Bob Kerr: They'll ride, then come home and build

Friday, June 3, 2005

They will pass up Powder River, Wyo. It's too small. There's no one to talk to. They'll pedal on through.

They learn things like that from those who have gone before them on this hard, good ride to Seattle.

They learn, too, that while the country can open up to a person in a beautiful, often breathtaking way, it is best to remember that they're on bicycles, and getting too distracted by the natural beauty can cause a person to ride into a guardrail, as someone did last year.

And then, perhaps, there's the most valuable lesson of all: buy good Spandex.

They will take the lessons with them, along with three liters of water, a first-aid kit, a bike tool, rain gear, a spare tire tube and a patching kit.

They will have a different kind of summer vacation -- seeing the country and building a dream.

And next year they will pass along their own stories to others who might find a certain appeal in taking the slow, thoughtful route across America.

"Knowing we'll put a family in a home -- that's awesome," says Hunter Bergschneider, who just graduated from Brown.

He is one of 29 riders who will dip the rear wheels of their bicycles into the water at India Point Park tomorrow morning, then head west. They'll ride past the Habitat for Humanity house on Steere Avenue in Olneyville and then head out on Route 44 to Pomfret, Conn.

Then, they'll just keep going. They'll ride for nine weeks, stopping along the way in places where they'll often sleep on floors and share meals with new friends.

They'll ride about 70 miles a day, and when they're done they'll dip their front tires into West Coast water.

It's called Bike & Build, the idea of a student at Yale who wanted to combine youthful energy with the need for affordable housing. To take part in the ride from Providence to Seattle, students had to raise at least $4,000. Some of that money will be used for trip expenses and some will be used to help housing programs along the way.

But most of the money -- probably between $50,000 and $100,000 -- will come back to Rhode Island to pay for another Habitat for Humanity house for another low-income family. The one on Steere Avenue is the project of those who made the ride last year, although some of this year's riders also volunteered their labor.

Habitat for Humanity is a great and simple way to cut straight to the hammers and nails, lumber and cement. It is an idea as old as one neighbor helping another put up a house or a barn. The people who will live in the houses help to build them. And those who volunteer, like the students who head out tomorrow, claim a priceless sense of community.

"We'll stop along the way and work with Habitat groups" says Austin Vandergon, another Brown student. "We'll have what we call 'build days.' "

And they'll see the country in maybe the best way possible. They'll be able to slow down when something they've never seen before demands their attention. They'll meet people who they'd never meet if they were taking the United States at 80 mph on the interstate and $100 a night at the Holiday Inn.

When they get back, they'll build. They'll help put up another house, probably in the neighborhood of the Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School in Providence where Habitat-Providence owns two lots.

And if this young tradition continues to grow, they will pass along their own tales of the road to other students. And two very different parts of Rhode Island will continue to be brought closer together.

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