Bike Adventure Blog

Bicycle Adventure leader Allen Slabaugh reflects on a 3,600-mile journey

Allen Slabaugh returned to The Fuller Center for Housing headquarters in Americus, Ga., filled with a sense of accomplishment … and a longing for his own soft bed.

Slabaugh, who leads our Student Builders program in addition to coordinating the Bicycle Adventure, led a group of cyclists on a cross-country journey from Seattle to Washington, D.C., raising money and awareness for The Fuller Center. In its four years of existence, the Adventure has raised nearly $500,000 to combat poverty housing.

Next year marks the fifth Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure, one that will feature two paths – one down the East Coast and one down the West Coast. You can learn more about that here.

After he settled in back to his "regular" job at The Fuller Center, Slabaugh sat down with Director of Communications Chris Johnson for a question-and-answer session about the Bicycle Adventure.

We made it!!!

The Bike Adventure does circles outside the Capitol in Washington D.C., their final destination:

Lisa grants safety to the riders

FCBA acronyms (FYI)

FCBA is a fast paced, action-packed, cross-country adventure. Or FCBA is an FPAPCCA. Because we move so fast, we have little time for words. Words can only slow us down if spoken in their entirety as Webster tries to force on us. Here are a few of our shortened phrases that helps us get things done in a hurry:

VP-Van People (essentially, Lisa and Scott)

BP-Bike People (everyone on bikes)

BC-Before Cheeseburger

AC-After Cheeseburger

JBS-Just Because Shower. When available and if time permits, we may take a JBS. Typically taken at churches where we spend more than one day.

TBJ-Tall Bike Jonas

SF-Single File. All riders should ride single file on the highways.

RAF-Required Amount of Flair. All riders should wear a minimum amount of FCH swag, stickers, hats and shirts.

DVD-Designated Van Driver. Lisa's not the only one who drives the van.

NMFR-Not My First Rodeo. Said when one has done something before.

DVB-Day in the Van Box. All riders put stuff in the van each day. It goes it this box to keep the van clean and organized.

CB-Character Builder. Used after a hard day's ride or if a rider has to spend time in the van.

Lessons learned on the road

Bob Driscoll
FCBA cyclist

Hmmm ... So this is my first cross-country bike tour. Truly, I came at this without any real idea of what to expect. I also approached training much too casually. OK, my wife was right…

However, I am truly having a great time! For a long time, I have felt that there was nothing that I could not accomplish when I set my mind to doing it. With the Fuller Center Bike Adventure, I have genuinely challenged myself. We are told that the riding days average 75 miles. Well, I have yet to see a day that is ONLY 75 miles! In fact, I have yet to see a day that was only the advertised mileage.

I have had my backside kicked by every rider here, from the youngest, Blake Smith to the most seasoned, Tom Weber. And I am sure that it will continue to feel like it has been kicked literally for at least a week after I get home from DC. My hands will probably be partially numb for that long too. But the memories and relationships that I am building, in the middle of nowhere, crossing Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, will last far beyond my departure on a flight from Washington Dulles International Airport.

It was with great excitement that Hayley and Patrick, the day’s sweeps, and I crossed the Indiana state line into Ohio. The day was dramatically cooler than my first two riding days of the 2011 Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure, and everyone was more than ready to visit a new state! We paused long enough to take some pictures of the crossing and to stage some majestic re-enactments of exploring Nebraska, and crossing into Indiana. Growing up in Oklahoma, I knew that there wasn’t anything particularly exciting to see in Nebraska, so I sat out on that photo. Then, as we rode into the great state of Ohio, I found myself looking in anticipation to see what was around the next corner. The answer—“Oh, look! ANOTHER hill!!!”

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