MILWAUKEE — A team of college cyclists from Pi Kappa Phi fraternity is pedaling nearly 4,000 miles across America to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities.
The riders, who are traveling from San Francisco to Washington D.C., made a pit stop at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee during their 63-day journey.
"It's a really powerful journey that we all get to come together and do together," said Charlie Taft, a rider from Whitefish Bay.
The cyclists average about 100 miles a day on their cross-country trek.
"And it's all to raise money for people with disabilities," Taft said.
The Pi Kappa Phi brotherhood members are using their journey to remind communities that people with disabilities deserve to be seen and respected.
Watch: College cyclists ride 4,000 miles across America to support people with disabilities
"It's so important to know that these people do have abilities, they have complete right to be treated as equal, and to give them a chance you know?" Taft said.
During their coast-to-coast journey, the team makes friendship stops in every town, participating in activities from karaoke nights to adaptive sports, all focused on raising awareness.
"After we're done biking 100 miles in a day, we go hang out and have dance parties with all these people. It really just makes their entire year. Some of these people are waiting 365 days to just see us bikers come in," Taft said.
The ride is deeply rooted in the fraternity's history, according to team crew member Sid Nanjangud.
"It all started with a guy named Duro Owne. He passed away this year, and through the Ability Experience, it's been our philanthropy since 1977," Nanjangud said.
With just 19 days left in their journey, every donation helps support their mission.
"Whether it's building play structures, renovating facilities, stuff like that, getting them the correct equipment they need, that money goes to that," Nanjangud said.
To support the Journey of Hope for people with disabilities, visit
www.abilityexperience.org/journey-of-hope/.
"There's lots of different ways to help out and raise awareness," Taft said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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