Twenty-seven bikers are trekking across 13 northern U.S. states this summer to raise awareness of affordable housing issues. They’re stopping in St. Paul this weekend.

Bike & Build will stop in St. Paul on Sunday and follow that with a volunteer day on Monday. The participants’ goal is to educate themselves and others about affordable housing as well as rebuild and restore housing in communities along their 4,160-mile route.

Each summer, Bike & Build organizes groups of young adults who bike across the U.S., raising funds for and educating communities about the crisis. Other routes include trips through central and southern U.S. and through the west and northeast coasts.

The group left New Hampshire on June 13 and will end in Washington on Aug. 25, traveling an average of 70 to 80 miles each day.

Its Twin Cities route will bring them through several cities. The group will arrive in Cottage Grove, make their way through Woodbury, zigzag through St. Paul and Minneapolis, pass through Columbia Heights and finally leave from Brooklyn Park — heading to another volunteer day in Duluth on July 20.

By stopping to volunteer in 13 cities through the summer, the bikers see how different communities are impacted by the affordable housing crisis, said Brianna Deutsch, a trip leader for the northern route.

This prepares them to educate others about how they can advocate for affordable housing in their own communities, Deutsch said.

The organization focuses on the housing issue “because it’s something that’s overarching in the U.S. It’s something that doesn’t get as much attention as it should,” Deutsch said.

She added that housing influences other national issues, like the push for living wages.

“It touches everything, and it touches just about everyone in the U.S. whether or not we realize it,” she said.

On Monday, the bikers will volunteer with Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit organization that helps repair the homes of low-income homeowners.

Kathy Greiner, executive director for the local affiliate of Rebuilding Together, said the organization has worked with the Bike & Build group before on home repairs in the Twin Cities.

“Each time they come through, they’re making a family safer,” Greiner said. “It really is an up-close look on the housing situation. (It’s) one of those hidden things. … A lot of us can’t see the stuff that’s happening because many of these things are inside and we don’t go inside everybody’ homes.”

This year, the group will help a homeowner who has fallen several times on the stairs leading into her home and garage by building wider steps or ramps, Greiner said. Funding for the construction comes from funds raised by the bikers.

During their time in the Twin Cities, the group will stay with St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church in St. Paul.

Although all group members don helmets, lights and reflective gear as a precaution, Deutsch asked that drivers be cautious around the large group of bikers on Minnesota roadways this weekend and next week.