This weekend, 120 riders will participate in our twelfth annual Bikes Fight Poverty ride. As usual, they will be pedaling 200 miles over the course of two long, tiring days. But things will look a little different this year.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, we pivoted to a local ride in the Phoenix area instead of crossing the border into Mexico. New health precautions will be in place and we’ll intentionally keep crowd sizes small.

Despite those changes, the mission uniting us remains the same: giving people in poverty the opportunity to earn a house by serving their community.

This is a cause that the Burgess family has bought into completely. Lisa and James describe their hometown of Frisco, Texas, as a place where “no one goes without anything.” They knew they had to expand their kids’ horizons.

So last March, after Lisa participated as a Bikes Fight Poverty rider, the whole family went on a build trip to Mexico. It was a way of showing their sons, Everett and Jackson, a whole other world – all while working alongside a hardworking family.

That was just the beginning.

This weekend, James is riding 200 miles, just as Lisa did a year ago. And through our Virtual Ride option – which allows anyone, anywhere to get in on the fun – Everett and Jackson have already logged their miles by riding to school and back. And the whole time they’ve been campaigning for families in need.

Bikes Fight Poverty has become part of this special family’s daily life. They talk about it at dinner. They can’t wait to get back on another build trip. And we have it on good authority Everett and Jackson can be seen wearing their 1MISSION gear “at least three days a week.”

Everett and Jackson have seen the impact for themselves. They know that lives are being changed. And when their legs get tired, that’s enough to keep them pedaling.

SUPPORT BIKES FIGHT POVERTY TODAY