Man biking across the country to raise awareness of Tahoe's homeless struggles

Daniel Deemer is biking across America on his "Bike for the Homeless" tour from Big Sur, California to Ocean City, Maryland to bring awareness to a social issue he is deeply passionate about.

In partnership with Tahoe Youth and Family Services, Dan is using the trip in an effort to raise funds for the agency and increase awareness of homelessness.

Dan will be leaving Big Sur on May 22, 2017. He has no predetermined route, but will be passing through the Sierra Nevada on SR-88, and through South Lake Tahoe.

"The Lake Tahoe community is home to arguably one of the most beautiful fresh water, alpine lakes in the entire world," said Dan. "This beauty is starkly contrasted by a transient population struggling with a variety of mental health issues as well as substance abuse."

In an effort to bring light to the dire need for more resources to be available to this community in need, Dan is currently seeking out sponsors to donate to Tahoe Youth & Family Services by texting ‘bike2017’ to 71-777 or click on the link igfn.us/form/3X43CA in support of his campaign.

Questions and answers:

Have you attempted anything like this before?
"Short answer; no. I'm certainly no stranger to a challenging adventure and have been planning this trip for most of the winter. I've been training (riding) at 8,000 ft elevation, here in the Tahoe region, so I feel I'll get to a point of cranking out 100+ mile days at lower elevations pretty quickly."

You don't really have a route planned out is that correct?
"Yes, that's correct. I've found that 'winging it' is a bit of a strength for me, so as I cycle I'll have an idea of my overnight camping spots a few days ahead of me, but aside from that I'll leave it to impulse and chance. I plan on roughly building my route around the National Parks I haven't yet visited, and the National Forrest's provide public lands that are free to camp on."

Do you have friends and family supporting you in anyway?
"Yes and no. For the most part this will be a 'self-supported' tour; meaning no one will be meeting me to provide supplies or rides in a vehicle. I'll use my network of friends and family to find a real bed to sleep in, and shower/laundry as often as possible. I have several friends that have expressed interest in joining me for some multi-day stints on the road (riding their bikes along with me) , but for the vast majority of the trip I'll be solo. "

What inspired you to make this trek?
"Well, its kind of one of those things that's always been in my mind, like, 'wouldn't that be a cool thing to do'. So this winter I just kind of committed myself to doing it. I have a friend, Alex, who's done a cross country tour before, and so it helped to be able to pick his brain every day to keep me motivated on doing it.

After hiking the John Muir Trail last year, and raising $500 for Tahoe Youth and Family Services, I really wanted to find a way to kick it up a notch. This year, I'll be cycling well over 3,000, if not 4,000 miles, with hopes of raising $2,000 for the community. "

How can people sponsor you, and donate to your campaign?
Its pretty simple really, You can go to this link igfn.us/form/3X43CA or you can also text "bike2017" to 71777

Will you be keeping a blog, or provide regular updates to friends, family, and sponsors while on the road?
"Absolutely. I'll keep a public journal which will launch the day I depart the Pacific Ocean, I'll update the journal daily, as able. The journal will include a daily recap of my tour, maps, pictures, and insights from the road. It is available here: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/BikeForTheHomeless "