Bike and Build sends students riding and working on affordable housing across America

• Tweet
• 

Three Central Michigan University students will cycle more than 4,000 miles to promote affordable housing across the country this summer.

Bike and Build, a non-profit organization, hosts cross-country cycling trips where volunteers ride and build affordable houses,  Alyssa Chrisman, a Sterling Heights junior, said.

Chrisman, junior Lauren Johnson of Chelsea and senior Jesse Padilla-Goryl of Grand Rapids, are each planning to take part in Bike and Build trips from the Atlantic to Pacific coasts.

Chrisman, an English major, said as a future teacher, affordable housing plays a major role in supporting children’s education.

“There are students who could be homeless or not have a safe place to go home to at night, and I think that’s really sad if students are preoccupied because they don’t have a home,” she said. “It’s not an issue that people their age should worry about.”

Chrisman said her route, set to start May 24 in Charleston, S.C. and end Aug. 12 in Santa Cruz, Calif., may help understand her future students and make more of a difference in people’s lives.

Thirty-two people, including four leaders, will be on her trip, stopping in a different city each day to build and then sleeping in locations coordinated by the city.

Johnson said she has received mixed reactions to her decision to ride.

“A lot of people go, ‘Why would you want to do that?’” she said. “But I think it’s my personal trip that will give me that answer.”

To get into shape for the average of 64 miles a day she will ride, Johnson is cycling for one to two hours a day and added strength training to her regimen.

Chrisman said once participants receive their bikes, they must bike 500 miles outdoors before beginning the actual trip.

“It can be done in increments, but we have to do at least one 60-mile (ride) before we go,” she said.

Fundraising is also playing a big role in preparing for the trip, Chrisman said.

To provide gear and donations to affordable housing groups, $4,500 must be raised by each member.

“I’m starting to send out letters to family and friends, and I’m creating a Facebook page for donations,” she said.

Johnson said it will take $1.25 to support her for every mile she rides and $64 will support her for one of the 70 days she is riding.

Supporting the construction of affordable housing is a cause that hits close to home for Padilla-Goryl.

“My girlfriend’s dad’s home is foreclosed, and my dad’s home got foreclosed,” he said. “It’s such an important cause right now, especially with the economy being bad.”

In addition to stopping and contributing to building sites for one day, Padilla-Goryl’s route will also provide his group with a full week to work on finishing one house in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Bike and Build participant and CMU alumnus James Slider said the program was easily one of the best summers of his life.

“Climbing mountain ranges and hot days in the desert and out west can be very trying for cyclists, but it’s all worth it in the end,” he said.

After riding from Maine to Santa Barbara in the summer of 2010, Slider’s advice for the future CMU riders is to relax and enjoy the ride.

“Be prepared for everything, even things you don’t think will happen,” he said. “Also, take the time to meet and get to know people along the trip, there are so many kind and wonderful people to meet in America.”