It's not about the bike

This may seem like a trivial fact. However, it's the distance that American River College student Rebecca Cremer will travel this summer -- on her bike. Riding a bicycle across the country is a feat in itself, but for Cremer, it's her way of giving back.

 

Working with a non-profit organization called Bike and Build, Cremer will be one of a group of 35 participants biking across the country. They will be cycling to raise awareness about affordable housing in the United States. Cremer's group, referred to as P2C (Providence to California,) will leave on June 10 and will arrive in California on August 20.

Cremer, 25, is not just a full time student at ARC. She is also a trainer of service dogs and a substitute teacher for the severely handicapped. She has already graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor degree in journalism and now she is planning on transferring to Sacramento State University to get her master degree in speech therapy.

 

"It's about a lot more than me," Cremer says of her reasoning to do so much to give back.

Affordable housing is designed for a families to pay no more than 30 percent of their income for housing. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development an estimated 12 million renter and homeowners now pay more than 50 percent of their annual income. This causes dramatic difficulties for the families to afford the necessities like food, clothing, transportation and medical care.

 

Cremer says that for people like this it, "isn't their fault, there is something wrong with the system." And while Cremer can't change the system or pay their bills she can help in other ways.

 

Deciding to ride a bike across the country is a very big decision. But for Cremer, it was spur of the moment. She was on Twitter one night last September and an organization called Bike and Build had Tweeted about the event. She talked it over with her boyfriend and signed up.

 

Cremer says that she "didn't learn to ride a bike as a kid," and even throughout high school she avoided bikes. She dated a guy who was an avid cyclist and just so that she could avoid riding with him she says she pretty much lived in skirts. In college, Cremer eventually got a bike. During her junior year, she lived with a group of women whom she didn't like, so she says she rode her bike a lot to stay out of the house.

 

Bike and Build requires participants to be very active with fund raising and according to the website, bikeandbuild.org, the money raised goes to student-led affordable housing projects across the country and it covers all expenses along the way.

 

Riders are required to raise at least $4000. "Right now I have $2497," Cremer says. To help raise money Cremer has set up two web sites, beckabikes.com, where she blogs about her preparations and fundraising. Her second site is donatetobecka.com which is exactly as it's named a site for people to donate to Cremer.

 

Cremer is also responsible for putting in "sweat equality," or volunteer hours working on a construction site with a local affordable housing group. On her blog Cremer says: "I am also really excited for families to be living in houses I worked on."

 

According to Bike and Build, riders range from beginner to advance, but still need to train to prepare for the trip. Cremer trains by riding as much as possible on any days off she has. Bike and Build wants riders to start slow but build up to riding 75 miles a day and have ridden 500 miles before they leave.

 

While on their journey across the country, participants will be stopping to build affordable housing for families in need. They will also be speaking about their cause in towns and cities. Cremer's group for Bike and Build is one of eight; each group will have a different route across the country.

 

Along the way they will make frequent stops. They will have 11 "build days" in which they will stop and build houses for just a day or even up to a week. During the two months the cyclists will only have two days off.

 

"Every dollar is one mile closer," Cremer says of donations and finishing her cross-country adventure. If you would like to donate or want more information go to bikeandbuild.com, either of Cremer's websites; beckabikes.com or donatetobecka.com. 

 

skjerpt@imail.losrios.edu