The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure's first-ever Spring Ride concluded Saturday in Jackson, Miss., after a 400-mile ride down the Natchez Trace Parkway that began in Nashville, Tenn.

The ride garnered media attention from newspapers, online sites and TV stations; it built new friendships with churches and people along the route; and it raised more than $30,000 to fight poverty housing, much of that designated to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is plagued by poverty and political unrest. It's also where Fuller Center founder Millard Fuller launched the affordable housing movement nearly 40 years ago when it was then known as Zaire.

“There's a story that's not being told in that $30,000 number,” said Ryan Iafigliola, who founded the Bicycle Adventure and was able to join the team for most of the trek down the Trace. “There are now 16 new people who are involved with us after riding, and already two of them have signed up to lead a trip to Haiti and sponsor two houses. So that's not even included in Bike Adventure money.
 

There was a lot more traffic on the Trace today as we passed by Tupelo. Other than today, though, as we've been rolling our way down the Natchez Trace Parkway, we've hardly seen any traffic. Cars would pass occasionally, but we're often on our own. It was a gorgeous day on the bikes today. It was a little overcast when we started. Before long, though, the sun came out and kept us warm all the way into Houston, Mississippi.

Sometimes we ride with others on the trip, sharing stories and learning more about each other all the time. Sometimes we ride by ourself, accompanied by little other than our thoughts as we stare either at the white line under our front wheel or at the road disappearing in the distance. Most of the time we're surrounded by woods, passing meadows and farms along the way. It sometimes feels like we're out in the middle of the wilderness. But then another roadway crosses our path (some of which are quite busy), and we're reminded that we're not really so far removed from the rest of the world.

Hi, everyone. My name is Janette, and my husband Mike and I are two of the cyclists this week who are riding our bicycles from Nashville, TN to Jackson, MS on the Natchez Trace. We are from Lexington, KY, and we are having a great time making new friends, seeing new sights, and being involved with a great organization.

While much of the country is knee-deep in March Madness this month, we have our own little bit of madness going on here. I am going to tie basketball and bicycling together. There are usually twelve players on a basketball team, but only five of them can play at one time. And if the bench isn’t very deep, maybe only seven or eight will actually get regular playing time. However, the team is still made up of twelve. The players we see sitting on the bench during most games are a very important part of the team. They have to be there for practice to challenge the starters to play their best. They are there so that the coach can put together at least two teams during practice, and they are always ready to step in when the starters get injured.

Trip leader Allen Slabaugh and FCBA founder Ryan Iafigliola talk about day one.

The excitement is starting to grow as we get closer and closer to the start of the first ever Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure Spring Ride! In a little less than 5 days our group of 26 cyclists will leave Nashville and start making our way down the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway. Even though this is shorter than our usual summer rides, it definitely won't be lacking in excitement and adventures.

To catch you up on what's been happening with the ride, here are a few highlights.

First, we have a great group of riders who will be joining us including 10 returning riders and 15 new Bike Adventure Cyclists. They range from 22 years old to 69 and come from 13 different states. Our trip will also be well-documented as we have a very skilled multimedia person joining us to take pictures and videos. If you haven't had a chance to see who is joining, I suggest you take a look out our Meet the Riders page.