Bradley Guest
Pottstown, PA
The Pennsylvania State Univers

Last 5 blog entries: Why I Ride Untitled Post Untitled Post

Show latest update from from Bradley's blog Why I Ride If you had asked me in the beginning of this trip why I was riding my bike across the country this summer, I probably would have given you a generic answer; probably something about affordable housing, trying to stay in shape for rowing, adventure, etc... I would have told you that every day I couldn't wait to get back on the road, and ride with my new best friends and discover new places with no fear at all of what the day had in store for me. If you asked me now, since the recent death of Paige Hicks, my answer would be a little different. I am no longer fearless on the road, but I'm not afraid to ride. I'm uncomfortable sometimes, but I try to keep myself safe, and hope for the best. I still look forward to riding with the people who I consider to be more like family than friends at this point, but I worry about their safety. When we roll out in the morning, I never quite get comfortable again until I see the last people coast into our new host location. I have faith that we will all be fine, but I'm still anxious until I know everyone is ok. I still ride for affordable housing, and I'm still riding to stay in shape for crew, and I still crave the adventure every day. But if you asked me what I'm riding for now, I'd tell you that I'm riding for my friends and for my family. I'm riding for those who have supported me both monetarily and with their thoughts and prayers. I'm riding for fellow SC2SC riders and the other 223 B&Bers I haven't even met. I'm riding for P2S because I can't even imagine what you guys are going through right now, and this is the only way I know how to support all of you. I'm riding for you, Paige, because it's what you would have wanted. I pray for the safety for all of the B&Bers past, present and future. We will never forget Paige, even those of us who never had the privilege of knowing her personally. We ride in her honor. In the words of the great Billy Joel, "Only the good die young."

Bradley's bio: Hey, I’m Brad Guest and I am a 21 year old junior currently attending Penn State University.  I am originally from Pottstown, PA where I grew up on a small family dairy farm.  At Penn State, I am in the College of Health and Human Development studying Kinesiology, in the Athletic Training option.  I am obsessed with sports, especially Phillies baseball, and I love learning about how the human body works, which is why my major is perfect for me.  I am a member of the Penn State Club Crew Team, where I serve as the team’s treasurer, and varsity men’s co-captain. I heard about Bike and Build through one of my team’s new coaches, Travis Hall.  He participated in one of these trips two years ago, and after he convinced two of my teammates to go on the trip this year, it didn’t take long for me to follow them. I think Affordable Housing is a great cause to support, which is why I have chosen to help raise money for it.  It is important to be able to provide affordable housing for less fortunate families who have lost their homes for various reasons.  Sometimes all it takes is a new house to get a family back on their feet and moving in the right direction, so I would love to have a part in making that happen.  I do not have a strong background in volunteering, which is why I am looking forward to going on this trip.  I hope it inspires me to continue to volunteer for the rest of my life.  Growing up on a farm, I did not always have extra time to spare for things like this, so now that I do finally have an opportunity help a lot of people, I am really looking forward to taking advantage of it. I am very excited to bike across the country this summer.  For years I have wanted to either bike or run across the country, so it is awesome that I am finally getting a chance to live out my dream.  The experience is even more meaningful to me, because I will be helping a lot of people along the way, and that part will stick with me for the rest of my life.  I’m a little nervous about biking so much every day, because I have never biked that much in my life, but I’m sure after the first couple of weeks, I will be used to it, and it will feel like I have been doing it forever.  I’m also really excited to be taking this trip with a few of my close friends who helped talk me into doing it with them because I think we will have a lot of fun together.  I have never been further west than Oklahoma, so I am also really looking forward to seeing many new sights on the western half of the country, and when it’s all over, and we reach our final destination, I can’t wait to walk across the  beautiful California beaches and dive into the Pacific Ocean.

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