 Heather Jameson is seeing the US from atop her bicycle – while raising money for a good cause. Courtesy photo.
LAKE COUNTY – Heather Jameson is bicycling across the United States. By the end of August, she will have covered approximately 4,000 miles, raised more than $4,000 to help individuals in need, devoured dozens of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and helped to build numerous homes.
Jameson is one of 30 cyclists participating in this summer’s Bike & Build Inc. event across the northern United States. The group started June 18 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and will conclude the trip August 25 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
According to the nonprofit group’s Web site, two-thirds of the proceeds from the northern U.S. tour will go to the Upper Valley Habitat for Humanity organization in White River Junction, Vermont. The remaining funds will be distributed to affordable housing programs throughout the nation.
The daughter of David and Mei-Ling Jameson of Lakeport, Heather is a recent graduate of Sonoma State University, obtaining a degree in environmental education. She graduated from Clear Lake High School, Lakeport, in 2005. She is planning to continue her education as a student teacher in the fall, when she will enter SSU’s multiple subjects teaching credential program.
Trekking across the northern states by bicycle is giving Jameson a firsthand look at places in her own nation, one of the reasons she decided to join the Bike & Build adventure this summer.
“I traveled abroad over a year ago and realized I hadn’t seen my own country,” said Jameson, speaking by phone from her location in Crookston, Minn., the group’s stop on July 28.
During spring of 2008, Jameson visited 12 different countries while participating as a student in the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea program and traveling aboard the MV Explorer ship.
“By circumnavigating the globe I was able to encounter and interact with other cultures while being immersed into their everyday life. Throughout the program I was able to form many lasting friendships and still keep in contact with friends from all around our world,” Jameson wrote in a letter sent with her graduation announcement.
Pedaling 60 to sometimes more than 100 miles a day and stopping to help build homes along the way is giving the young woman a chance to see “the many cultures and lifestyles” in her homeland, she said. In addition, she is establishing new friendships with the other riders in her group.
“It is like I have just gained 29 brothers and sisters,” she said. “We eat, ride, sleep, do chores and share our daily lives with each other. Every day we spend hours on our bikes riding together. This gives us the perfect opportunity to share life stories, current issues in the news, bad jokes and sing-along, which makes the miles pass by more easily. It is inspiring to wake up at six every morning to 29 other people with eager and positive outlooks toward our experience and our cause. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to share this unforgettable summer with 29 people whom I would have never met under different circumstances.”
The riders are young adults, most between the ages of 18 and 25. Jameson spent her 22nd birthday on her first single bicycle century ride, traveling 115 miles on July 12, according to her mother. She had previously completed a 100-mile ride while cycling tandem with her father in the 2009 Wine Country Century event in Sonoma.
Her training prior to her summertime journey included time pedaling areas of Lake County, also with her father, as well as bicycling to work and school, accumulating more than 500 hours of preparation.
According to the Bike & Build itinerary for the northern U.S. tour, Jameson’s longest ride was 119 miles from Crookston, Minn., to Devils Lake, North Dakota. That followed a day traversing 88 miles through Minnesota.
The majority of the trip is spent riding, with a picnic about midway each day, said Jameson. “We’re eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly.” She is not tiring of it, though, because she “loves” those sandwiches, she added.
Besides the two orientation days, there are only 12 days during the two-month trek on which they do not ride. Only three days are considered “off” days, the remaining no-travel days are “build days,” when the group assists agencies such as Habitat for Humanity in projects to provide affordable housing.
“Build days are always one of our favorite days. We have nine build days throughout the summer, and they have been through organizations such as Habitat for Humanities, Community Action, Rebuilding Together, or smaller local, affordable housing groups. We have done everything from painting, siding, insulation, roofing, landscaping and one of my favorites, demolition,” she said. “I really enjoy lending a helping hand as well as picking up some useful skills. It is amazing to see how much 30 able bodies can accomplish. On our last build day in Duluth, Minnesota, we arrived to the build site to find only a foundation and a frame. By the time we left at the end of the day we had completed the roof.”
Jameson says she has enjoyed the experience. Host families feed them and house them, sometimes in large buildings such as community halls, churches, or school gymnasiums, each night. Occasionally they camp. The families have been very supportive, she said.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to meet so many caring and friendly people who are so supportive of our efforts on my trip across America,” Jameson said. “It is truly refreshing and hopeful to encounter so many wonderful people throughout our own country. It has made me even more confident to say that I am proud to be one of their fellow Americans.”
Jameson is also grateful for support she has received from people closer to home. “I would like to thank my family, friends, and community for all of their support and guidance,” she said. “Without it, I would not be who I am and where I am today.”
To assist Jameson with her fundraising, her uncle, Steve Kesling, handcrafted a walnut and Tennessee red aromatic cedar chest for a raffle drawing. Kathy Rothstein of Kelseyville was the winner of the custom-designed chest. Jameson thanked everyone who purchased raffle tickets to support her Bike and Build adventure.
Individuals interested in the northern U.S. trip may see photos of the riders and read journal blogs online at Jameson and others’ websites: www.bikeandbuild.org/rider/3330 and http://tedandtheo.blogspot.com .
According to the Bike & Build Web site, www.bikeandbuild.org , the group funds “projects planned and executed by young adults.” It has contributed more than $1.6 million and 36,000 hours to help fund affordable housing projects in the last six years.
More than 750 riders have participated since Bike and Build was founded in 2002. This year’s trips included eight routes, each with 30 to 32 riders participating, covering various portions of the United States.
Jameson’s parents will travel to Vancouver to meet their daughter at the conclusion of her ride, Mei-Ling Jameson said. Heather and her father plan to cycle through parts of Washington, Oregon, and California on their way home from British Columbia, Canada.
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