Christian Andreychak, of Milford, will help build affordable housing during 3,000-mile trip with Bike and Build.
Milford native Christian Andreychak hadn’t planned on spending his summer bicycling across the country, helping to build affordable housing.
Andreychak — who goes by his middle name Max — said he was focused instead on getting an internship that might help land a job when he graduates from college. But friends at Purdue University who previously participated in a Bike and Build event were so taken by the experience that it was always a topic of conversation.
“Basically, they wouldn’t shut up about it,” he said.
View full sizeChristian Andreychak, a Milford native and Bethlehem Catholic High School graduate, is biking cross country this summer and will help build affordable housing along the way. “Cycling is my life and caring for others is what I love to do,” Andreychak said. “Through Bike and Build I can do both.”
About 30 riders left Nags Head, N.C., May 17 on a 10-week ride to California that will include 15 building stops in Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Arizona. The Philadelphia-based nonprofit organizes fundraising cycling trips that benefit affordable housing projects. The group is not affiliated with Habitat for Humanity, but will work on and make contributions to Habitat projects.
Andreychak said his parents, who now live in Easton, were not initially on board with the idea and needed to be convinced that he wouldn’t be wasting a summer. They finally came around when the 21-year-old Purdue junior said the experience would look good on a resume.
“I am a strong supporter of affordable housing as I am a member and a past officer of the Purdue Habitat for Humanity chapter,” Andreychak said before the trip. “This ride will be fun and exciting for me, but I know the mission is to raise money and awareness for affordable housing.''
Riders need to raise at least $4,500 in order to participate. Andreychak said he was able to raise $5,000, but it wasn’t easy.
“There are a lot of people who don’t make it,” he said.
As of last Wednesday, Andreychak and his fellow riders made it to Chapel Hill, N. C., having completed 40 miles of rolling hills the previous day. They were staying on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
“Today is the first build day,” Andreychak said in a phone interview last week. “We just finished demolishing a deck and I’m actually at Home Depot buying wood to put the (new) deck in.”
A pair of vans, one pulling a small trailer carrying a 20-gallon box for each rider’s belongings, will accompany the group on the 3,609-mile trip. Only three or four back-to-back 100-mile riding days are scheduled with shorter daily rides being the norm.
“It’s hard to do two (days) in a row,” Andreychak said. “It takes a lot out of you.”
He said the first real test will come when they ride through the Appalachian Mountains.
“We’re at the point now where you don’t get any rest,” he said, noting that it’s difficult to pass up the opportunities for some sightseeing instead of resting during free time.
Building and riding won’t take place on the same day, and riders can find themselves painting, drilling or hammering, Andreychak said.
“I just go with the flow,” he said.
Route leader Erin Stevens said this is the ride’s 11th year. Bike and Build has eight cross-country rides, which begin at various points along the Eastern Seaboard and meander their way toward different destinations on the West Coast, she said.
By Friday, the group traveled about 357 miles to Winston-Salem, N.C.
Andreychak had already committed to the ride when he learned his brother was getting married this summer. Fortunately, there was one route available that would return him in time.
“I literally get back the day before my brother’s rehearsal,” he said. “I’m going to fly back and ship the bike back home.”
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For more information about Christian Andreychak's progress, visit bikeandbuild.org/rider/6896. Visit bikeandbuild.org for more information about Bike and Build.