Stanford
Digital Education

Six Stanford students cycle and teach across America

Stanford Digital Education partnered with the student group Stanford Spokes to facilitate its annual summer cross-country ride.
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Parth Sarin
The six cycliststs in Stanford Spokes who are riding cross country in summer 2023.
The Stanford Spokes (from left to right): Victoria Ren, ’26; Helen Tian, ’25; Anna Wang, ’24; Leo Glikbarg, ’24; Jordan Mattox, ’25; and Alex Waitz, ’25. Photo by Nikolas Liepins / Ethography

While most of Stanford’s campus was preparing for their end-of-year graduation ceremonies, six students were packing spare parts into their van and mayo into their sandwiches to prepare for a cross-country bike trip. 

The “Stanford Spokes” are a team of students committed to bridging educational divides through cycling and teaching. They are biking from San Francisco to Washington, DC, across more than 3,600 miles, climbing upwards of 170,000 feet of elevation along the way.

The Stanford Spokes van, packed with different types of gear including groceries, flattened boxes, a water cooler, and a rear bike rack.
Stanford Athletics shared one of their vans with the Spokes to use for the journey. Photo by Nikolas Liepins / Ethography

Spokes was founded in 2015 by a group of students at Harvard, MIT, and Columbia who biked from DC to San Francisco, and the program has happened yearly at MIT ever since (with a break during the height of the pandemic). Stanford students joined in 2017 and now the two teams bike in opposite directions and meet up halfway through the trip, usually in Colorado. 

This year, they stopped at a small Colombian restaurant in Golden, Colorado, and compared notes about their camping and riding traditions: the Stanford Spokes sleep in one tent and stick together while they ride; the MIT team splits up among 4–5 tents and riders sometimes take completely different routes between stops. But of course — despite the lighthearted cross-coastal competition — the thirteen students are united in their passion for spreading learning opportunities from their home institutions to counties across the US.

Thirteen students, some of whom are wearing biking gear, smiling in front of a restaurant with a sign that reads "Golden Goods Market."
The MIT Spokes and the Stanford Spokes met up in Golden, CO. Photo by the MIT and Stanford Spokes

For the first time in the run of the Spokes program, the Trek Bicycle company has partnered with the team, and each of the riders has a Checkpoint ALR 5, one of the latest bikes in Trek’s gravel lineup. The bike’s flared handlebars and wide tires allow the team to ride comfortably on most terrains they are encountering; and its hydraulic disk brakes and 11-speed, 11-34 rear cassette were perfect for safely climbing and descending the 12,000-foot summit at Loveland Pass in Colorado, the highest point on their journey. 

Two cyclists are holding their bikes and walking on a patch of dirt next to a wet, muddy road.
The Checkpoint ALR 5 allows the team to navigate a variety of on-road and off-road terrains. Photo by Leo Glikbarg

Mechanics at The Bicycle Outfitter in Los Altos had received seven bikes less than 36 hours before the team’s departure on June 16, and three of them spent the day doing assembly. By 4 p.m., all the bikes were complete. 

At 4:30, the team arrived to pick up the bikes, and the store’s staff helped everyone get fitted and road-ready. The Spokes rode back to Stanford for a restless night of packing before the big day.

Three bike mechanics standing outside a bike store.
From left to right: Andrew, Hollister, and Ryan, the mechanics who built the bikes. Photo by Ariadne Scott
The Stanford Spokes are standing in front of the staff of the Bicycle Outfitter, the store that assembled the Trek bikes; each team member is holding a bike.
The bike shop staff adjusted each of the bikes to the specific proportions of the riders. Photo by Parth Sarin

On the first day of the trip, the team gathered at a kickoff event hosted by Stanford Digital Education (SDE), the unit that sponsors Spokes. SDE’s vision is to “accelerate social mobility and individual growth through digital innovation in teaching and learning.” Like SDE, the Spokes seek to accelerate mobility and growth by spreading what they’ve learned at Stanford and broadening access to the university’s resources. 

At the kickoff, riders reflected about equity, inclusion, and the complexity of privilege. I did Spokes last year and found that, since you’re constantly accepting help from people, it can be easy to feel numb and forget to show gratitude. With the 2023 team, we talked about the three mechanics who spent the day assembling the bikes for the team and how fortunate we are to have access to those kinds of resources and that kind of generosity. 

My final note to the team was about using the privileges of Stanford to give back to the places they ride through—a goal we struggled with and often thought about during my time on the trip. Part of giving back means acknowledging the village of people that allow the Spokes to do the trip, including people and organizations that provided funding, logistical support, resources, and expertise.

One of the most pivotal behind-the-scenes supporters of Spokes is Stanford Transportation’s Ariadne Scott, part of the Spokes coaching and development team. Scott’s extensive support — from assembling a care package with the team’s favorite snacks to organizing an end-of-trip reception in DC — helped bring the trip to fruition in a safe and healthy way. At the kickoff event, she gave each of the riders a safety kit with lights, reflective gear, and first-aid supplies.

Ariadne Scott is standing at the front of a room holding a ziploc bag that says "bike safety kit" and contains bike safety supplies like lights and high-visibility gear.
Ariadne Scott from Stanford Transportation gave Spokes-themed bike safety kits to all of the riders. Photo by Nikolas Liepins / Ethography

Through their blog and their Instagram, the Spokes are documenting and educating about the people they meet and the experiences they have. 

In her inaugural post, Victoria Ren, Stanford Class of 2026, reflected about the departure:

The sandy, Spanish architecture joined the grassy bay — I could see the wealth continuum reflected in the paint of the tiles, the density of grass, the size of windows. Our route was Stanford to San Francisco, and I was reminded that Northern California began as farmland, and those origins still exist, despite the notions of tech and entrepreneurship that pervade the conversation. We were just out in the sun, biking. I circled in my thoughts, meandering, an almost flow state. We passed fog overlooking the distant hills and homes, a double rainbow reflecting outward; we biked 41 miles, and we arrived at night, buzzing from RX bars and Gatorade.

An aerial photo, taken by a drone, which depicts a road stretching into the distance, a bright sky with many clouds, and two bikers riding towards the camera. There are mountains in the distance and shrubbery besides the road.
The Spokes biked through Nevada on Highway 50, nicknamed “The Loneliest Road in America.” Photo by Leo Glikbarg

Biking and teaching might not seem like intuitive activities to combine, but there are deep connections. 

Good teachers often invite students to bring their values and the values of their community into the classroom. One way to create that kind of trust is by spending time in each community — the Spokes stay with hosts in the places they teach and rely on community members for navigation and food, experiences that are intimately connected to biking. 

Plus, biking is fun! From the comfort of their saddles, sailing on the shoulders of highways, the Spokes have time to reflect and fully experience the places where they teach.

This year’s workshops include learning experiences about art as a meditative experience, social identities, social networks, and historical lenses. The Spokes also try to join in on the festivities at each site — like by playing four square, football, volleyball, and much else with the kids during their stop in Carson City, Nevada.

Students are sitting around a collection of tables working on an activity where they draw pictures using charcoal. Jordan Mattox, one of the Stanford Spokes, is leaning over the shoulder of one of the students to look at their artwork.
On July 11, the Spokes taught at the Boys & Girls Club of Steamboat Springs, CO. Photo by the Stanford Spokes

And, in addition to helping kids learn, the Spokes are learning more about themselves and refining their teaching practice.

“I’m excited to adjust my lessons now that I know what works well and what doesn’t,” writes Helen Tian, Stanford Class of 2025, “I’m curious to see how classrooms, students, and staff interactions will change as we move through the country. There’s so much to be grateful for and so much to learn.”

Parth Sarin is a former Spokes rider and current graduate fellow at Stanford Digital Education.

Stanford Spokes is supported by the following organizations:

  • Stanford Digital Education
  • Trek Bicycle
  • Haas Center for Public Service
  • Stanford School of Medicine
  • Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
  • Stanford Department of History
  • Stanford d.school
  • Stanford Graduate School of Education
  • Bill Lane Center for the American West
  • TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy
  • Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange

In addition, Spokes has received donations from many individuals, whose names are listed on the Stanford Spokes website. The project is possible thanks to the work of a large support team, including:

  • Debby Angus-Weberski, Stanford Digital Education
  • Cynthia Berhtram, Stanford Digital Education
  • Pete Cerneka, Haas Center for Public Service
  • Adrienne Kemp-Rye, Stanford University Communications
  • Destiny Mahone, Haas Center for Public Service
  • Ariadne Delon Scott, Stanford Transportation
  • Cindy Wagner, Trek Bicycle

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