Rockwood Summit alum and current Truman State student Ryan Brazzle is biking from coast to coast this summer with approximately 40 of his Pi Kappa Phi fraternity brothers. 

The bike ride – called the Journey of Hope – is run by the philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi, the Ability Experience.

“The whole point is kind of to do community outreach and raise funds for people with disabilities,” Brazzle said. “During the whole ride through, we’re going to have daily stops – they call them friendship visits – with the disabled community, where we just meet with them, hang out with them, do photo ops, do fundraising. (At) one of the stops, we’re playing wheelchair basketball.”

To prepare for the arduous journey – some days biking over 100 miles – Brazzle and any other Pi Kappa Phi member embarking on the ride are required to bike 1,000 miles before setting off. Brazzle started this training in October.

As far as what states Brazzle will see will depend on what route he is assigned to. Brazzle’s preferred route – the transamerica route – starts in Seattle and goes through Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky before ending in Washington D.C. The northern route starts in San Francisco and goes through Nevada, Utah and Colorado before “popping up.” Like the transamerica route, it also ends in D.C. 

The majority of the journey will be on service roads, though to ensure safety, participants will be outfitted in matching neon. A car will also follow the riders to carry their bags and, if needed, allow participants to take a break and rest

Brazzle – along with Pi Kappa Phi’s from schools in Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri – will embark on this once in a lifetime experience in early June, returning home in early August.

“I’m really excited for this opportunity. Seriously, this is really cool,” Brazzle said. “This is the best time I can do it, I can just take an entire summer to do something crazy and stupid, and I had (fraternity) brothers that were gonna do it with me, so I was like, ‘why not?’” 

To help Brazzle fundraise for his journey, click here.