Biking and Building a Better Community

Twenty-one bicyclists rode through Raytown Wednesday, tired, weary and bruised, but unbeaten.

It was the first day since they left Virginia Beach, Va., two weeks ago that they had tackled 100 miles in a day—Sadalia to Raytown.

The 21 college students from Harvard to Clemson, from Vermont to Arizona, are aboard a journey of a lifetime that will take them from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean over a trek of 3,700 miles, mountains and deserts, cities and open land, along back roads and dusty trails.

Though most of them had never met before, they are bound by a common thread that pulls them all together for a cause they desperately believe in: Affordable housing.

“Affordable housing in America is such an important issue that 21 college students are willing to give up their summer to impact the way people view it,” said Joseph Godsey, one of three leaders of this journey.

Bike and Build, as they’re called, has 81 members on three separate journeys to support Habitat for Humanity and other non-profit affordable housing builders such as Rebuilding Together and Hearts for Hammers.

[A]nother slightly different roadside obstacle would be rumble strips. Why on God’s green earth would someone from a department of transportation put rumble strips clear across a 7 foot shoulder . . .