Co-workers, strangers come together to raise money for man who bikes 2 hours to work

HOUSTON, Texas -- Whether it's rain, sleet or snow, Juan Estrada straps on his safety vest and heads to work.

"I wake up and thank God I get another day of work. That's why I work so hard," Estrada told our sister station KTRK.

The journey to get from his home to the Texas Roadhouse where he works as a busser and dishwasher isn't an easy one.

The two-hour route is a little rugged, and the Mongoose bike he rides doesn't have any brakes.

His co-worker, Bianca Ayala, first noticed something was up when she saw him come to work soaked.

"I was like 'Do you do construction work before work or something like that?' And he said 'No, I biked here,'" Ayala said.

From there, Ayala jumped into action to help her co-worker. She snapped a few photos of Estrada, posted on Twitter, and, over 179,000 retweets later, the donations started rolling in.

More than $10,000 was raised - which is enough to get him a reliable car and insurance.

"I am very blessed. I really am because without these people doing this for me, I wouldn't be able to get a vehicle," Estrada said.

Ayala is also surprised by the overflow of generosity. She only knew two of the donors; the rest were complete strangers.

"It got a lot more attention than I thought. A lot more," she said.

Estrada's bike-riding days will soon be over, but he plans to keep his work ethic and grateful spirit.

When asked what he'll do with his new ride, with a smile, he said, "Ride a little bit with air-conditioning on there and take my dog for a ride, too."

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