It all started with six hands in the air.
“I’m a Naval Academy graduate, class of 1983,” said Scott Watson, a member of Valleydale Baptist Church in Birmingham who formerly served as an officer on a U.S. submarine. “At our 35th reunion, one of my classmates stood up and said, ‘Guys, I want to ride my bike across the country; who’s in?’ And six of us raised our hands.”
They meant it, too. In 2023, the idea became a reality — a 45-day, 3,423-mile ride across the U.S. And it was followed by another question — “What are we going to do next year?”
‘Bama Rama’
So on Oct. 4, they’re assembling again for a 530-mile ride from Huntsville to Orange Beach called the Bama Rama 500. The ride will take seven days and go through Gadsden, Oxford, Auburn and Troy, among other cities.
Formally it’s a way for the 17 men who are participating to stay fit and raise money to give back to good causes. Informally it’s a little bit of a tour of Baptist churches, Watson said — along the way, 12 Baptist congregations will provide meals and snacks at their rest stops.
Watson said he hopes the conversations they have at these meal stops and on the ride will be a chance for some of his classmates to see what the Christian faith looks like.
“For my nonbeliever friends, I want them to have so many touchpoints with Jesus followers along the way,” he said.
Commitment
Two men from Watson’s Sunday School class will serve as the group’s SAG (support and gear) team, following them with a truck and trailer. Another, Kinneth Pruitt, is serving as the team “ombudsman,” praying for the riders by name.
Pruitt said Watson “is a man of great integrity and character, and his heart is in ministry.”
It has taken commitment for Watson to put on the Bama Rama 500 — a year ago, halfway through the cross-country ride, he was involved in an accident on his bike in Nebraska that left him with a fractured pelvis and elbow.
“I was back riding by the end of December doing little rides, and two months after that I was back to full speed ahead,” Watson said.
‘Divine appointments’
One of the physician’s assistants who helped him in Nebraska said Watson was the “divine appointment” she had prayed for that day. This year, she’s joining the Bama Rama group to care for any medical needs that might come up.
“We hope for no injuries this year, but we do hope for more divine appointments,” Watson said.
This year, Watson is riding for Operation Patriots for Children, a fund set up at Lifeline Children’s Services to help veterans who are pursuing adoptions.
Others are riding for other veteran-related causes, such as Operation Heal Our Patriots, a Samaritan’s Purse project to help foster healing in veterans’ marriages and families.
In 2023, the group of cyclists raised more than $700,000, and so far in 2024 they’ve raised another $80,000. They’re hoping to get the total to top $1 million.
For more information about the ride, visit navy-cycling.com. For more information about Operation Patriots for Children, visit lifelinechild.org/veteran-cycling.
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