Chantz Rivera, 29, had left New York City only twice in his life before this summer. On May 31 he walked out of the Bronx. On Monday, Oct. 26, nearly five months later, he reached Bay Area waters on a bike path in Mill Valley, NBC Bay Area reported.
Recent storms had flooded the path, and Rivera pushed his cart of belongings through a few inches of seawater. "I feel great," he said. He arrived almost two months ahead of schedule.
The route
Rivera mostly followed U.S. Routes 40 and 50 through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California — about 2,577 miles, according to Hoodline. He camped beside highways, watched bighorn sheep, ate home-cooked meals in Kansas and received free motel stays from strangers.
He grew up in the Gun Hill Houses public housing project and had worked warehouse jobs and as a dishwasher. "I want to do it just to be free, not to be stuck," he said.
Rivera started with $250 and launched a GoFundMe in August that had raised over $13,000 as of Monday. He plans to spend a week exploring San Francisco before doing the same in Los Angeles, and hopes to be home in the Bronx by Thanksgiving — by plane.