Correction appended
Jordan Mossing biked more than 200 miles from Toledo to Athens and slept in a tent along the way.
After arriving in Athens at the end of September, the 27-year-old made plans to eventually make a stop in Florida.
Mossing makes ends meet by working odd jobs. Even when businesses are unable to offer him short-term employment, something good always comes out of it, he said.
“They’re like, ‘Yo, man, we want to give you a job, but we’re overstaffed, or insurance policy … but here’s some money for food, or here’s some food,’” Mossing said.
Ride to Unite sprung from Mossing's desire to spread love and to interact with people.
“I was tired of trying to save up money to line up a vacation to go see family or friends that I never see and just barely making it work out," he said.
After working at UPS for six years, Mossing was nervous to leave his old life behind. However, after looking back at his traveling experience, he does not regret the decision.
Kazmin Henkin, who is from Painesville, met Mossing at Donkey Coffee and Espresso, 17 W. Washington St.
“I was just walking around the corner, and I see three people sitting at the table, and on the table there’s some awesome magic crystals,” Henkin said.
Henkin then introduced himself to Mossing and the other people at the table. The two quickly discovered that they shared similar lifestyles.
“What are the chances?” Mossing said. “He’s a traveler. I’m a traveler.”
Initially, Henkin and Mossing were planning on traveling to Florida together as the weather became colder, but the two bikers instead decided to bike through Ohio together last week.
However, the pair have more in common than a love for biking — they are both freestyle rappers.
“We both like to freestyle, we like to get on the mic, we like to perform for people,” Henkin said. “What we share is an extension of ourselves and our light within.”
Henkin posts some of his freestyles to SoundCloud under his emcee name Kazamondo. Both Henkin and Mossing are fond of rapping at open mic nights. Mossing performed at Donkey Coffee on Sept. 29.
“The message … of love — we both share that so strongly. Not just what we put out (with) our vibes naturally, but, yes, into our creativity, our music,” Mossing said.
Mossing said he has grown immensely as a person through Ride to Unite.
“(I’m) still working on myself, still learning about myself with this trip,” he said. “But it’s really, truly stepping into love.”
Mossing believes all actions stem from either fear or love, he said, and Ride to Unite is helping him to make the right choices.
“Every time I choose love over fear, it’s the right decision for me."
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Henkin and Mossing's destination. Henkin traveled through Ohio with Mossing.
