Bob Davenport

Bob Davenport. . , Bob Davenport was born in 1933 and raised in Long Beach, California. He played fullback in college for the UCLA Bruins football team, where he was twice named All-American, in 1954 and 1955. He was also MVP of the Hula Bowl in 1956., Davenport served as Taylor University's head football coach from 1958 to 1968, leading them to five conference championships. In 1964, Davenport began the Wandering Wheels bicycle program in Upland, as an effort to combine Christian witness and fellowship with athletic adventure and physical fitness. Davenport served as a pioneer in launching this type of innovative Christian ministry, which became widely imitated by other organizations., The Wandering Wheels trips, involving mainly Taylor students in the early years and later students from other colleges and high schools, included 100-mile trips and rugged, coast-to-coast, 3,000-mile treks, as well as bicycle trips overseas to Asia, Israel, and Europe and 10,000-12,000 mile work-study-cycle "Circle America" trips. Davenport rode many of these trips along with the students, completing three Circle America trips and 43 coast-to-coast trips over his lifetime. He would often ride with the slowest cyclists, encouraging them and arriving well into the night with them at their destinations. Wandering Wheels helped put Upland on the map and brought folks from all over the United States through our small town., Davenport started the Wandering Wheels kitchen in 1980 as a ministry to single parent families in Upland, where they could come and enjoy a meal with other families while their kids could play and be free to explore in a safe and fun environment., Bob Davenport's life mission is to see people's lives positively affected by Christ. One of his favorite words is serendipity, or when "God winks,” believing that when people step out in faith and put God in control, God does His best work and more than we can ask or imagine., Bob Davenport is a person willing to go the extra mile, a giver of second chances, willing to experiment with new ideas and change if it results in others finding spiritual insights and guidance, and open to God's directing him and then implementing those ideas. He still keeps in contact with many of his football players and cycling participants, whose lives were changed for the better by him. He resides in Upland and continues to be involved in the Wandering Wheels ministry.