Cross country bike tour stops in Auburn, continues fundraising for Fuller Center

Ryan Iafigliola has what he calls “Fulleritis” and he’s not afraid to share it with others. It isn’t deadly, but it is known to make people do what they can for others, including bicycling 1,300 miles across the country.

“Whatever it is, it’s contagious,” said Bill Perdue, a 2004 Auburn University graduate. “And I’ll be a carrier of it for a long time to come.”

Perdue said he heard about the second annual Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure on Facebook and was able to take a week off of work to join the cause for part of the five-week adventure through 30 cities, including eight stops to help build new homes or renovate others at current Fuller Center project sites.

This year’s adventure started last month in Michigan and will end next weekend in Florida. On Friday, Iafigliola, Perdue and 14 other riders arrived in Auburn for a rest before embarking on the longest leg of the trip — a 100-mile trek to Americus, Ga.

Iafigliola said Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller used to walk to raise awareness for Habitat. A bicycling enthusiast, Iafigliola said riding seemed like a good way to spread the word about Fuller’s newest housing ministry, the Fuller Center for Housing, to raise money for housing projects and “to plant the seed” to start new projects across the country. The group has raised about $70,000 of its $200,000 goal to date.

“We can pedal the miles, but we can’t raise the money without the people,” Iafigliola said.

Mike Tiemeyer, a 27-year-old AU graduate student, said the ride was ideal for him as a self-proclaimed adventurer. Plus, he was familiar with Fuller’s work since he helped on Habitat homes before.

“You can’t change the world by saying you are going to,” he said. “You change the world by doing.”

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