OHIO: Cyclists to ride cross-country for Episcopal Relief and Development

June 29, 2009 [Diocese of Ohio] A group of eight cyclists from the Diocese of Ohio will be riding across the country, starting from Anaheim, California, after the July 17 close of General Convention and ending at the Episcopal Church Center in New York.

The riders will be raising money for malaria treatment and prevention through Episcopal Relief and Development during the eight to 10-day trip.

This cross-country ride is the culmination of several Bishop's Bike Rides organized by Ohio Bishop Mark Hollingsworth Jr. The Bishop's Bike Rides started with a 145-mile ride home to Cleveland from the 2006 General Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Riders stopped at Episcopal churches along the way to sleep, eat and, more importantly, to "weave stronger the fabric" of the diocese, according to Hollingsworth.

The riders found the trip so fulfilling, they decided to continue it annually, the next year following a section of Underground Railroad routes through Ohio. The third trip crossed most of the width of the state and was dubbed "From Defiance to Alliance" after two Ohio towns that marked the beginning and end of the ride.

A fourth ride this June traverses the hilly southeastern rim of the diocese. Each summer, the Bishop's Bike Ride has raised money to support youth mission trips.

Hollingsworth has a long history of distance bike riding for various causes. Other riders will include Carl Petterson, a recent graduate of Hudson High School, and Greg Daniels, a consultant for IBM, both members of Christ Church, Hudson; the Rev. Kelly O'Connell, rector of St. Mark's, Toledo and the route planner and training advisor; the Rev. Stephen R. Sedgwick, rector of Church of the Redeemer, Lorain; the Rev. Daniel Orr, priest-in-charge of St. Paul's, Fremont; Isaac Hollingsworth, the bishop's son and a sophomore at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Ha,pshire; and Michael Obel-Omia, former head of the Upper School at University School in Cleveland, and a parishioner at St. Paul's, Cleveland Heights. Most have participated in previous Bishop's Bike Rides.

Their goal is to raise at least $100,000 for ERD from dioceses and communicants across the Episcopal Church. The cost of the ride itself (expenses for support vehicles and the care and feeding of riders and crew) is a gift of the Diocese of Ohio to the mission work of the Episcopal Church. Further information about ERD is available here. Gifts may be designated in honor of the Diocese of Ohio cyclists.

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