ASHTABULA — Earlier this year, the Rev. Shane Nanney, pastor of East Side Presbyterian Church, began considering ways he could raise money for a mission trip.
It had to be something outrageous, courageous, even crazy; something that would “make people stand up and take notice.”
Something like riding a bicycle for 24 hours straight on the Western Reserve Greenway Trail (WRGT).
“I do these crazy things to inspire,” says Nanney, 45. “I’m willing to be a fool for Christ to get other people to sit up and see this is important, to look at the big picture and allow us to be what we’re called to be as Christians.”
Nanney’s trek begins 6 p.m. Friday. Although he has a few volunteers who plan to plan ride alongside him for a few miles or hours, Nanney’s not had any takers for a 24-hour partnership.
He hopes to raise $4,000 toward the $10,000 cost of the week-long mission to Lansing, Mich., where youth and adults from five of the nine congregations in the Ashtabula Cluster of Presbyterian Churches will work on an abuse shelter.
“This is to raise money to lower the cost for all the participants in this trip,” Nanney says.
He has been promoting his cause throughout the cluster and asking church members to chip in with pledges. Nanney is looking for pledges by the hour, not the mile.
“I think my wife has a side wager to see if I make it, at all,” he says. “I think she’ll make more money that I will.”
Nanney’s not looking to set any speed records with his ride. Indeed, he anticipates the trek to be as much a spiritual exercise as it is physical and mental.
“I’ll be praying for the kids, the churches who are sending people and the people we’ll be ministering to,” he says.
Nanney’s home base will be the Austinburg parking lot, where his car will be stocked with food, clothing and refreshment. He’ll take breaks at other lots along the trail but is committed to staying on the path, rain or shine, for the entire 24 hours.
“Anybody can force themselves to ride for 12 hours during the daylight,” he says. “To go out there and ride in the dark of the night, you have to pull something from within you.”
Nanney will carry a cell phone with him just in case. “I joke about worrying about the bears,” he says. “For them, it will be Domino’s (Pizza) delivering, especially when I’m there by myself.”
He was inspired to ride by the Rev. Duane Ball of Harvest International Church, who has done several fundraisers for the Dream Center by riding intensely on the trail and across the state. Nanney says he’s not the avid cyclist Ball is but he is passionate about the project.
Nanney is going into the ride prepared. He has been working out at the YMCA and riding his bicycle, a 12-speed model, on the trail. He has lost 25 pounds in the process. He also knows all that preparation won’t ensure a painless experience come Sunday morning, when he’s scheduled to preach at Trinity Presbyterian Church as part of a pulpit exchange Sunday.
Nanney hopes others will support him by riding alongside him, stopping by a parking lot to encourage him as he rides and contributing a pledge. Call the church for information.
Coincidentally, a Blessing of the Bikes service has been planned for the Lampson Road parking lot 11 a.m. Saturday. Chances are Nanney will be due for a blessing about that time.
“Staying awake for the 24 hours is not the hard part,” he says. “It’s keeping going for 24 hours that’s going to be hard.”
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