Just a few months before the trip the kids did not believe they could do it. Many others didn’t believe these kids could do it either. The stage was set just right for an achievement earned through hard work to reveal the potential these kids already possess.

But saying you believe in someone without supporting and equipping them would be building false hope. And false hope, once exposed, does great damage to a young soul. So we trained from May through November making the training routes progressively longer and harder.

Their accomplishment is significant and will stay with them for the for the rest of their lives. They received recognition from the other non-profit leaders that participated in the event, from the event organizers, from our ministry partners and from many in our neighborhood.

So when they mentor the younger kids and talk about working hard, about staying focused and committed they speak with authority because they speak from experience.

The kids, volunteers and I wanted to thank all of you that have generously given to the bike shop through this event. Your gifts allow us to continue working with the youth of South Atlanta.

On November 10 & 11, three South Atlanta Bike Shop youth that we have been working with all year long will have the opportunity to go on this life changing trip and have a moment in their lives that they will never forget.  We will be riding 168 miles from Leeds, AL back to Atlanta.  This is no easy feat to accomplish even for those that are trained.  Two days of riding through the small towns and mountains of Northeastern Alabama and Northwest Georgia, take a toll on your body and, for our young people, on their mind.

The challenges of the trip are what make it so powerful for our youth.  The first year we rode, we had one young person ride with us.  He is now an employee of our Bike Shop, has started his own recording studio business, become part of our neighborhood church, and become a mentor to the younger kids involved with the Bike Shop.

Last year, we had 5 kids ride with us, two of them have engaged in our neighborhood youth group and one has become an employee at the Marketplace & Community Grounds.  For these 3 riders, the Cycle of Love was a seminal moment in their lives that pointed them in a positive direction.

What will happen in the lives of the 3 young people that are riding this year?   We don’t know…but we do know that the opportunity is there for lives to be changed while riding 168 miles on a bike.  The opportunity to minister & mentor may not be greater than when one is wiped out from a long day’s ride. For a youth, there may not be a greater sense of accomplishment than pushing one’s self to ride so far for so long.

The cost of the ride amounts to $1.50 a mile person, or $250 which covers food, travel, hotel, and supplies for the weekend. Additionally, the Cycle of Love serves as a fundraiser for the South Atlanta Bike Shop to keep its operations going all year long and to continue to empower and develop young people in South Atlanta.  Any money raised above our cost of the event will go to support the ongoing operations and development of youth in our program.

Support the Team

Cheynah has been participating in the bike shop for quite some time. She’s earned several bikes and has given many of her bike shop points to other kids when they were just short of earning a bike but really NEEDED a bike RIGHT AWAY.

She’s been consistently displaying stellar work ethic and servant leadership so as soon as she turned 15 she was offered a part time job at the bike shop (and accepted it!). We are very proud of her!

It was a great day at the bike shop today! All four kids that worked today completed the required amount of points to earn a bike and ended up riding out on their new bikes together.

One of the kids didn’t have quite enough points so another kid offered to “chip in” her points. It always makes me happy to see this kind of generosity with the kids.

Speaking of generosity, recently one of these four donated an older bike to the bike shop – didn’t even ask for points or money (neither of which we do), just wanted to contribute to the program. The kids understand that what we have is a good thing and want to support it.

“Mr. Andrej, we should go on a trip this Sunday” said Destiny at the end of Wednesday’s work shift, sensing that it was time to “do another one.”

“Yes, we should. Where should we go?”, I asked her.

“Silver Comet Trail!” came in unison from all the kids at the shop.

“Let’s meet on Sunday 2pm. Here.”

Everybody did great. 17 miles ended up being just the right distance for this Sunday afternoon. Kids are already asking when’s the next trip!

The steep inclines certainly “kicked their butts” we all had a good time, even made time for some races. The trip culminated with hot dogs and chips (and home made brownies!) at one of our volunteers’ house.

The next trip has not been scheduled yet but we try to do at least one a month so stay tuned!

Everybody did great and had a good time!

We invited another non-profit youth-focused bike shop (Beltline Bikeshop) to join us for this event. Together we provided tools and expertise necessary and split the “loot” 50/50.

THANK YOU KILPATFICK TOWNSEND!!!