Pedaling for Fun and Finances

Forty-two bikers from seven states and Ontario, Canada, left EMU on Aug. 5 and traveled some 292 miles in the Shenandoah Valley, much of the route on the scenic Skyline Drive, returning to EMU the afternoon of Aug. 9.

The trip’s purpose: exercise, fellowship and fund raising for Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pa. The group spent three nights of the ride at campgrounds and one night at a lodge on the Skyline Drive.

Fourteen of the participants are EMU alumni (l. to r.):

  • Phil Helmuth, Harrisonburg
  • Cliff Lind, Harrisonburg
  • Emery Yoder, Harrisonburg
  • Glen Lapp, Lancaster, Pa.
  • Justin Shenk, Akron, Pa.
  • David Martin, Akron
  • Charity Shenk, Akron
  • Paul A. Yoder, Harrisonburg
  • Harry Mast, Broadway, Va.
  • Jack Rutt, Harrisonburg
  • Dayvid Graybill, Colorado Springs, Colo.
  • Don Bomberger (foreground), Harrisonburg
  • Gloria Rutt, Harrisonburg
  • Mary Glick, Harrisonburg
Phil N. Helmuth, executive director of development and director of church relations at EMU, rides in the bike tour
Phil N. Helmuth, executive director of development and director of church relations at EMU, rides in the bike tour. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

"The tour was a well-organized and -supported effort to tour with friends who share a passion for biking and for the work of Mennonite Central Committee around the world," said Phil N. Helmuth, executive director of development and director of church relations at EMU.

The group raised some $10,000 that will benefit MCC’s peace work, including the Anabaptist churches in Columbia who have suffered a four-decades-long conflict in that country.

These churches and other MCC partner organizations provide food, basic supplies, counseling and job training to people who have been displaced by violence.

Photos by Jim Bishop.