3,600 Miles on a Mission

Last May, Darryl Ricard began his summer by placing the back wheel of his bicycle in the Atlantic Ocean. Nine weeks later, he rode the bike into the warm surf of the Pacific.

Traveling more than 3,600 miles, the College of Arts and Science senior bicycled from Virginia to Cannon Beach, Ore. through Habitat for Humanity's summer program Bike & Build. This intense cross-country cycling trip gathers college students and recent graduates and leads them to Habitat construction sites across the United States.

"Bike & Build is a nonprofit organization that raises money and awareness for the affordable housing issue in America," Ricard said. "A lot of people tried it to expand their athletic ability, while others did it for the cause, but both groups ended up loving it for both."

Ricard joined Bike & Build after hearing about the program from his friend, CAS senior Shay DiCocco, who went the previous summer. Once DiCocco told him about, Ricard said he had to go.

"I told my friend Darryl about it," DiCocco said. "Well, I basically told everyone I knew about it. A lot of people showed interest in it."

To make the 13-state trek, DiCocco said he and the group of 21 cyclists were on the road by 6 or 7 a.m. Powered by a 7000-calorie diet, he averaged 64 miles a day.

"We basically slept, biked and ate," he said. "I was a vegetarian going in, but I had to give it up. It was just too hard to eat right without meat."

The bikers ended their day around 2 p.m., DiCocco said, meeting at a campsite or church where they would spend the night. While the afternoon was set aside to rest and recover, he said the group often kept moving. They would compete to climb the highest haystack in Kansas, cliff jump in Indiana, soak up the hot spring water in Colorado and talk with friends before passing out in Utah.

Tearing Down Obstacles

To prepare for the trip, the BU bicyclists subjected themselves to harsh training.

"I ran, and biked as much as I could around Boston," Ricard said. "I found that riding in the traffic was a lot of fun, and so I did that a bunch. I got up to doing 20 miles without feeling tired after. I felt like I was one of the more prepared bikers and didn't hurt as much as most people - it only hurt in the beginning, or until you got in shape."

Of course, the distance was only one obstacle. Ricard and DiCocco not only transnavigated the continent, but needed to pedal over the Rocky Mountains. While challenging, Ricard said the steep scramble up Colorado was the highlight of his trip.

"It was a long climb in very thin air," he said. "But it was extremely rewarding. When I got to 12,180 feet it was absolutely amazing."

DiCocco argued climbing from sea level to the Continental Divide was nothing compared to crossing the Great Plains.

"I would take any mountain over biking through the plains," he said. "You would be biking through Kansas and the jet stream is pushing you backward as hard as it could. The wind is roaring in your face at 20 miles an hour and there is nothing you can do but try to fight it. It was just demoralizing."

Besides combating the head wind, DiCocco said Mother Nature did not throw much at him.

"We were pretty lucky," he said. "There were maybe two days of real rain. As we were riding back down the Rockies, the temperature dropped to about 30 and we hit some hail. Oh, and there was one day, going through St. Louis, where it was 100 degrees. I was just sweating all over."

DiCocco, who had never seen most of middle America before Bike & Build, said this exposure to nature gave him a new appreciation for America.

"The change of scenery from one part of the country to another is amazing," DiCocco said. "On this trip, you learn what this country is like, because you are so in touch with it. Biking is nothing like driving. You're not looking at everything through a window. You're just there, surrounded by it."

While Ricard has been biking since he was 5, he said road cycling, especially long distance cycling, was new to him.

"I was not a hard core biker before I went," Ricard said. "But I feel like I am a bit of a biking nut now. If I see a bike store, I must go in, and typically I drool over everything in the store."

Building Up Hope

As they rode across the states, the bikers stopped at several affordable housing work sites.

Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has worked with communities around the world to build homes for more than 900,000 people, according to the organization's website. Bike & Build hopes to further spur that success, DiCocco said, by attracting students with the cycling challenge and raising money for Habitat.

To join Bike & Build, each rider must raise $4,000 to help build support and the houses.

"Raising $4,000 isn't that hard," DiCocco said. "I asked my family for help and wrote letters to a lot of businesses. Companies were really good about helping out and sponsoring your trip. BU's Habitat helped me out a little too."

Once on the road, the cross-country adventure brought the group together, Ricard said, and the building project utilized that teamwork.

"One of the other riders had been told about the program by me, so I did know him, but you do not need to know anyone," he said. "Within a week you will be comfortable with everyone, or at least feel like you have known them for a very long time."

Ricard said he remembers that during one building project the group needed to erect a wall underneath a tall staircase. To properly fix the wall in place, someone needed to hammer in a series of nails that were unfortunately well above everyone's reach.

"We got the tallest guy on our trip, and with three people holding him at the belt we leaned him over the staircase," Ricard said. "So, we were holding him over the staircase to hammer in the last few nails. The whole time the rest of us were standing around and mocking him. He started laughing so hard that he could not even swing the hammer."

Affordable housing has been an important issue for both DiCocco and Ricard.

DiCocco took a year off before attending BU to volunteer with AmeriCorps' National Civilian Community Corps for 10 months. He traveled across the country - "on four wheels" - fighting fires, delivering disaster relief and fighting for affordable housing.

As he finishes his final year at BU, DiCocco has directed his study toward finding affordable, responsible and global housing solutions. DiCocco said he wants to turn his future degree in international relations, with a focus on development and the environment, toward creating sustainable, eco-friendly homes.

"My current tilt is green buildings - green design," he said. "Habitat is a great organization. They don't just hand out free housing. They are about affordable housing. I would love to work with them to and maybe turn their efforts toward more green design. I've already talked with some Habitat leaders about this."

Ricard said he has worked extensively with Habitat and plans to enroll in many future projects - including possibly leading a Bike & Build trip as a peer coordinator.

Now gearing up for its fourth year, Bike & Build has spread from one trail winding across America to four, each accepting around 20 students, according to its website.

"Anyone can do it," DiCocco said. "It's just a matter of drive. If you have the will you can certainly do Bike & Build."

Perhaps Ricard's online Bike & Build profile captures the sentiment best: "Four thousand miles, crossing a continent, 20 great people and building all the way. Bring it on."