Travel. Ride Your Bike. Help Save the World.

This summer, Brian Germain and about 30 other crazy cyclists rode from Boston to Santa Barbara, raising money and building affordable housing along the way as part of a volunteer organization called Bike and Build. Their journey is now complete and you can view photos, stories and more from this amazing adventure on Everlater: check out Brian’s incredible trip and read on for some highlights below!

Brian began with baseball in Boston - an excellent introduction to his adventure. “What a perfect way to start off the trip. After a great night of baseball we wandered to a random pizza restaurant to split a pie and watch the Celtics game. It was a packed crowd and I would have loved for Boston to have won so we could have had wild celebrations all night long with the locals. My highlight of the day was waiting in the office to talk with the principal at North Haven Middle School. A secretary came right up to me and said, “Hey you’re that kid from the news, I’m sorry I forgot your name.” After introducing myself she proceded to tell everyone else working in the office about my trip by repeating last night’s news story almost word for word. I felt like a rockstar. Bike and build here I come!”

By the time they made it to Flagstaff, Arizona, Brian and the other cyclists were tired but still impressed by the switchback climbs, the clear skies, and the Cardinals. “According to Tara’s maildrop research, Flagstaff is where the scene in Forest Gump was filmed where he’s running cross country and wipes his muddy face with a yellow t shirt to give birth to the smiley face revolution and the shit happens bumper sticker. I think Forest may have been running faster than I cycled as I hit a new all time low of 3.2 mph at one point and the whole 45 mile ride took about 11 hours… the switchbacks reared their ugly faces and started punching lactic acid into everyone’s thighs. At the top of the switchbacks at some crazy elevation in the 7000s, there were authentic native American stands selling jewelry and crafts. Finally it was off on our last leg to Flagstaff. I hustled but just missed training camp… Flagstaff was named for a ponderosa pine set up as a centennial celebration flagpole by a Boston expedition on July 4, 1876. They have some of the clearest skies in the nation for stargazing because of their strict light ordinances. Down the street from us was the observatory that discovered Pluto.”

Finally they made it to California - and they were definitely glad to be done. “If it wasn’t bad enough to be stuck in the desert sucking down more water than I thought was possible, the wind was downright silly. 10mph was the steady cycling average because gusts hit us in the face on a strong constant…. When all was said and done at the end of the ride, my odometer read 104.05 miles and I had been on the road for 11hours and 36minutes. We had showers reserved until 4pm at the local pool, but with the ride being so hard, no one made it. We also started later than we wanted to because we woke up at 4am but couldn’t leave until it was light outside a couple hours later. Poor planning. So after I got in around 5 and shoved some pizza and salad in my face, I took a nice warm hose shower. Of course to conserve water and since everyone was dirty and seeking immediately cleanliness, we had a group shower. Gold medal dinner crew made burritos with all the fixins for dinner.”

Congratulations to Brian and the other bikers who rode so far for such a great cause!