Mullet pedals across America to benefit Pure Gift of God
Jesse Mullet and his wife Karen were able to share the experience of Jesse's bike marathon across the U.S. Karen drove a truck, did a lot of the behind-the-scenes work and took care of their two young children along the way.
Jesse Mullet has tackled some pretty impressive and demanding physical challenges over the years, but this spring the Sugarcreek native may have outdone himself.
Mullet created Pedal for Orphans and set about on a journey of the likes of which few people could endure: a 30-day, 3,400-mile bicycle endurance pursuit that would challenge him in every way imaginable.
While he enjoyed the challenge, it was more than just an exercise in doing something physically intimidating.
Mullet trained hard and laid out a game plan that saw him ride his bicycle from the state of Ocean Shores, Washington on May 1 eastward to the shores of New Jersey as he dissected the United States from coast to coast to raise money and awareness for Pure Gift of God.
Pure Gift of God is a nonprofit organization that has helped hundreds of families find ways to adopt by providing grants for parents, and Mullet was focused on raising plenty of money to help a whole lot of families find happiness through adoption.
Mullet initially came to Pure Gift earlier with the idea of using matching funds to raise money through a half-marathon. Curt Yoder, Pure Gift founder, said he and the board were glad to accept, and Yoder said he figured Mullet might raise a few thousand dollars.
Instead, the run raised upward of $40,000 and provided a huge nest egg for Pure Gift to take flight and go from a local outreach ministry to a national one that has provided grants for families from the east coast to Missouri.
“You talk about a huge boost for a nonprofit that was just getting started,” Yoder said. “That has helped us create a huge network of people who have a heart for helping children, and we have been able to positively impact the lives of a lot of families who have experienced the expenses involved with adopting.”
That may have been a monumental amount to Pure Gift, but Mullet was just getting started. He set his sight on the coast-to-coast bike trek to raise even more funds. While they hadn’t quite reached their goal yet, Pedal for Orphans was in the midst of aiding an organization that has dedicated itself to coming to the aid of families wanting to adopt.
“This is not easy, but it is a lot more fun to bike with a purpose that is so meaningful and worthwhile,” Mullet said of Pure Gift. “This all really starts with relationships, and we have seen the commitment of Curt and Erica [Yoder], and to be able to do this on their behalf and on behalf of Pure Gift is an absolute honor.”
The planning stages for the trip began nearly one year ago, and Mullet said it was a slow but steady process that saw them bring in the support team, a media crew, route and meal planning, and more.
“It was wonderful to have everyone behind me doing a lot of the planning so I could focus on training for the physical part of the trip,” Mullet said.
When May 1 finally arrived and D-Day was at hand, Mullet was prepared to tackle a 30-day journey across America, and like the U.S. Postal Service, he was going to deliver, and neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night would keep him from the swift completion of his appointed rounds.
As May wound down, Mullet wearily rolled onto the eastern shores of New Jersey, one of the final landmarks he passed appropriately being an establishment called Lucky Leo’s.
All of the planning, all of the teamwork and hard work, and all of the trials and tribulations had been met.
The trip was very involved and took a great deal of planning as they mapped out a route, a time span and how they would attack to challenge. Mullet’s goal was to bike 120 miles each day as he made the journey in 30 days. Some days he traveled 70-80 miles, meaning he had to make up ground on other days. It also meant traversing the Grand Teton Mountains, where he had to out-pedal a somewhat-irked bear; fighting some massive headwinds in the Midwest; and fending off whatever Mother Nature threw at him from one day to the next.
While it is taxing physically, Mullet said that paled in comparison to the mental part of dealing with such a painstakingly difficult venture.
“Mentally it was so much tougher to deal with,” Mullet said. “I ended up just breaking it down into smaller goals: 2 miles here, 5 miles there. It was hard not seeing the big picture.”
Ultimately Mullet got some good advice from a good friend who offered up a gem that stuck with him from day one until the finish line was accomplished.
“Win the day.”
“That was a huge part of my ability to overcome the mental part of this,” Mullet said. “Just win the day, and the next day will take care of itself. That was such a huge blessing.”
The other big inspiration was when he rolled through Amish Country on Friday, May 25, where his hometown community let Mullet know how much they appreciated his effort to help orphans.
At Berlin Elementary the entire student body loudly and enthusiastically waved signs and cheered wildly as he and several other bikers whom had joined him from anywhere from Illinois to Loudonville came through.
Through Berlin, Walnut Creek and finally to Sugarcreek, well-wishers and encouragers lined state Route 39 as Mullet pedaled by.
“The adrenaline was really pumping,” Mullet said of seeing all of the well-wishers encouraging him along the path. “It felt like the finish line at the Boston Marathon. The energy was incredible, from the sirens on the fire trucks, to the cheering people, to the signs. That’s the kind of thing that really keeps me going.”
While Mullet was working hard pedaling his way across 3,400 miles, he had a pretty dependable back-up team in his wife Karen and their children, Maddix and Macray, who were driving the team truck while another team member drove a camper/bicycle repair shop.
Karen Mullet said being there for her husband while he battled through heavy rain, blazing sun, brutal head winds and mountainous climbs was important to her. It made them a team.
“This has been amazing, and it has helped us grow in our relationship a lot,” Karen Mullet said. She was able to be there in the planning stages, and more importantly she was able to be there to support her husband in mind, body and spirit as they made the trek together.
“It has been a journey, no doubt about that,” Karen Mullet said. “Jesse has always been a huge supporter of Pure Gift and has run marathons and half-marathons to raise money, but he’s never done anything this big before. It has been amazing to be able to share this together.”
Jesse Mullet could not agree more, and he said his family may never realize what an important role they played in the trip.
“I’m not sure I could have done this without my family there every day,” Jesse Mullet said.
While the wild ride may be over and the time has come for muscles to recover and life to return to normal, there is still time for anyone to donate to the Pedal for Orphans project. Simply log on to either Pedal for Orphans' GoFundMe account or visit the Pure Gift of God website at www.PureGiftofGod.org.