Wednesday, January 27, 2021
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Vol. 50, No. 31
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%\ 5$< %$/2*+ 6WDII :ULWHU Brent Wildman’s quest to find a way of using “adventure as a catalyst for bonding people in spiritual relationships” started with a 100-mile bicycle trip to Lake Michigan with his brother Kent one summer 44 years ago. During the next few years their excursions added more fellow travelers and expanded to ski trips and mountain bike adventures. As Wildman recounts the fruits of those labors, “The results of following the Lord’s adventure? We have baptized men in the waters of the mountains, married couples on remote beaches and trekked into volcanoes. Most importantly, people have taken on the greatest challenge of all: a life fully surrendered to Jesus Christ. Every day we rise to go a new distance with him, physically, mentally and spiritually.” Seeing the changes those trips made in people’s lives prompted Wildman to form the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, 2nd Mile Adventures, based in Winona Lake. Though the pandemic scuttled many of the last year’s activities, Executive Director Nate Gernert is optimistic about this year’s offerings. “The biggest thing is our focus on being able to serve the people in our community,” he said. “We take the things we enjoy and turn that around to serve the community, using bikes as a tool.” Gernert referenced weekly Saturday morning bicycle trips, which draw 20 to 30 participants. “We usually start early to mid-April, when the weather and light cooperate. We will ride as late in the season as we possibly can,” he said. “Some years we have gone all the way through November.” The group meets at 7 a.m. in the parking lot in front of Trailhouse Village Bicycles in Winona Lake and returns about 8:30 or 9 a.m. “We have one trail ride and two road rides,” said Gernert. “The A group challenges each other in distance and speed. The B group is more of a social no-drop ride, where we do not leave anyone behind.” Participation in the rides is free. The organization also hosts Chain-Breakers, a ministry whose mission is “to show youth the love of Christ and challenge them in service, adventure, mentorship and character building.” The group, open to middle and high school students, meets weekly year-round. The students have performed “hundreds of hours of community service within the local community,” including leaf raking, limb pickup and snow
/$67 0(1 67$1',1* ³ Five stalwart iron men pose for a photo after completing 600-mile, four-day cycling challenge from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., to Winona Lake. Shown from left are Garrett Scales, Steve Breeden, Brent Wildman, Mason Geiger and Brian Cumberland. Photo provided.
5($'< 72 52// ³ Participants in the 2nd Mile Adventures weekly Saturday morning bike ride prepare to depart from a municipal parking lot in Winona Lake. The rides will resume this year ”when the weather breaks,‘ said Nate Gernert, executive director of 2nd Mile Adventures. Photo provided. shoveling for area individuals, schools and ministries. The group has done painting at Beaman Home; mucked out horse stalls for Isaiah 11 equine therapy ministry; cleaned floors, lockers, baseboards and windows at local schools; helped the organization’s sister organization, 2nd Mile Missions, move equipment and boxes; and regularly assist Tracey’s Trailer with its mobile bicycle safety education program. 2nd Mile Adventures collaborates with Heart of the City Bicycles, a Fort Wayne-based charity, to “help the underserved maintain their bikes,” Gernert said. “They have a mobile bike shop once a month in various locations in Warsaw and Winona Lake.” Plans for activities in 2021 are just getting underway, with further details forthcoming: • Family ski night at Bittersweet Ski Resort in Otsego, Mich., mid-February. • Wildflowers Spring Trip for women aged 14 and over, April.
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• Spring motorcycle trail ride, late spring. • Dunes day ride in June, featuring 40-, 70- and 105mile routes, June. • Divide Ride in Montana and Wyoming, July. • Fall mountain bike ride, North Carolina, Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 21-23. A prerequisite for participating in any of the events is signing a liability waiver, and Gernert suggests anyone interested should pass a physical exam before participating. 2nd Mile Adventures’ “biggest need” at present is financial donations “to allow us to keep providing ChainBreakers. We don’t expect the kids to pay for anything and not all parents can afford it.” Periodic fundraisers are announced on the organization’s Facebook page. For more information, to check on an event or to make a donation, visit www.2ndmileadventures.org or www. facebook.com/secondmileadventures or email Gernert at nate@2ndmileadventures.org.
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