia Partnership Fuller Center, and have the other cyclists riding alongside them for support and encouragement. Many of the cyclists say that this ride changes their lives, changes their perspectives and challenges them in ways they haven’t been before.
“My experience in the past,” Mullikin said, “I’ve worked on houses. I’ve done some landlord work. I’ve been all kinds of things where I’ve worked with those things. I’ve also dealt with a lot of charitable organizations dealing with poverty and things on those lines like assisting with their finances. In addition, I’ve had a lot of cycling experience in the past, so everything came together, it just felt like a really nice fit. It felt like my whole life I’ve been planning and training for this particular role.”
The Bicycle Adventure raises thousands of dollars that help go toward the builds that Fuller Centers do across the country to help those in need of comfortable and safe housing. Fuller Centers around the nation have helped rebuild communities after natural disasters. They help community members who need wheelchair ramps, safety bars put into their showers and so much more to ensure that others have pride of place, dignity and accessibility.
The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure left Montgomery County on Saturday, July 27, 2024 toward Roanoke where they would stay for two nights and then finish the last leg of their ride to Washington D.C.