Anthony Allen and Alex Soucy met at Quinnipiac University, where they became roommates and best friends.
The MBA students have traveled together to Switzerland, Poland and Nicaragua. On May 13, Allen and Soucy will join Bike & Build, a national nonprofit committed to raising money and awareness for affordable housing, to ride their bicycles from North Carolina to San Diego with a team of 31 others.
“I think this will be our biggest adventure yet, for sure,” said Soucy, who has been riding for about a year.
The 10-week journey will start in Nags Head, N.C. The team will ride an average of 69 miles per day en route to San Diego, arriving July 21. Along the way, the riders will participate in 14 volunteer build days with different affordable housing organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, and small local housing nonprofits to help build affordable homes for families in need.
“There is such a physical aspect to it,” said Allen, who competed in his first bicycle ride last fall. “You’ve got to put in a lot of work along the way. We’re constantly going to have affordable housing on our minds and be speaking about the cause. It’s really important.”
Allen and Soucy each raised $4,500 for the trip. Much of that money will be donated to affordable housing organizations.
“We are deeply proud of riders like Anthony and Alex who are so committed to the affordable housing cause that they are willing to raise much-needed funds and spend over two months biking across the country,” said Justin Villere, Bike & Build’s director of operations and outreach.
In addition to volunteering with construction efforts at affordable housing sites, riders also meet with local officials and community members to discuss affordable housing issues. Riders will sleep in local churches, community centers, and schools, and will rely on the generosity of hundreds of community members for food, showers and other necessities.