3,856 Miles
2017 was the most fulfilling, challenging, grueling, and profoundly moving year of my life. It was the year that I chased after some big dreams. I discovered a passion for human rights. I found a family within a group of strangers. I learned how powerful kindness can be. I rediscovered how integral the outdoors is to my personal happiness, and accomplished more than I ever believed I could. This year, I biked across the United States as a volunteer with a non-profit organization called Bike & Build, which is dedicated to helping provide affordable housing by way of cross-country cycling trips. Along with 35 other individuals from all over the country I biked from Virginia to Oregon, stopping along the way to help build houses while raising money and awareness for the affordable housing cause. The experience was inspired by my sister, Molly, who completed a trip with Bike & Build in 2013.
It all began for me on Christmas eve of 2016 with an email from Bike & Build saying I had been accepted into their Central U.S. route. With that, 2017 began in a whirlwind of preparations. This included fundraising a minimum of $4,800, logging over 500 training miles, and educating myself about the affordable housing issue. In the midst of all those things, I was also preparing to put my job and apartment on pause for three months. Above all, I spent my time mentally preparing for a trip that quite honestly terrified me. (Looking back now, this was the most important thing, personally. This trip was the epitome of abandoning my comfort zone, and I'm so damn thankful for that.)
The trip began in May, when our group of 36 riders met for the first time in Yorktown, Virginia. We spent a few days becoming oriented with each other, volunteering, and learning about the affordable housing cause and intensive safety rules we would come to live by. Collectively, our group of riders fundraised over $200,000 for the cause. Over the course of the summer we would ultimately complete over 3,856 miles, crossing 13 state lines, and spending over 104 hours volunteering on build sites along the way.
We biked an average of 70 miles each day, and when we weren't biking, we were helping to build houses with various affordable housing affiliates. Build days provided an opportunity to talk with people from the community, and often even the future homeowners. I loved hearing their stories and seeing the world and their communities through their points of view. Over the course of the summer we also had three rest days, which we used to explore and have off-the-bike adventures like white water rafting, hiking, tubing down rivers, cliff jumping, finding hot springs, delicious cafés, and more.
An average ride day began around 5 a.m. with the loud thumping bass of "I am the hunter" over the speaker and the hissing of everyone deflating their Thermarests. We would quickly pack our bags, slip into our spandex, pack the trailer, prep the coolers, and stuff as much breakfast down our gullets as possible. Bike maintenance and route meeting were the final steps to our morning routines before we hit the road each day. We saw nearly every sunrise and sunset of the summer. Every day had highs and lows, and it was in the combination of those constant extremes that I discovered I had never felt more alive.
On August 6th, 2017 my team and I reached the Pacific Ocean at Cannon Beach, Oregon after 3,856 miles on our bikes. I can truly say that the moment we saw the water is one that I will never forget. Sprinting toward Haystack Rock and into the ocean with 35 other people who had become family to me, all that I could hear was my own breath, the sound of my feet hitting the sand, and bits of passing conversation exchanged by beachgoers saying things like "They just biked here from Virginia....every single one of them."
The summer of 2017 was a life changer. While grueling, it gave me rest. While trying, gave me energy. While demanding, gave me joy and purpose like I had never experienced before. Every single person I encountered taught me something about life and myself. My days were filled with joy, laughter, learning and growth. There was a quote I had once seen shared among the Bike & Build alumni community by an author named James Frey. I often found myself repeating it in my head during the highs and lows this summer. "Be strong, live honorably and with dignity. When you don't think you can, hold on."
James Frey, A Million Little Pieces
