Cross-country trek starts June 3 to benefit Habitat for Humanity
By: Jane Karlicek
Two Princeton High School graduates are about to pedal their way across the country this summer, all in the name of Habitat for Humanity.
Laura Feiveson, 20, and Katie Wepplo, 22, plan to cover 4,000 miles of back country roads starting June 3, when the 7th annual Habitat Bicycle Challenge begins in New Haven, Conn.
The event is expected to raise more than $150,000, enough to pay for the construction of three Habitat for Humanity homes. Sixty riders, mostly from Yale but also from other colleges and universities, will work to raise awareness of Habitat’s work throughout the country aimed at ending poverty housing.
Ms. Feiveson is going into her junior year at Yale, while Ms. Wepplo will be graduating from Bates College in Maine at the end of this month.
While two years apart, the young women knew each other while at Princeton High School. Ms. Feiveson said Ms. Wepplo was one of her role models in high school, as they played lacrosse and ran track together. The two didn’t know they would be bicycling for the same cause this summer until Ms. Feiveson saw Ms. Wepplo’s picture in a book that listed the participating bike riders.
Both agreed it’s exciting that two PHS graduates are participating in the same fund-raiser.
“I decided to do this on a whim,” Ms. Feiveson said. “I was thinking about taking a bike trip across Europe but a friend in the dorm did this last year and was so enthusiastic about it.”
So, Ms. Feiveson signed up, not only to participate but to be a team leader.
Ms. Wepplo said she was looking for something to do after she graduated from college. There’s something symbolic about graduating and then getting on a bike and riding across country, she said.
“I don’t have any plans for after I graduate,” she said. “I wanted to give myself time to think about what I want to do.”
The two Princeton women will not be traveling together. Ms. Feiveson is taking the southern route of the course; Ms. Wepplo will be traveling on the northern route. Both routes start in New Haven. The northern route will take 30 bike riders through upstate New York, Ontario, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington, where the trek will end in Seattle. The southern route will have riders pedaling through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California, where their ride will end in San Francisco.
Ms. Feiveson and Ms. Wepplo plan to arrive at their respective destinations Aug. 5.
The trip will bring both young ladies to new places. For Ms. Feiveson, the farthest west she’s ever been is Colorado. Ms. Wepplo said the trip will help familiarize her with the United States.
“I’ve done a lot of traveling in other countries,” she said. “But I feel I really don’t know this country. I’ll be getting a much better sense of the land. It’s a time for exploration.”
Both young ladies admit they are not avid bike riders. Ms. Feiveson said she has been training recently by riding 50 miles a week. Ms. Wepplo said she does a lot of mountain biking for fun but hasn’t done much road biking.
“It will definitely be hard work but I think it will feel really good,” she said.
Both women say they are excited and ready for their 70 mile-a-day average bike ride. And both have bought special seats for their new bikes to make things a little more comfortable along the way.
All 60 bike riders received new Cannondale road bikes, courtesy of the bike company that is one of the sponsors of the event.
“(The bike) is really nice,” Ms. Wepplo said. “We’re lucky to have those.”