Hoosier, Boilermaker cyclists to ride for Habitat for Humanity

Constructing a house is no easy task. \nBut Habitat for Humanity wants to make building a house as simple as riding a bike.\nWith that in mind, the IU and West Lafayette chapters of Habitat for Humanity have organized the inaugural Bucket 100 Bike Tour to raise money for their respective organizations. The two-day bicycle ride starts at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington Friday morning and ends at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette Saturday. \nThe ride ties into the Old Oaken Bucket game, for which the IU football team travels to Purdue. Adding to the rivalry, the respective chapters are holding a competition to see which group can raise the most money. Doug Taylor, executive director of West Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, said the winner will receive "the drywall mud bucket."\n"I think it'll be a lot of fun," Taylor said. "IU students and Purdue students riding together, trash-talking and publicizing the need for affordable public housing in the state of Indiana."\nTaylor, who helped develop the idea and then approached counterparts at IU, said he hopes the event will become a popular charity event.\n"We just wanted to get a feel for if it works," Taylor said. "I think it has potential to be something big."\nGraduate student David Doyle, director of the IU chapter of the organization, said he believes the ride has to become more of a tradition before it becomes more accepted. However, he shared Taylor's belief that the Bucket 100 could become an annual happening. \n"Since it's a first-year fundraiser, not a lot of people are gung-ho about it," Doyle said. "We have to get some credibility for it. This year was set up as a test run almost."\nDoyle said IU's chapter took the fundraiser and marketed it heavily because of its desire to make the fundraiser competition a staple of the IU-Purdue rivalry.\n"We kind of took it on like it was our own little baby because we're always looking for new ways to fundraise," he said.\nBoth Doyle and Taylor cited large cycling communities in Bloomington and West Lafayette as a reason for strong early support for the event.\nTaylor said he'd been brainstorming such an event for some time after successfully establishing the Cover Indiana Bicycle Tour while directing the state Habitat for Humanity office. \nSophomore Emily Clarke, who rides for the Alpha Phi Little 500 team, said she believed the event could thrive off of Bloomington's cycling community and said next year she thought the turnout could be much higher.\n"It's hard to have an idea what to expect the first year," Clarke said. "Next year maybe we can hope for 100 (riders). With Bloomington's huge cycling community ... I think it could become a well-known tradition."\nThe two-day ride, which will stop overnight at the First Baptist Church in Crawfordsville, Ind., has about 25 riders pre-registered, Taylor said. Each school is raising money for its own Habitat for Humanity chapter, though neither will know exactly how much money it raised until after the ride is over. \nOn-site Bloomington registration for the event will begin at 7 a.m. at the Genesis Church across the 45/46 Bypass near Memorial Stadium, according to the IU Habitat for Humanity Web site. Registration includes a minimum donation of $50, and all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity. \nRiders are expected to bring their own clothing, but organizers will have support cars for carrying luggage. Medical personnel will also accompany the riders. \nAnyone who cannot make the send-off at 10 a.m. Friday but would still like to participate Saturday can join the group in Crawfordsville Friday night and ride the remaining route to Purdue at a reduced minimum donation of $30, organizers said. Those joining Saturday must provide their own transportation to Crawfordsville. \nClarke said she is looking forward to the ride. She said this will help her with Little 500. "It's good training, but it's also a good way to go out and meet new people and get a lot of miles under my belt," Clarke said. "I think it's important that you do raise money; that way you understand what Habitat for Humanity is"