Just completing its 15th year, the Habitat 500 is a bicycle ride (not a race) that covers 500 miles over the course of 7 days (an average of 71 miles per day). Each rider raises funds from family, friends, businesses and church groups and designates the Habitat for Humanity affiliates they wish to support (both locally and around the world).
The first Habitat 500, coordinated by Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, took place in 1993 and traveled to Winnipeg for the Jimmy Carter Work Project. Since then, the ride has toured around the midwest, though mostly Minnesota, visiting Habitat affiliates, Habitat worksites and Habitat homeowners along the way (in addition to roadside attractions).
In 2000, Twin Cities Habitat asked HFH-MN to take over the coordination of the ride due to the fact that it was a fundraiser for affiliates around the state of Minnesota, not just Twin Cities Habitat.
HFH-MN took over the coordination of the ride in 2002. Funds raised in the four years since then have consistently grown from $225,000 to over $340,000. From 2002 to 2007, an average of 20 Minnesota affiliates participated in the Habitat 500 each year and each received an average of $3,500.
