Bike and Build North visits Malta

Many Americans at one point or another have wanted to travel the country. Common thinking says that if you were to make the trip, an airplane, automobile or RV would be the best way to go.

That's not the case with the Bike and Build riders that came through Malta last Saturday.

The crew of 24 men and women took up shelter at St. Mary's after a 70 mile bike ride from Glasgow.

"We're biking across the country to raise money for affordable housing," Bike and Build crew leader Sam Bondurant, told the PCN. "It's a two and a half month long journey.

At the time they reached Malta, the crew was on day 56 of their 76 day journey across the North Route, which started in Portsmouth, NH and will end in Vancouver, BC. The journey is a total of 4,012 miles.

"Malta is perfectly on our route," Bondurant said. "We're on route 2 for miles and miles and we have been stopping and doing builds along the way."

Their most recent build was in Fargo, ND.

The build days include working construction, helping out at food banks and giving other non for profit groups a hand.

"The daily routine is biking," Bondurant said. "We occasionally mix it up with those build days but today we just woke up early, biked here from Glasgow and arrived around 4:00 p.m. About 70 miles, so it's been an average day."

Out of the 56 days, 11 were build days and two days were rest days.

Before they hit the road, the bikers put in work before the trip began.

"One of the cool things about it, is we have to do 'sweat equity' before we even start the trip," Bondurant said. "We raised $4,500 dollars each and in addition to that we put in ten hours of equity on a worksite. People come in here already knowing the importance of being out on the worksite and putting in work."

Bike and Build's mission statement is: 'Through service-oriented cycling trips, Bike & Build benefits affordable housing and empowers young adults for a lifetime of service and civic engagement.'

Bike and Build has a grant program that allows applicants to write the riders reasons that they need help.

"A lot of the affordable housing affiliates we've built with submit grants to us and the riders who have raised money get to decide who gets funds," Bondurant said. "Right now they are going through applicants and figuring out.. Who we're going to give money to."

Many of the Bike and Build North crew just graduated from college and are on their first trip, including Bondurant who graduated from The University of North Carolina in May with a degree in English and Economics.

"I'm looking to go to law school in the next couple of years, but this was a perfect transition out of college," Bondurant said. "I get to see a lot of the U.S. that I've never seen."

He joined Bike and Build after knowing a few friends that have done the journey before him. He was selected as a leader.

Matt, along with the other three leaders that were selected, went to training earlier than the other crew members.

"Most of us have no experience with this and a lot of us are just picking up biking very recently," Bondurant said.

Before the crew rolls out, Bike and Build does a tune up run to make sure the participants can indeed ride a bike. That test ride is approximately 17 miles.

"The first day was about 60 miles on the road," Bondurant said. "It's a big day and people are sore afterwards but you get used to it after a while."

The crew's longest riding day on the journey so far has been a 110 mile trek from Dagmar, MT to Wolf Point.

Though the ride generally ends with many of the riders feeling accomplished, tragedy can also strike, as it did only a few days ago with another Bike and Build route.

The rider, Patrick Wanninknof a 25 year old teacher was tragically struck by a car in which the driver was texting.

"That's been really tough, but it's been really amazing to see the entire alumni network come together and support him and the route that he was on," Bondurant said.

To donate to Bike and Build in Patrick Wanninknof's name visit: bikeandbuild.org