If there’s anything we know about Bill Turner, it’s that he likes a challenge. At 73 years old, Bill Turner is taking on his fifth bicycle adventure ride with a goal of raising $15,000 for the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing where he will complete 1,100 miles in three weeks starting Thursday.
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| Cyclist Bill Turner is riding 1,100 miles from Seattle, Washington to Green River, Wyoming to raise money for the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing. This will be the fifth time that Turner has taken on the challenge of riding a long distance to help the nonprofit group which assists Lakes Region elderly residents in need with home repairs and projects. COURTESY PHOTO |
“Currently our projects include ramps, decks, repairing and replacing doors and windows and roof repair for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities,” said Diane Dunton Bruni, Board Chair and President of the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Canter for Housing. “This will be a very busy summer and the money Bill is raising will help pay for materials. We are grateful for all Bill is doing for us.”
The dynamics of the bicycle groups are typically 20 to 30 people riding and split in teams of five or less for safety and car courtesy. Teams cycle through chores each week such as cooking, laundry, shopping, and clean-up, to share the different challenges of cross-country biking.
Training for this year’s ride has been especially challenging for Turner. In 2021, he underwent a prostatectomy and is now living cancer free.
“That’s an interesting adjustment,” he said.
Then, in 2022, Turner was given a new bionic right shoulder. “It’s working wonderfully to the point where I’m considering having my left one done,” he said.
Turner began riding for the Sebago Lakes Fuller Center for Housing six years ago and he was partly retired at the time. He had a dream of biking across the country, and asked himself if he could find a way to do that. He was inspired by a friend’s son who had done something similar, so, he did his research until finding the Fuller Center for Housing Bike Adventure, which runs several bike trips a year in the United States.
Not sure if he could complete the challenge, Turner first signed up to ride from San Francisco, California to Santa Fe, New Mexico to raise funds for the Fuller Center.
The next year, now fully retired and after consulting with his wife, Turner signed up for a ride from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine.
“I successfully did that for 10 weeks. My body didn’t rebel too much,” said Turner, who was 70 at the time.
Turner says he has been involved with Faith Lutheran Church in Windham for years and one day, after his ride across the country, discussion about forming a Fuller Center chapter in Windham with the pastor came up.
According to Turner, he and Windham resident Lorraine Glowczak put together a PowerPoint presentation to offer at churches around Windham. Six churches came on board and since then, Turner’s riding has been for fundraising for the Sebago Lakes Fuller Center for Housing.
During the pandemic, the Sebago Lakes Fuller Center for Housing implemented a ride from home program that Turner participated in, cycling the 40-mile route around Sebago Lake in September 2020. Turner says the biggest challenge for him at that time was adjusting to riding alone versus in a group.
On a larger Fuller bike adventure, riders can choose to ride in segments. This year Turner will be cycling in the first 3 segments.
“Timewise three weeks is what I can afford right now,” says Turner. “I have grandkids so to be gone for 10 weeks would not necessarily be a blast family wise.”
Turner has been riding bikes for 15 years. He says his son decided one day that he wanted to race cross-country mountain bikes and asked his father to join him. Turner went from 220 pounds to 180 pounds in a year and said his knees didn’t complain like they did when running.
“Bicycling has been an important part of my life for staying healthy at this point,” he said.
To stay in training year-round, he bought a fat-tire bike with studded tires and rides all winter with his rescue dog, a black 40 pound he says is a “I’m-ready-to-go-anytime dog” that the Turners rescued from the Texas shelter.
Prior to everything he is doing now, Turner used to manage an engineering office as a building scientist.
Sebago Fuller Center for Housing is an affiliate of the non-profit national Fuller Center for Housing that was founded by Millard and Linda Fuller, the founders of Habitat for Humanity. The local Sebago Lakes Fuller Center for Housing was founded by members from Faith Lutheran Church, the Unity Church for Spiritual Growth, the North Windham Union Church, Windham Hill United Church of Christ, Raymond Village Church and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, and serves the towns of Windham, Raymond and Standish.
You can donate to the Sebago Fuller Canter for Housing at https://sebagofullerhousing.org. <
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