The Triangle

Issue date: 6/2/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Carl Yungmann

Members of the student organization Texans Cycling America for Rebuilding Efforts will be cycling 4,500 miles this summer, stopping at various points along the way to volunteer in rebuilding efforts in areas affected by last year's hurricane season.

The organization is based at the University of Texas at Austin and consists of five students: Pegah Javidpour from UT Austin, Patrick Storer from Rice University and Regina Cagle, Myles Goodman and Russell Goodman from Drexel. All the members are native residents of Houston and went to high school together. The initial idea for the group was formed a year ago; the students wanted to explore the nation through a bike ride. After last year's multiple hurricanes, their adventure trip transformed into a fundraising effort for charity, and they have received sponsorship from the UT Senate of Colleges Council.

The three Drexel students were able to have this unpaid experience count toward their co-op experiences. They hope to inspire other students to pursue creative co-op experiences.

"The idea of the cycling portion of Texans C.A.R.E. was started by our two members Patrick Storer and Russell Goodman," Javidpour said. "They originally had been talking about putting together a cross-country ride by bicycle. Then, after the hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast in September and October 2005, I decided I wanted to complete the project as well, but form an organization that will also help the hurricane victims as we cycle across the nation."

"My own personal ambitions started with bicycling," Storer said. "I have wanted to cycle across the country for a couple years now and things finally fell together for this summer."

The cross-country tour will begin in Daytona Beach, Fla., and end in San Francisco, Calif. Their trip will take them through a total of 13 states and 120 cities. The group will cycle an average of 70 miles a day for 80 days.

"We actually just spent the past six days doing a practice ride between Houston and Austin… a little over 320 miles," Cagle said.

In preparation for the physical and mental challenge that this task entails, the members began training in January and undertook practice rides in April. The group will be riding without a support vehicle. They have participated in safety seminars in order to be prepared in case of any emergencies.

The portion of the trip around the Gulf Coast will give the group an opportunity to help rebuild areas severely damaged during last year's hurricane season. They will be working with groups such as Rebuild Northwest Florida, Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps, Operation Helping Hands and the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

The group's volunteer work does not stop at the Gulf Coast. Throughout the rest of their tour, they will help out other non-profit organizations at domestic violence shelters, national state parks and youth development groups.

Aside from their cycling and volunteer goals, the group has set a $15,000 fundraising goal, which will be donated to the organizations they will be working with. In addition, they are seeking sponsors to help them bear the substantial costs involved in this cross-country trip.

"I think an important part of this adventure is that we are self-contained, meaning no support vehicle, motels or hotels," Storer said. "We are totally on our own. Four of our members are new to camping and three are new to bicycling, which I think takes much more courage and dedication than the commitment I put forth."

Texans C.A.R.E. is planned to continue on past this year, giving more students the opportunity to engage in this unique philanthropy experience.

"Throughout the ride, our team will plan the future of Texans C.A.R.E.," Javidpour said. "As of now, we are hoping this organization will bring in new members every year to complete cross-country trips for other rebuilding efforts in relation to natural disasters or low-income areas. We are also hoping to complete a sociology research project by interviewing and surveying the different people we meet across the nation."

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