The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - A bevy of bicyclists invaded Dayton for a short time on Monday afternoon. The orange clad bikers are part of the 7th Annual Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure through the Fuller Center for Housing, an organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing worldwide. The 30-odd cyclists are raising funds and community awareness by traveling from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Astoria, Ore.

Riders cycle about 75 miles each day and have designated build days along the way in which they stop to build or repair homes. They spend the nights sleeping and sharing their vision in churches along the way. The group spent Monday night at the First Congregational Church-UCC in Dayton where they were treated to a warm welcome, a potluck dinner, and sent off with snacks for the road. When asked how the group selected the church, one of the team members told Pastor Marj Johnson that they had looked up churches in the Yellow Pages, then looked for church websites where the congregation seemed to be alive and engaged.

The Fuller Bicycling Adventure has set a goal of raising $175,000 in 2014 and has already raised over a million dollars since the rides began seven years ago. The Adventure offers Spring and Summer rides and participants may ride the whole way, ride a segment, join for a day, form a team or become a virtual rider. Learn more about the Bicycle Adventure at www.fullercenter.org/bikeadventure.