Riders with the Underground Railroad charity bike ride made an overnight stop in Brookhaven Tuesday.

Bikers are participating in the inaugural 1,350-mile, four-week Underground Railroad charity bicycle ride, following slaves’ historic path toward freedom. The group stayed the night at Christ Church International on Smith Lake Road after an 81-mile ride from Hammond, Louisiana. Wednesday morning, they set out on a 72-mile ride to Vicksburg.

Over the four weeks, The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure will roll through six states from the Gulf of Mexico to the shore of Lake Erie. The journey will include 190 miles on the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway and more than 300 miles of dedicated bike paths in Ohio. Along the way, riders will stop for five separate build days as they practice what they preach with FC covenant partners.

Riders average more than 63 miles of riding each day and are hosted at most of their overnight stops by churches before resuming their journey the next morning.

The Adventure was founded in 2008 as a way to raise funds for The Fuller Center for Housing’s work of partnering with families in need to help them have simple, decent places to live through home repairs and new home construction — with dozens of FC covenant partners across the United States and in 20 nations. In addition to having raised more than $3.8 million for the work to date — more than a record $500,000 in 2022 alone — riders also raise awareness about the nonprofit’s work through speaking engagements, news coverage and talking with people they meet along the way.

Riders come from various locations and walks of life, and are always eager to share their stories.