why we ride

Below, the four staff riders that comprise this year’s Team CEM share their motivation behind riding. To sponsor a rider, visit agonyride.org. 

​Austin Sather, Maintenance Coordinator 
Mileage goal: 280 miles

The ministry of CEM is important and needed in the world today. So many people are searching for truth from so many different sources, and at CEM they are able to experience truth for maybe the first time in their lives. After doing a yearlong internship, I was able to see the value of the life on life ministry that is able to happen at Christian Encounter. Living with the students, you are able to walk through what a relationship with Christ looks like day by day and do so at a unique pace that is hard to duplicate outside of here. The Agony Ride is a way that I can continue to show love and support for our students with every lap that is completed. It is a way for me to continue to pour into their lives and encourage them as they continue to grow into the men and women that God is molding them to be.

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​Paxton Fitzpatrick, Assistant Director of Discipleship 
Mileage goal: 230 miles

Ever since I was an intern in 2015, I knew that I wanted to be a rider in the Agony. It is one of the most unique events that I have ever been a part of. It is clear that for those 24 hours, all who are involved get to be a part of something bigger than themselves. It is a beautiful thing to see riders and support stations trying to out-serve each other. I am riding to support the students and the ministry that I get to call home. The Ranch has given me so much, and I am using this opportunity to invite as many family and friends that I can to support me. My prayer is for all of them to see the Ranch for what I know it to be through the Agony Ride.

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​Dave LaRash, Maintenance Assistant 
Mileage goal: 244 miles

I rode my first Agony two years ago and am looking forward to riding again with that experience under my belt.  Now I know all the places to put Chamois Butter, for example!  I am still working at the Ranch supervising the students in their outdoor work.  I get to see first hand the way God is working in each student’s life.  After the Agony Ride many of the students are profoundly affected as they see so many people going through discomfort for them. Showing the students how much I care about them by expending all my energy out on the road is something that cannot be done with words.  On a more selfish note, hearing the sound of the students screaming encouragement in the middle of the night when they see my light is something that may not be surpassed this side of heaven.

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​Nate Boyd, Executive Director 
Mileage goal: 235 miles

The Agony is great in so many ways. One is very simple and obvious: it’s an opportunity for me to ask people to give money to support the students of the Ranch. Because I get to see these young people every day, I know the courageous way they’re working to overcome what’s been done to them. I know how important it is to give to them, and I want to do my part to raise up an army to stand behind them and carry them forward. As you hear many times during those 24 hours up in the Sierra Valley, they’re worth everything we can possibly give them!

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