Russ Gobble put some mettle to his pedals last week, completing a weeklong, 430-mile bike ride across North Carolina to raise money for a cause near and dear to his heart, the American Children’s Home in Lexington.

Gobble, who is president of the American Children’s Home, and a team of several other cyclists rode from Blowing Rock to Surf City, raising approximately $7,500 in the process.

“We asked for donations from our friends and family members to help the American Children’s Home, to help us with our capital campaign,” Gobble explains. “We’re trying to build two new buildings to house children who are wards of the state.”

Gobble’s team rode in conjunction with Cycle North Carolina, an annual cycling trip to raise money for the American Cancer Society – but the team raised money for the American Children’s Home instead.

Team members left from Blowing Rock on Sept. 27 and made stops in Lenoir, Statesville, Thomasville, Sanford, Dunn and Kenansville before completing the journey Saturday morning at Surf City.

According to Gobble – a former school principal in Randolph County who says he has been a cyclist on and off for about 30 years – several members of the team that he rode with participate in a spinning class he attends weekday mornings at the Thomasville YMCA.

Cycle North Carolina was a great ride, Gobble says, but he’s more excited about the money raised for the nonprofit home’s capital campaign, “Building A Better American.”

The goal of the campaign is to build two new residential cottages, renovate existing cottages to accommodate more children, and make other improvements to make the campus more welcoming. Gobble says the new cottages will replace the 80-year-old Pennsylvania Building, which is currently used for emergency and residential care programs.

The Pennsylvania Building, he says, “is still very functional, but not very economical. We can still use it, but it’s more suited for the older individuals in our care, who don’t need the kind of security that the younger kids do.”

In conjunction with the capital campaign, the home is sponsoring a cycling event of its own later this month – The American Tour – to raise additional funds for the campaign.

“We’re going to have three rides – a 30-mile ride, a 55-mile ride and an 85-mile ride,” Gobble says. “All three rides will go across High Rock Lake, and we’re hoping all of the fall colors will be out to make it an even prettier ride.”

The event will take place Oct. 24. The entry fee is $25, and all proceeds will benefit the American Children’s Home.