At 8 a.m. Wednesday, West Lauderdale High School history teacher Ed Abdella pedaled into the school’s driveway after spending the last 24 hours riding his bike to raise funds for the Mighty Knights Marching Band.

After coming to a stop, Abdella told the large crowd of band students, who had spent the night cheering him on lap after lap, that he had ridden 361 miles, which brought quick applause from the surrounding crowd.

The band had hopes of garnering $10,000 from the fundraiser. Once all of the donations and pledges are collected, they will be close to their goal, said band director Kristopher Grant.

“We have done a lot better this year. We are going to be close to our goal,” he said. “Even if we don’t meet the goal, we will have done all right. It will have been a good fundraiser for us.”

Abdella kicked off his 24-hour ride at 8 a.m. on Tuesday with band members sending him off with a strong show of encouragement by playing the school’s fight song. Those 361 miles carried him in a triangular loop surrounding West Lauderdale high and middle schools along West Lauderdale Road to Centerhill Martin Road to Richard May Memorial Drive and back to West Lauderdale Road.

As he made loop after loop, the students took turns standing at the entranceway to the school to cheer and encourage Abdella as he passed. At times, some of his cycling teammates and fellow riders came out to join him.

“We have a whole series of half-hour support shifts that they do over the 24 hours, so they are out here the whole time,” Grant said of the band students. “Whether he needs food, water, a sports drink, sandwiches, there is always someone out here to help him and to cheer as he goes by.”

“I am out here, and I am cold, and I want to support Mr. Abdella because he is supporting us,” sophomore band member Avery Sullivan said around the 10-hour mark on Tuesday night.

This is the third year in a row Abdella has biked around West Lauderdale to raise funds for the band. He said he completed about 357 miles last year.

His first attempt back in March 2022 had to be cut short several hours early when a winter storm moved into the area sooner than predicted.

“The first time I tried this, it was 70 in the day and by 5 o’clock the wind came. By 5:30, it was raining and by 2 o’clock in the morning, it was snowing and ice,” Abdella said. “They pulled me off the bike, it was so cold. It was like 21 degrees. I was completely wet. I couldn’t get warm. As soon as I got off the bike, my teeth started chattering, and they said you are getting hypothermia. It’s over.”

The support from the students helps Abdella keep going, he said, during a short break from the bike on Tuesday night about 165 miles into the ride.

“All of those kids out there, every time I ride by they are screaming and cheering,” he said.

Junior band member Alexis Richardson said Abdella’s bike ride has become a popular fundraiser among the band students.

The students spend the night in the band hall with lots of games and activities from basketball to football to video games to keep them entertained while they wait to take their shift at the front gate.

“It’s like a giant sleepover,” she said, jokingly.

“It is always really fun when we do this,” added sophomore Azlin Holifield.

A local cycling enthusiast, Abdella is known for his bike rides for a good cause.

Back in July, he set off on a four-day bike ride around the perimeter of Mississippi to raise awareness for historic preservation and much-needed funds to help replace the roof on historic Merrehope. He spent around 100 hours on his bike during the 1,161-mile journey, completing the ride quicker than expected.

Besides raising funds for the school band, Abdella said the 24-hour bike ride is helping him prepare for Race Across America, a 3,175-mile ride across the nation over 12 days, which he will participate in next summer.

“This is all part of the bigger scheme for getting ready for Race Across America,” he said.

Donations for Abdella’s bike ride in support of the West band are still being accepted and can be made by contacting the band director at kgrant@lauderdale.k12.ms.us.