Armed with hammers, screwdrivers and road bicycles, 10 UF students will depart from various cities this summer with the mission of spreading the word on affordable housing.
The group is part of a larger pool of college-aged students participating in the cycling trips run by Bike & Build, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for affordable housing projects by having participants pedal across the country.
"Driving from coast to coast is pretty crazy, doing so by bicycle is even crazier," said Sara Tolliver, a UF zoology junior who will be riding on the Southern U.S. route that leaves from Jacksonville.
Bike & Build was founded in 2002, said Program Director Brendan Newman.
"The program is really about raising awareness for affordable housing as well as getting the participants interested in the cause and community service," Newman said in a phone interview.
About 215 participants will choose from seven different routes to ride across the country. Riders bike for nine weeks and by the end will have pedaled between 3,428 miles and 4,234 miles, according to the Web site. Riders will average 60 miles a day, Newman said.
Many might wonder why the organization chose bicycles, but for Newman, they seemed to be the simplest choice.
"Biking is awesome," he said. "Bicycles are the perfect vehicle for this kind of trip in this magnitude."
Cyclists will ride from community to community, sleeping along the way in churches, community centers and schools.
Bike & Build works with a variety of housing organizations. In addition to building, the participants raise money to disburse to the organizations.
In order to participate, riders have to raise a minimum of $4,000 in donations. Once the money is raised, Bike & Build will provide riders with their own bicycle.
The organization allocates the majority of donations from its events through either pre-arranged contributions or a competitive grant application process. So far, the organization has raised about $1.1 million.
"This year we are hoping to donate close to $450,000, and that will put us at about $1.6 million donated so far," Newman said.
No previous cycling experience is required and for most of the participants, the idea of riding across the nation adds to the excitement.
"It's a matter of the sheer insanity that it is," Tolliver said. "To bike from coast to coast is sort of this crazy, romantic idea."
