Agony Ride 2025

This year, our church hosted a satellite location in Orland. We had 6 riders join in this event. Christian Encounter Ranch is a wonderful ministry we support. See this video below to learn more.

In 1982, the first Agony Ride had six cyclists and they raised $2,800. The ride took place in Death Valley.

In 1987, the ride moved to the Sierra Valley.

In 2020, due to the pandemic, the Agony Ride went completely virtual. But that year, 84 cyclists rode across the country in their own neighborhoods. They raised $252,000. A fundraising record.

Today, though much has changed, the reason we ride is still the same.

There are the stories you don’t hear about, like the woman who has no ACL but still rode 72 miles. Like the rider whose brakes and gears were about to completely give out and a mechanic used some gorilla tape, getting her 200 miles. When “Wall-E” crashed, there were two motorcycle rovers and a medic on site within minutes, getting him in a makeshift splint before taking him off the course. (He had surgery and is recovering well.) A 77-year-old man with several stents was able to ride through the night for the first time in years because his riding partner kept him at a pace that was sustainable. (This was his 13th ride.) A sagger flew out from the midwest this year because in the face of the hardship her family has walked through, she needed to be a part of something “really good.”

There are hundreds of stories like these. This year presented extra challenges with a little rain and hail, but the storm clouds never fully settled in the valley, allowing the ride to continue. In fact, the perseverance of the riders through the elements testified even more loudly to the students as they watched riders come in wet and cold. They saw people endure hardship on their behalf - and then they got to serve them.

We had 139 riders this year, including those who rode virtually. 27,860 miles were ridden, and the amount raised in gifts and pledges is currently at $464,024. Jonathan Palmer, at his 20th Agony Ride, is the first person to reach $200K in lifetime money raised.

Jonathan reflects, “What we’ve done is turn the problem of evil into this philosophical question where we ask, ‘Why do bad things happen?’ instead of taking a step back and saying, ‘Bad things happen, they grieve God’s heart, so what are we going to do about it? ... We can’t win everything, but we can fight back.’

This is why Christian Encounter exists, and why the Agony Ride continues. Thank you to all who partner with us in this endeavor, for giving of yourselves so others may find life.