Lehigh seniors to bike across the country for affordable housing

Two Lehigh seniors will hit the road this summer to bike across the country with the non-profit organization Bike & Build, which helps to educate Americans about affordable housing and build affordable homes for families in need. 

In an 11-week time span, Phoebe Wager and Amanda Ritter will bike from Richmond, Virginia, to Seaside, Oregon, to help about 12 different affordable housing beneficiaries build homes along the way.

According to the Bike & Build website, “A home is affordable if payments plus taxes and basic utilities does not exceed 30 percent of a household’s gross income and unfortunately, far too many people in the United States do not have the financial means to rent or own an affordable, durable home.”

Lily Goldberg, the director of outreach and alumni relations at Bike & Build, said the nonprofit was found in 2002 by Marc Bush. He was inspired by the Yale Habitat Challenge, which encouraged cross-country cycling trips for affordable housing.

Goldberg said Bike & Build has granted over $6.4 million to affordable housing organizations across the U.S. since 2003.

“Biking across the country is always something I dreamed of doing ever since I was 14 or 15,” Wager said. “…After a ton of searching for similar programs, I discovered that Bike & Build was a perfect fit for me and consisted of a group of young people who are passionate, driven and eager to make a change.”

Ritter has also been passionate about cycling from a young age and was involved in numerous forms of community service throughout her life. In high school, she volunteered in food banks and worked with Habitat for Humanity. She is currently a volunteer tutor and was the vice president of community service for her sorority, Kappa Delta.

“I knew that when I graduated college, I wanted to efficiently use that time to benefit others,” Ritter said.

Ritter first heard about Bike & Build from a close friend who completed the trip last summer. After hearing about her friend’s incredible experiences, Ritter decided it was something she really wanted to be a part of.

“Being able to combine cycling around the country with community service is this perfect mix and I couldn’t be more excited to be on the trip,” she said.

Wager and Ritter will take the Central United States Route for their trip, biking between 60 and 100 miles each day. There is a lot of training that they, as well as all of the other participants, must go through prior to the start of their trip.

Before the trip begins, each biker must complete 500 miles total, a 65-mile ride, a ride in the rain and a group ride. Each participant must also complete an affordable housing curriculum before the trip to make sure they are well educated on the issue they are trying to resolve across the nation.

Goldberg said Bike & Build also works to ensure the safety of their bikers as they complete their route.

“At our rider orientations, we have a safety training so out riders feel safe and comfortable on the road communicating with both drivers and fellow cyclists,” Goldberg said.

Each night during the trip, the riders will stay with various hosts that work in cooperation with Bike & Build, including churches, recreation centers and other local community groups. The riders will spend a lot of time camping as well.

At each of these stops in various states, the riders will give presentations on affordable housing and lead discussions with the people who live there about what problems exist and how they can help. As a result, they aim to empower the communities to make a change and improve affordable housing in their area.

“We hope to learn more about the communities that we stop in than we are teaching them,” Wager said. “We’re excited to learn about affordable housing from the local community members and how to best help them, as the needs across the country are going to be very different, depending on various factors.”

Ritter said she’s not sure what to expect but knows the trip will be a life-changing experience.

After they complete the trip this summer, Ritter will work in San Francisco as an environmental engineer for a buildings and infrastructure firm, and Wager will work in the global operations leadership development program at Catalent Pharma Solutions.