Tuesday, July 22, 2025



Habitat cyclers to pedal across country in fundraising effort

This summer, five University students will take to the road for the annual Habitat Bicycle Challenge (HBC), looking to help generate nearly $430,000 in proceeds for Habitat for Humanity. According to the organization’s website, habitatbike.org, the money will finance the construction of eight Habitat homes.

Jessalee Landfried ’07, Shira Miller ’07, Beth Ogata ’09, Rosemary Ostfeld ’10, and Liana Woskie ’10 make up the Wesleyan faction of a total of 90 college students from various universities across the country, including such diverse schools as Yale University, Middle Tennessee State University, Emory University, and Smith College.

“I was really excited to apply, because this trip gives me the opportunity to help raise money for people so they can afford to own a home, and I really enjoy cycling and would love to see the U.S. from coast to coast,” Ostfeld said.

Each rider must raise $4,000 before embarking on the bicycle adventure, amounting to approximately a dollar for every mile traveled. The challenge has existed for over a decade and is entirely run by college students, predominantly from Yale, according to the HBC website’s profiles page.

“All of the money raised will go to the Collegiate Build of the Greater New Haven Chapter, and International Habitat projects,” Ostfeld said.

The 90 students are divided into teams covering three separate geographical regions: Northern, Central, and Southern. Ostfeld explained her and her teammates’ itinerary.

“Liana, Beth, and I are going on the Southern trip, which will travel through Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and end in San Francisco, California,” she said. “Some of the highlights of our trip include St. Louis, Missouri; Boulder, Colorado; and Napa, California. Jessalee is going on the Central trip.”

The Central route, like the Southern one, begins in Ridgefield, CT and ends in Portland, OR.

A typical day for the bikers will begin at 6 a.m., whereupon they will set out to accomplish their daily quota of 70 miles a day. At the 40-mile mark they will usually stop at a park, if one is available, to have lunch. Throughout the journey, a van will be following alongside to address any possible accidents or medical emergencies that may arise. The riders will usually arrive at each night’s stopping point around 4 p.m. where, if no church is available to house and feed them, they will camp.

“I was eager to get on board,” Landfried said. “It’s a really great project because it’s an adventure which is not just for adventure’s sake. Last year we raised $430,000 for Habitat New Haven, allowing them to really greatly expand their services.”

While the students’ primary activity will involve a lot of pumping quads, they will also be working to make community members more aware of Habitat’s mission and operations. According to the HBC website, every night students will make presentations at community centers and churches to encourage community involvement on a grassroots level.

“In the evening, the churches will have a community potluck and we will give a slideshow presentation of what they’re supporting with their food, time, and space,” said Landfried, who is a trip leader for the Central route.

“One of the major goals of this trip is to inform people across the country, of various economic and social situations, about the mission of Habitat for Humanity,” Woskie said. “Habitat works with members of low-income communities to physically construct homes that will be affordable and maintainable for people who might otherwise find themselves reliant on a highly competitive job market that would provide them with little option.”

Sponsors interested in supporting Rosemary and Liana may send a check payable to Habitat Bicycle Challenge to: Habitat for Humanity of New Haven, 37 Union Street, New Haven, CT 06511. (At the top of the check, they must write “Sponsoring Rosemary & Liana.”)

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