Sometime in the afternoon on Monday, June 24th, a team of cyclists from South Bend, Indiana, will arrive in New Glarus as a part of a six-day, 450-mile ride from Rockton, Illinois, to La Crosse, Wisconsin. New Glarus Bible Church will be hosting the group after they pedal in some 60 miles from Rockton, IL.

The Firehouse Bike Trip is a ministry of Clay Church in South Bend, comprised of teenagers and adults on bicycles in addition to a support team on the road. These cyclists began training in early April, and have already logged more than 8,000 miles in 2019 before kicking off their trip. Their weeklong adventure will carry them through parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Along the way, they’ll stay and visit churches and perform service projects in many of the towns that host them.

Now in its eleventh year, the Firehouse Bike Trip has ridden through Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Iowa, West Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. During that time, more than 100 different cyclists have participated, and the group has logged more than 250,000 total miles.

Said Youth Minister Aaron Helman, “We often talk about how teenagers are capable of doing great, big, incredible things. But rarely do we give them opportunities to actually do those things. Bike Trip is that opportunity.”

Nearly every participant in the adventure begins as a novice. Their first training ride is usually less than 15 miles - and at that time, that’s usually the longest ride of their life. But within a matter of less than 12 weeks, every participant will have ridden the length of a full state, ridden up and down hills and mountains, and completed at least one century ride (a ride of 100 miles in a single day).

“When students realize they can do this, they begin to realize they can do everything,” stated Helman. “Our students realize that they have every ounce of will and determination to reach their goals and to build a better world in the process.”

The group’s motto is pulled directly from Romans 5:4. Helman and the other adult leaders are consistently espousing the values of perseverance, character, and hope. They believe, and have seen, that the adventure of Bike Trip teaches and develops those values better than any lesson or curriculum, and so they keep pedaling, mile after mile, day after day, until their destination is reached.

“At the end of every Bike Trip, we challenge students to reflect on how far they’ve come with the help of God and the encouragement of their team.” said Helman. “And if they can do this, then that means there’s nothing they can’t do.”