Mountain bike enthusiasts in Orange County are a resilient bunch. Those that participated in last year’s successful 50 Mile Ride for Project Rwanda are determined to do it again this year – even if half of their intended route was nearly destroyed in the recent Santiago fires.

The second annual 50 Mile Ride for Project Rwanda will be held as planned on Saturday, December 29th. The event will again be staged at Cooks Corner in Trabuco Canyon, beginning at 7:00am. “People have been asking me if we’re still having the event, even after the recent fires”, says Doug Grant, event co-founder. “We answer them - absolutely YES. We need this event now, more than ever before.”

The Santiago fire was devastating to some of the area’s favorite trails – including the Harding Truck Trail - which was the intended “Upper Rwanda” first half of the ride. This year, event organizers intend to divert a portion of funds raised in the ride to help with local trail rebuilding. In addition, all local riders are encouraged to watch for and participate in volunteer trail work opportunities. Trail advocacy groups at SHARE www.sharemtb.com and Warrior’s Society www.warriorssociety.org will post volunteer opportunities as they become available.

50 Mile Ride organizer Roger Toubeaux is excited about the newly revised route he and his team have developed. “We’ve mapped out a new route, and we think it is even better than last year’s crowd-pleaser”, says Toubeaux. “We will offer two ride options, a 50 miler and a 25 miler.” The 50 mile route will start at Cooks, enter the back side of O'Neill, proceed out of the park near the RSM lake, head to the Dove Canyon waterfall, and ride the ridge trails all the way to Caspers Wilderness Park. Then it drops down Star Rise, for a few fun loops inside Caspers to reach the outer checkpoint and refueling/aid station. From there the trail heads back and up Star Rise, tracing the original route all the way back to the waterfall at Dove Canyon. From the Dove waterfall, riders head back out to what was basically last year's second leg. They will pass the Coto main gate, traverse Chiquita Ridge, head down Tijeras Creek trail to Arroyo Trabuco Trail, turn back to O'Neill, through the park and back to Cooks Corner for the full 50 miles. The 25 mile route will start at Cooks an hour after the 50 mile route commences. This shorter route will be basically the same as last year's second leg, with some fun single-track added for this year.

Last year’s 50 Mile Ride event started out as a 50 mile mountain bike ride in honor of co-founder Doug Grant’s 50th birthday. But the event evolved into something far more significant. The results of that first year’s effort was a testimony to the positive impact an event like this can have – both for Project Rwanda and for the local community who were inspired to participate. The first-ever 50 Mile Ride ended up with 247 registered riders and raised over $30,000 for Project Rwanda.

Project Rwanda was founded by Tom Ritchey, a bike designer and a pioneer in the mountain biking industry. According to Ritchey, Project Rwanda aims to help those who are continuing to rebuild their lives following the genocide of 1994. Bicycles are the main mode of transportation and utility in Rwanda, but due to the country's land-locked infrastructure, they are very expensive for most people. Ritchey has designed durable load-bearing bicycles that are being distributed to individual coffee growers through a unique micro-enterprise venture. One of the benefits of having a specially designed “coffee bike" for coffee farmers is the impact on their income potential. A Rwandan farmer gets paid more of a premium if they deliver fresher coffee cherries to the washing station. These specialty bikes could increase a coffee farmer's earning potential by 30 - 40 percent annually, which benefits everyone in the community. Project Rwanda has also been working to “re-brand” Rwanda and helping to raise their national pride by developing the first-ever Rwandan National Cycling Team.

Registrations are currently being accepted for the 50 Mile Ride for Project Rwanda event. For more information, and to register for the ride, please visit www.50mileride.com, or contact Doug Grant at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it