Collegiate Times

Andy Reagan and Catherine Atwood will be participating in the Bike & Build service project this summer.

“It’s stuff like taking out insulation in the attic and putting new insulation in and putting a tin roof over a trailer,” she said.

Reagan said he hopes to assist Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley before the semester ends.

The 10 projects they’ll ultimately assist throughout the country vary.

Sharif Morad, a senior electrical engineering major at the University of Virginia, is one of four “route leaders” for Atwood and Reagan’s trip. He said it’s too early to know the tasks they’ll encounter after departing on May 19.

However, Morad completed Bike & Build last summer, during which his team completed jobs such as shaping a wheelchair ramp in Asheville, N.C., and pouring a concrete foundation in Colorado Springs, Colo.

After Morad’s team left Colorado, another Bike & Build team visited the same site.

“They stayed there for a week,” Morad said. “And for that whole week they did a ‘blitz build.’ Every day they built, and they completed that house.”

The eventual occupants of the homes are part of the efforts, Morad said. They, too, put forth sweat equity.

“You would meet the people that were going to own these homes and they were so appreciative,” he said.

Route leaders organize details including lodging, food stops and laundry locations. Hosts are often the local YMCA, churches, dorm rooms and campgrounds. Community members sometimes provide meals.

“There are times that we don’t have everything we need,” Morad said, “but that’s just part of the adventure. That makes it better.”

According to Reagan, a garden hose — or possibly a lake — could quench the riders need for a shower. He said Bike & Build isn’t an entirely grueling endeavor. If roadside water beckons for you, then hit the brakes and dive in.

Teams have a loose 4 p.m. deadline to reach daily checkpoints, so leisure has its place throughout the more than two-month tour.

“There’s some people on our trip that have expressed interest in finding the best cup of coffee along the route,” Atwood said.

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A version of this article appeared in the Mar 16 issue of the Collegiate Times.