This summer, San Diego State political science senior Jordan Mishlove and University of Arizona global intercultural understanding senior Joe Previte will embark on a 7,700-mile bike ride across the U.S. to raise $20,000 for Outdoor Outreach, a charity dedicated to connecting youth with the outdoors.
“Both of us are very appreciative of education and we both find that it has motivated us to be the people that we are today, so we figured what better organization to partner with than one that promotes environmental stewardship, outdoor education as well as leadership,” Mishlove said.
Aside from fundraising money for the charity, Mishlove and Previte said they hope their project will spread environmental awareness, educate youth and motivate people to be outside and appreciate the country’s natural beauty.
Previte thought of the idea while abroad in Argentina after his friend showed him the Instagram account of Jedidiah Jenkins, a man who was biking from Oregon down to Patagonia.
“I remember sophomore year (of college) I said, ‘I’m going to do that,’” he said.
In mid-August, Previte called up Mishlove and told him his plan.
“I wasn’t necessarily too comfortable with the idea,” Mishlove said.
But after that phone call, Mishlove thought about the trip every night and his excitement grew.
“I called him and told him I am all for it,” he said. “We shook hands over the phone and ever since then we’ve been planning it.”
The duo will depart June 6 from Acadia National Park in Maine on the Northern Tier Route, traversing the northern part of the country all the way to Washington. Then they will work their way down through Oregon, Northern California and Colorado until arriving at their final destination: Phoenix.
They’ll be biking approximately 60 to 80 miles a day and will be carrying 40 to 60 pounds of supplies, including food, tents and cameras, Mishlove said.
Although both have had extensive experience abroad, neither Mishlove nor Previte has done long-distance biking.
“Joe and I have never done something like this,” Mishlove said. “This is the biggest challenge of my entire life, but we are going to face it with optimism and just hope everything works out.”
They will be stopping at nonprofits, summer camps and other organizations along their route to collect research on urban youth going outdoors.
“The main objective is to do research and figure out what organizations are doing to get the urban youth into the outdoors and raising money for Outdoor Outreach because we really respect what they do,” said Previte.
Mishlove also hopes to interview people along the way to gain perspectives on people’s views of outdoor recreation.
“Every night I think about what’s going to occur on the road, who we’re going to meet, the conversations we’re going to have, what we’re gonna see,” Mishlove said. “I haven’t been this passionate about something in my entire life.”
They will also be documenting their journey by taking photos and vlogging, which will be available on their site.
Mishlove and Previte are currently being sponsored by Passion Planners, a company that creates planners aimed to help people keep track of and achieve their goals, but more sponsors and donations are welcomed.
To view photos, video and blogs, more information on their trip or to donate, visit their site at thebendableroad.com or go to their Instagram account at thebendableroad.
