Bike and Build's Journey Through Dayton

A group of 35 college students and new grads left Providence, Rhode Island, on their bicycles early in June. Nearly a month later, they peddled into Dayton, tossed their sleeping bags on the floor of a Sinclair Community College gymnasium and got some sleep.

The next day they hung drywall and performed other building tasks for eight hours as they helped build a house at 4737 Stratsburg Drive in Dayton. It’s all in the name of raising money and awareness for affordable housing efforts.

The students are all members of Bike & Build – a group founded by Marc Bush in 2002 to expand the Habitat Bicycle Challenge and act as a catalyst to build homes. For the second year in a row, Dayton Habitat for Humanity played host to Bike & Build students who are committed to “end poverty housing.”

Sinclair Community College donated space and security to the bikers who arrived on July 1. That night, the Bike & Build students offered a public presentation explaining the group’s mission and purpose, as well as sharing exploits about on the road. The next morning, they traded their bikes for hammers and pitched in on the building effort at the home on Stratsburg Drive.

Afterward working on the house, the group traveled on an RTA trolley to Carillon Historical Park where they ate a much-needed protein-laden meal at Culp’s Café. They then received a docent-led tour of the grounds, and had a lot of time to ask questions about the Wright Brothers’ bicycles and airplanes as well as some of Dayton’s historic buildings.

The next morning, July 3, the students set off on their bicycles for Hartford City, Ind., where they would repeat the building process. On their way out of town, the students were given a farewell by volunteers and members of the Dayton Habitat for Humanity board. They also got an 8.5-mile police escort from Sinclair to a nearby bike path from the Dayton Police Department: “We greatly enjoyed our newfound power on the road,” two students wrote on their blog at BikeandBuild.org. “[We had] the ability to run red lights at will and to take over an entire car lane. It was also enjoyable to watch the cars pull over in disbelief as 32 cyclists stormed out of Dayton.

“We also particularly enjoyed watching the well-rehearsed, precisely-timed squad car hand off at every intersection. (The primary car would block the intersection for the majority of the group then the back car would accelerate and take the intersection duties as the primary car accelerated away. Quite dramatic.)”

The students will end their journey 3,874 miles from Providence in Seattle at the end of August. “Knowing that each pass you climb and each mile that you ride contributes in a meaningful way to a greater cause will add a dimension to your trip and meaning to your summer,” Bike & Build tells students on their Web site. Indeed, the house on Stratsburg Drive will be completed much sooner thanks to their help.  

To learn more about the riders and their journey, visit www.bikeandbuild.org.

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