Hi everyone!
My name is Andy Reagan, I'm 20 years old, from Marcellus NY (near Syracuse), and am a sophomore at Virginia Tech! I'm currently pursuing degrees in Chemical Engineering, Mathematics, and Chemisty with a Green Engineering minor. I love it down at Tech, and am beyond excited to bike across the country this summer and help build affodable houses!!
Cycling: My interest in cycling began when a friend took me on a ride around Otisco Lake, one of the beautiful "Finger Lakes" in our area. That is still my favorite ride, and it inspired me enough to save my money working at the local grocery store (P&C) to buy my first bike, I think I was heading into my junior year of HS. I rode to school when the weather permitted, but didn't really get into cycling competitively until college. At VT, I happened to go on a SAYG (Slow As Your Grandmother) ride with some members of VT Cycling Team, they were cool and it was lot of fun, and they managed to talk me into racing in the Spring. I did just that, racing Collegiate Men's D all spring all across the ACCC and I really enjoyed it. It was somewhere in this time that I heard a teammate's story about his adventure across the country the previous summer, and I knew that I really wanted to do that. My parents were leery of me just setting out on my bike with no agenda and it didn't really seem like a possibility that I could pull it off. It wasn't until later that I heard about Bike and Build from a friend, and it was perfect!! I can fufill my dream to bike across, leave the time zone for the first time, and help others at the SAME TIME! It's definitely going to be challenge physically, although I do feel prepared from racing, and I'm definitely ready mentally. I'm most exticed to (first, leave the time zone on my bike) and see the whole country, climbing the Rockies will be epic and I'm super excited to be in Portland which is supposed to be really cool, very sustainable city!
Building: I always dreaded helping my dad with his "projects" around the house, and I'm just now realizing that I actually was learning some very useful skills. I've become pretty handy with most tools, and am known for using circular saw in the hallway to build things for my dorm room haha. This past fall semester, I spent a day in Roanoke working on a Habitat for Humanity house with the Newman Catholic Community from VT, with the future owners of the house, and it was very rewarding. In the past, I have volunteered at the Syracuse rescue mission frequently, spending a whole day helping them over the summer with O'Brien & Gere where I was interning, and raised money and rode my bike for them in the Ride for the Rescue. It was a metric century, so 100km = 62m = a very long ride, and still not as long as a day in Bike and Build, but I really enjoyed it riding with others helping the same cause. Having shelter is a necessity, and sadly for many it is too great a challenge financially, as it is nearly impossible to afford a 1BR apt at the FMR (Fair Market Rate) on the current minumun wage. Donating money to Bike and Build helps build affordable houses for families who really need them, and as we travel across the country we will continue to spread the message of a need for more affordable housing as we make presentations in all of the towns we stop in, and trade our bikes for hammers (and circular saws) to help build houses.
Thanks for taking the time to read about me, and I greatly appreciate your support :)
