Columbus Dispatch Article

CROSS-COUNTRY CONSTRUCTION

Cyclists' goal: pedal, hammer

Bike & Build riders aid Habitat for Humanity

Thursday, June 28, 2007 3:43 AM
By Brittany Kress



Logan Rhyne's green shirt was spotted with sweat from working in the heat, but he was smiling -- especially because he got to sleep in his own bed the night before.

The 20-year-old New Albany native has spent the past three weeks bicycling from Providence, R.I. He's riding across the country this summer, stopping along the way to help build affordable housing.

Yesterday, his group of 30 cyclists with Bike & Build put together trusses and interior walls for two Habitat for Humanity houses on Guilford Avenue in Franklinton.

The 18- to 24-year-olds usually sleep on church basement floors or YMCA basketball courts, but Rhyne crawled into his own bed Tuesday night after his group attended a Columbus Clippers game.

Building or bicycling upward of 50 miles every day makes for the ideal summer, Bike & Build participants said.

All stressed their love of travel, learning and helping.

Resume-building is "something I don't seem as concerned about as some of my peers," said Rhyne, an incoming junior studying science, technology and international affairs at Georgetown University in Washington.

He thought about working in Washington or maintaining trails in the Allegheny Mountains, but the concept behind Bike & Build appealed to him the most, he said.

This summer is an escape from the monotony of work for Caroline Schepker, 19, of Hartford, Conn., an incoming junior at Brown University studying neuroscience.

"For me, this is sort of a vacation," said Schepker, who has held a job since she was allowed to work.

"The only hard part was knowing I would have to be tight with my budget at school this year," she said.

The hardest part has been cycling in silence, without another's voice or music to listen to, Schepker said. As a safety precaution, cyclists are not allowed to listen to music while riding.

"It's not lonely, but for all those hours, sometimes you're like, 'Whoa, I'm really getting to know myself.' "

Candace Blas, 18, has been taking everything in with the hope that she'll narrow her focus on a career path.

"All I know is, America is big; that's such an abstract thing," said Blas, an incoming sophomore at the University of Alaska whose hometown is Chugiak, Alaska. "I want to be exposed to everything our country has … so I can apply myself."

Groups of 30 Bike & Build riders are following six cross-country routes. The cyclists in Columbus yesterday left Providence on June 7. They will spend six days during the course of the ride stopping to build homes and will arrive in Seattle on Aug.13 for a final day of construction.

Each was required to raise $4,000 to participate in Bike & Build. The 4-year-old program has so far distributed $752,804 to affordable-housing groups.

Roger Powell, site supervisor for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Columbus, said he was pleased with the group's work on the two-story, three-bedroom houses in Franklinton.

Volunteers have been working on them since early this month and expect to finish by October, said Deb Light, Habitat volunteer director.

bkress@dispatch.com
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