In the parish’s peach-colored gymnasium, Bob King sits down with a plate of baked beans and a hot dog. He and his team are justifiably hungry. King estimates the team will complete a total of about 270 miles by the end of their ride the next day — not bad for a man who took up riding only five years ago.

In 2003, after completing JustFaith, a national program that educates parishioners about Catholic social teaching, King, now 63, was inspired to take action. He decided to support the Catholic Campaign for Human Development-sponsored Brake the Cycle of Poverty bike ride from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. His hope was to bike from Manchester, Connecticut, to Baltimore, Maryland, where he’d meet up with the national CCHD team for the final stretch into the capital. He even managed to convince seven other riders and six supporters to come along. “I told ’em, ‘Look at a map. It goes from Connecticut down to Washington — it’s got to be all downhill,’” laughs King.

	Left to right, Wayne Wiganowski, John Fortunato, Anne Merrer, Lou Terzo, and Mary King bow their heads for a pre-ride prayer

After a successful trip, the car ride back to Connecticut gave the team time to think. “We all began to say, ‘What are we going to do next? Do we really have to go outside our state to have impact?’” recalls King.

Shortly thereafter, King and his teammates began to learn more about poverty in their area and talk about how they could help make a change. Th e conversation evolved into an annual, weeklong bike trek, during which they crisscross the state delivering a polished presentation about poverty, voicing concerns to politicians, and visiting dozens of poverty centers.

But they knew there was one thing they wouldn’t do: solicit money. “This problem is not going to be solved with donations. It’s going to be solved with each Catholic deciding what his or her responsibility is to those who don’t have what we have,” King says with passion, adding, “That’s a tough sell.”

The story told by King and his team is of the people who fall through the cracks — people who are forgotten, hungry, sick, poor. It’s not always easy to get people to listen, but King’s not giving up anytime soon. “We accept invitations from any community. Sometimes we even have to push them to give us an invitation,” smiles King, fork poised above his dinner. His wife, Mary, grins: “We work our way in, how’s that?”

The group’s dependence on others has also been humbling: “We’re like the Apostles going out with just their sandals,” says Ryan. “It’s amazing when parishes are willing to be so open.”

Dan D’Amelio organized the team’s visit to his parish in Moodus, and is certainly glad he did. “So many people are caring, but they just don’t know what to do,” he says. “Events like this are helpful because they show people there are things that can be done.”

During the presentation, various members of the team jump from their seats, taking turns describing the needs and challenges facing the poor, and the ways in which their audience can take action. They recite the facts and figures, but their message is genuine because they’ve taken the time to meet the faces behind the statistics. “We get a meal and sit down with the clients [at soup kitchens] and talk with the clients, [asking them], ‘What’s going on?’ ‘What would you do differently?’ That’s how we gather our education,” says King. “This is a unique opportunity to engage people who need our voice to tell their story.”

The story is often one of unemployment, unjust laws, violence, or a lack of education, living wage, affordable housing, or health insurance — a combination of obstacles that could be overwhelming to anyone. Despite having one of the highest per-capita incomes of any state, 88582 children in Connecticut live below the poverty level, and the state is home to cities with high poverty rates, including Hartford
(30.3 percent) and New Haven (21 percent). This gap between rich and poor in the state continues to grow.

Pam Carmel, 45, stands to offer her thoughts at the presentation. “No matter how hard I try, I can never keep up with some of these guys,” she says, reflecting on the day’s ride. “It’s like that for many people in poverty. No matter how hard they pedal, it’s hard to keep up.”

In the morning, before the riders head out on their final stretch — about 25 miles from Moodus to Norwich, Connecticut — they gather in a circle for prayer, as they’ve done each day during this trip, praying for the safety and health of the poor, as well as for their own. They discuss the importance of the preferential option for the poor, which calls on those with strength and riches to care for the poor and weak.