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Reminder Assistant Editor EAST LONGMEADOW - Lance Cargill is taking his mountain bike across nine states for a two month trip, stopping at construction sites along the way. The two-month-long bike ride is with the Bike and Build organization and is set to begin on May 25. So far 16 others have signed on with Cargill to pedal from Manteo, North Carolina to San Diego, California in one of six crosscountry runs the charity group is running this year. Together, the riders will fight poverty housing by raising $4,000 each before the trip for affordable housing and by stopping off along their routes to help build projects with groups such as Habitat for Humanity. "I want to build my house myself in the future so the building part is neat," Cargill said. "I also want to help people and see what life is like in other parts of the country." Cargill is admittedly a better cyclist than house builder but he hopes to work with the Springfield chapter of Habitat for Humanity this Spring to fulfill a pre-trip requirement of getting building experience with a local charity. By trade, Cargil is a senior at Springfield Technical Community College and is majoring in computers. In his free time Cargil does freelance computer repair and programing. This trip where building and cycling are the only things on the agenda, will be a stark but welcome contrast to his everyday life, Cargill said. "I was already planning a cross-country trip so when I heard about this I thought it was a great idea," Cargill said. "It's not just biking across the country, it's biking across country and helping people." During these icy winter months Cargill has been physically preparing for the journey while indoors on a riding trainer and by hitting the weights. He said he'll have to "ramp it up" all spring by covering hundreds of miles of pavement with his mountain bike. "I am anxious about riding over some mountains and the very high mileage days when we'll ride over 100 miles a day," Cargill said. Cargill's longest bike trip to date took him down to Willimantic CT. Once he pedalled the 40 miles down, Cargill slept there overnight before getting on his bike to ride back the next day. For more information or to donate to Lane Cargill's Bike and Build charity ride, visit www.bikeandbuild.org or call 204-6618. | ||||||
