Mark Schultz

Mark Schultz Completes Punishing First Day of his Across America Bike Tour

San Diego, Ca. (May 9, 2007) Dove Award winning recording artist, Mark Schultz, began an ACROSS AMERICA bike ride to raise support for orphans and widows. With his back tire sitting in the cool waves of the Pacific Ocean at Newport Beach, Schultz began his first day logging 84 miles thus far on the trip from California to New Hampshire.

Although the day started rather sublime, the ride became progressively difficult as Schultz found himself riding through 40 mile-per-hour Santa Ana winds, up steep inclines and in 90-degree heat.

“That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life,” says Schultz. “Coming up on those last eight miles I think I pulled over about every two miles and I just yelled at myself, ‘You can do this! You CAN do this!”

Mark will be posting daily video blogs documenting his journey. He will also be stopping along the way to perform concerts featuring music from his acclaimed best-selling album, Broken & Beautiful. More information about the Across America ride, including tour dates, video blog updates, and Mark’s progress can be found at www.markacrossamerica.org.

Schultz’s inspiration to make this 3,500-mile ride came from a visit he and his wife, Kate, made to orphanages in Mexico. In the spring of 2006, they went on a mission trip with The James Fund, a non-profit organization founded by Family Christian Stores, to meet the needs of orphans and widows in distress. Schultz’s own adoption drew him to explore this ministry. Seeing firsthand the harsh realities for many orphans and realizing that he could have easily been one of the boys in the orphanage, he wanted to make a difference.

Lauded at No. 1 on Billboard’s “Hot Christian Adult Contemporary Songwriters” list and with eight No. 1 hits, Schultz has been honored with a 2005 Dove Award, was the centerpiece of the U.S. Army campaign “Letters From War,” was named Christian Music Today’s Male Vocalist in 2003, and was featured on the national magazine program, “48 Hours.”

For additional information on Mark Schultz, visit www.markacrossamerica.org, www.markschultzmusic.com or www.wordlabelgroup.com.