Cross-country cyclists pedal into Decatur, assist at Habitat build
 Daily photo by Gary Cosby Jr. A group of volunteers from Bike & Build are working on a house on Hillside Road Southwest in Decatur. Zac Maas, Karen Gougreau and Brian Phillips prepare to hang a piece of vinyl siding. BUY THIS PHOTO |
The bad economy and a desire to volunteer drove 30 young cyclists to pedal across the country and lend a hand to affordable-housing projects.
University of Oklahoma graduate Brian Phillips is one of four route leaders with Bike & Build, a nonprofit organization that runs cross-country bike trips to educate others about affordable housing.
Phillips got involved with the group to help communities and use his time wisely in the shaky job market.
“There’s no better time to do something like this,” he said. “The combination of the physical challenge of biking across country and serving the community is a perfect fit for me.”
The cyclists put vinyl siding on and applied caulking to a house on 419 Hillside Road S.W., a Habitat for Humanity project that was funded largely by recycling efforts in Decatur.
The group of adults, between ages 18 and 25, will bike from South Carolina to California in 81 days, while stopping in different areas of the country to help with housing projects. Bike & Build has raised more than $2 million for affordable housing throughout the country.
The group has completed 661 of 4,109 miles of their bicycling trip, after taking part in a housing project in Athens, Ga., on June 4. The cyclists will leave Decatur on Thursday for a 137-mile bike trip to Tupelo, Miss., to assist with another project June 12.
“This group is a reflection of today’s youth, which are less selfish than my generation,” said Habitat volunteer coordinator Loretta Bonner.
“They are more open to the enormity of the world. They’re a very positive and appreciative group who are excited about where they’ve been and where they’re going.”
University of Oklahoma graduate Brian Phillips is one of four route leaders for the South Carolina to Santa Cruz trip. The economy and a desire to volunteer drove him to participate for the second time, he said.
Brian Nahas, an architectural engineering major from Penn State University, finds the Bike & Build group to be a unique and helpful experience for his future career.
“I’ve always been involved in community service and mission trips, but this let me focus on learning construction and the use of green products,” he said.
Bike & Build volunteers arrived in Decatur on Tuesday, and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church provided over night shelter.
The cyclists tasted the local cuisine at Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q on Tuesday night and the Brick Deli on Wednesday.
Family services coordinator Lydia Beck anticipates that the Hillside Road house will be finished by late summer. Decatur resident Re sheca Ashford will move in with her three boys after its completion.
Scattered thunderstorms Wednesday did not keep Habitat for Humanity or Bike & Build from arriving early to take part in the housing project.
Rain or shine
“We ride rain or shine,” said rider Jessica Crumpler, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate. “We make the best of the weather and take every opportunity for what it’s worth.”
Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County builds four houses a year and counts on volunteer efforts to continue its mission. The Ashford house sponsors are Tennessee Valley Recycling and Epic Church in Decatur.
On the Net
Follow the South Carolina to Santa Cruz route tracker at bikeandbuild.org.
University of Oklahoma graduate Brian Phillips is one of four route leaders with Bike & Build, a nonprofit organization that runs cross-country bike trips to educate others about affordable housing.
Phillips got involved with the group to help communities and use his time wisely in the shaky job market.
Perfect combination
“There’s no better time to do something like this,” he said. “The combination of the physical challenge of biking across country and serving the community is a perfect fit for me.”
The cyclists put vinyl siding on and applied caulking to a house on 419 Hillside Road S.W., a Habitat for Humanity project that was funded largely by recycling efforts in Decatur.
The group of adults, between ages 18 and 25, will bike from South Carolina to California in 81 days, while stopping in different areas of the country to help with housing projects. Bike & Build has raised more than $2 million for affordable housing throughout the country.
The group has completed 661 of 4,109 miles of their bicycling trip, after taking part in a housing project in Athens, Ga., on June 4. The cyclists will leave Decatur on Thursday for a 137-mile bike trip to Tupelo, Miss., to assist with another project June 12.
“This group is a reflection of today’s youth, which are less selfish than my generation,” said Habitat volunteer coordinator Loretta Bonner.
“They are more open to the enormity of the world. They’re a very positive and appreciative group who are excited about where they’ve been and where they’re going.”
University of Oklahoma graduate Brian Phillips is one of four route leaders for the South Carolina to Santa Cruz trip. The economy and a desire to volunteer drove him to participate for the second time, he said.
Brian Nahas, an architectural engineering major from Penn State University, finds the Bike & Build group to be a unique and helpful experience for his future career.
“I’ve always been involved in community service and mission trips, but this let me focus on learning construction and the use of green products,” he said.
Bike & Build volunteers arrived in Decatur on Tuesday, and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church provided over night shelter.
The cyclists tasted the local cuisine at Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q on Tuesday night and the Brick Deli on Wednesday.
Family services coordinator Lydia Beck anticipates that the Hillside Road house will be finished by late summer. Decatur resident Re sheca Ashford will move in with her three boys after its completion.
Scattered thunderstorms Wednesday did not keep Habitat for Humanity or Bike & Build from arriving early to take part in the housing project.
Rain or shine
“We ride rain or shine,” said rider Jessica Crumpler, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate. “We make the best of the weather and take every opportunity for what it’s worth.”
Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County builds four houses a year and counts on volunteer efforts to continue its mission. The Ashford house sponsors are Tennessee Valley Recycling and Epic Church in Decatur.
On the Net
Follow the South Carolina to Santa Cruz route tracker at bikeandbuild.org.
Bike and Build rolls into Rome
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Chris McCormick(from right), and Christ Carey, both from the Coosa Valley Cycling Association, escort Zac Crumpler(left) and Jess Maas, down Shorter Avenue to Westminister Presbyterian Church. Crumpler and Maas are riding for the Bike and Build. (Ken Caruthers/RN-T.com)
“Oh, there’s not that much drama,” said Ryan Miller, one of the bicyclists on the Bike & Build tour — an 82 day ride from Charleston, S.C. to Santa Cruz, Calif. “We feel like we’ve known each other a very, very long time.”
Miller and his fellow cyclists are part of Bike & Build, a group of cyclists who range in age from 20 to 26 who are pedaling across the U.S. to raise awareness about the need for affordable housing.
During the ride, they will participate in 16 home builds along the way, including a weeklong build in Colorado Springs, Colo.
A portion of the money raised will go toward Habitat for Humanity, said Bruce Day, director of the local office.
The cyclists met just two days before the tour began on May 24 for a short orientation and will be together until the ride ends on Aug. 12.
The group stopped in Rome on Sunday evening at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Shorter Avenue to refresh and spend the night. The cyclists learned about the ride from flyers and local cycling clubs. Some are still in college, while others have begun their careers.
Michael Carroll, 24, told his bosses at the Denver architectural firm where he worked as an intern architect that he wanted to take the summer off to participate.
“They were very supportive of me doing this,” Carroll said. “They said we’ll talk about the job when I get back.”
Eugene Korsunskiy, 24, of Brooklyn, was a swim coach at a North Carolina YMCA when he decided to join the tour before beginning graduate school at Stanford University in the fall.
“I’ll have just three weeks to pack my stuff and go back to California,” said Korsunskiy, who plans to major in design.
While the tour is fun, the cyclists said it’s also a chance to help others. Before they began, they were able to raise $4,000.
“It’s definitely a challenge and you get to test yourself mentally and physically,” said Jessica Crumpler, 23, of Winston-Salem, N.C. “But you get to see the U.S. in a different way.”
The work they do along the way is often just as challenging as the ride. Two days ago the group was in Athens where they were helping demolish a site to prepare for a build.
“The next day I woke up and it was like, ‘Oh, my body,’” Miller said.
The cyclists were treated to dinner Sunday evening and stayed at Westminster Presbyterian Church that night. Today they are expected to bike 88 miles to Scottsboro, Ala.
To track the group visit www.bikeandbuild.org and choose the South Carolina 2010 route.
Bike And Build Visits Hincapie Sportswear HQ
2. June 2010 20:06Every now and then you run into a unique group of people doing something really special for the good of mankind. Today, we were visited by 32 volunteers from a group called Bike and Build and they are definitely doing great things for the good of others.
We actually support the group by making their cycling uniforms and it was awesome to have them stop by the Hincapie Sportswear HQ. These are some of the most enthusiastic, big-hearted college cyclists you are ever going to meet. They ride their bicycles across the US, stopping along the way to build affordable housing for the needy. Over the past 7 seasons Bike and Build has donated over $2.3 million; built for more than 63,500 hours; pedaled over 4MM miles; and engages more than 1000 young adults in spreading the world about the affordable housing crisis in America.
There are 8 teams of riders making their way across the country from different points of origin. This allows the organization to cover more ground with their efforts. Each participant raises money for the program before setting off on their “summer to remember.” (Ok, that’s not what they called it, but it’s what I think they should call it. Think of all the stories you’d have after you “hammered” your way across the country with bikes and tools!)
We salute their efforts and we’re proud that all of these great people are wearing Hincapie Sportswear jerseys on their trip. I would like to point out that there is no truth to the rumor that we are now sewing hammer holders onto the sides of our jerseys.
Housing cycles
Group biking across country to push affordable homes
BY DEREK LEGETTE
The Post and Courier
Thursday, May 27, 2010
3 Comment(s)A group of young adults from Bike & Build started a mission of house-building this week in West Ashley as they begin a cross-country journey of service.
Bike & Build is a nonprofit that promotes affordable housing by traveling through numerous states on bicycles.
"Affordable housing is what everyone needs but not necessarily understands," said Megan O'Brien, one of the trip leaders. "You should only pay 30 percent on housing and utilities, but 95 million people pay more than that."
Jessica Crumpler of Winston-Salem, N.C., (left) and Karen Goudreau of Cleveland, Ohio, help put a new roof on a home Wednesday in the Ponderosa subdivision in West Ashley. They were working with the Bike&Build organization, which is a group of college-aged volunteers who bike across the country and stop at 16 sites along the way to repair and build homes.
The organization works on houses and gives presentations and talks to the public. "You definitely need a house, but you should be able to afford it at the same time because you have to worry about things, such as health and education for your kids," O'Brien said.
"Otherwise it would lead to the spiral of poverty."
On this trip, there are 31 adults between the ages of 18 and 25.
"Most of us here are college students or in graduate school, so we are all youth-oriented," said O'Brien, who is 22 and just graduated from college.
"Some of us here have done other bike trips because most of us love to travel," she said. "It's a beautiful way to see the country. Some people usually don't travel throughout America, but we are able to go through and see places like Alabama or Oklahoma City."
During the three-month trip, which travels from Charleston to Santa Cruz, Calif., the cyclists will work in Athens, Ga.; Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Decatur, Ala.; and other locations.
The volunteers are required to ride 500 miles and complete one ride that is at least 65 miles long in order to be prepared for the long distance. O'Brien said that hours are spent training and finding the safest routes.
"We will take more country and state roads while we are in the East, but when we are in the West we will ride on the interstate for places such as Colorado have lanes for bike-riders to travel on."
As they travel throughout the states building houses, the group will stay at churches, gyms and YMCAs in order to reduce costs. Each rider has raised $4,000, and by the end of the summer they plan to give $500,000 to different affordable housing causes, Habitat for Humanity organizations and other smaller avenues.
Even though the volunteers were only doing rehabilitation work Wednesday to a home's roof on Hitching Post Road, its current resident Joe Robinson, was satisfied.
"It's great. It's a good thing to have," he said. The volunteers worked at a steady pace throughout the day, and said they were inspired to be doing it.
"I'm really excited to meet new friends all in a good cause," said Angela Chen, a recent college graduate. "It's really great that we'll be making such a big impact."
The Bike & Build cyclists will dip their wheels in the Atlantic Ocean today on Sullivan's Island to officially begin their cycling trip across the country.
