I could not finish the route without the help of my Bike & Build teammates. We were thrown together to spread awareness on affordable housing issues without ever having met, but they quickly became some of my closest pals. They caused me to fall in love with cycling. Almost every morning, we'd wake up super early, pack up all of our things, eat breakfast, and roll out. The days were spent biking an average of 70 miles, but I remember talking about our families, hearing their "whys", coming up with haikus, and chalking words of encouragement along the route for the riders behind us. We saw the world's largest rocking chair, went cliff diving, visited Red Rocks amphitheater, and biked up the highest paved through road in America. Build days were spent painting houses, landscaping, and speaking with people fighting for affordable housing. We lived every day, and I'm so excited to do it again this summer. Many of my teammates will be joining for parts of the route, with a majority meeting up for the last couple days of riding. It'll be so great to finally finish my cross country route with them!