Community

Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church in Wheeling Hosts Cyclists on Mission Trip

The ground floor of Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church was transformed into an indoor camping area Monday for dozens of cyclists traveling across the country on a 3,500-mile mission trip to raise awareness of a group that builds and repairs houses for those in need.

The first of two groups began arriving at the Woodsdale church by mid-afternoon, with a second group of cyclists expected to arrive today. The first group of cyclists departed Seattle on June 11 and are expected to conclude their trip in Washington, D.C. Saturday after stopping at several sites along the way for "build days" to repair homes with the Fuller Center for Housing.

Founded by Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller in 2005, the Fuller Center builds and repairs homes in partnership with families in 70 communities across the U.S. and 19 countries.

Vance Church Administrator Jane Schockey said the church has hosted participants of the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure in previous years. She said besides offering the cyclists a place to sleep for the night, they also provide them with a full dinner and breakfast.

The group travels about 75 miles per day, with their next stop scheduled for Uniontown, Pa.

"We are absolutely glad to be hosting them. They have been the most grateful group," Schockey said. "We enjoyed hosting them in the past and they were wonderful guests and we want to be able to host them again so we can help them with their mission and help them be comfortable on their journey."

First-time participant John Nugent of Santa Cruz, Calif. said he thought the adventure would be a great experience for him and his daughter, Audrey, to participate in together. The 65-year-old Nugent said he has always wanted to ride his bike across the country and this trip seemed to be a perfect match for the two, as his daughter has been involved in a number of other mission trips during her summer breaks from college.

"It's a fundraiser for poverty housing, so she was immediately interested," Nugent said.

Trip leader Connor Ciment said the group participated in six "build days" as part of the mission trip. He said the entire trip is planned around helping those in need of assistance.

"That's really what this whole event is planned around, are the build days, because those are the parts that we get to live out the mission of the Fuller Center," Ciment said. "It's been fantastic and absolutely incredible seeing parts of the country that I've never seen before."

Ciment said the group couldn't help but notice the closer they got to West Virginia, the more hilly the terrain became.

"We had been through the Cascades and down through the Rockies, but then we went through Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois … and it's all been flat, flat flat, and now we are getting back into it again," he said with a smile.