This year's Habitat 500 ride is special to us for many reasons.

• We are celebrating the 20th year of the bike ride fundraiser.
• We are also celebrating the 2000th Habitat home built in Minnesota.
• Here in North St. Louis County, Minnesota we are celebrating the 50th home that we have built with our neighbors in need.
• Each of the nine years that I have participated in this event, my wife Sara has also served as "Rest Stop One" volunteer. I think she works much harder than I do to set up this rest stop each day for 135 riders!
• I am also very happy to be meeting one of my life's goals; that of taking all three of my daughters on the Habitat 500 bike ride. This year we will have completed this "right of passage" as my youngest daughter, Margie, now 13 years old, pedals her own bike along with me for 7 days and 500 miles.

It has truly been a blessing to share the experience of long distance biking along with my love for Habitat for Humanity's home building ministry with my girls!

Margie and I have nearly completed our training goal of riding 500 miles this spring and summer in preparations to go on this trip.

We still lack a few dollars to meet our fundraising goal and would like to ask for your help! Would you consider a donation to Habitat to help us raise funds? Any amount would be a great encouragement as we like to have a lot of sponsors cheering us on as we pedal.

The biking event begins on July 15th at St. Louis Park in the Cities. We then will proceed on to overnight stops in Hastings, New Prague, Hutchinson (two nights), New Ulm, Mayer before returning to St. Louis Park on July 21st.

More information about the rout and ride can be found on www.habitat500.org

Your thoughts, prayers and encouragement are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Nathan and Margie