African cyclists cruise Carmel Valley

The Rwandan National Cycling Team shown with US Bicycling Hall of Fame cyclist Jock Boyer (far left) and fellow Hall of Fame member Tom Ritchey (far right). Boyer formed the team under the auspices of Ritchey's Project Rwanda, intended to help improve the country's economy.

Back home, they have no electricity No running water No doors on their simple dwellings. But what they do have—in abundance, explains Carmel native Jonathan "Jock" Boyer— is heart, courage and a true joy for life.

They are the Rwandan National Cycling Team — Abraham Ruhumuriza, Adrien Niyonshuti, Nyandwi Uwase, Nathan Byukusenge and Rafiki Jean De Dieu Uwimana — a group of five young men who are rising above the chronic malnutrition and widespread poverty of Rwanda to represent their country on the national cycling stage.

The team was formed by Boyer—a member of the US Bicycling Hall of Fame and the first American to compete in the Tour de France— as part of a larger humanitarian effort known as Project Rwanda. The project's aims are to raise awareness about Rwanda and help boost the economy by providing "coffee-bikes"—affordable bicycles specially modified to help transport crops—to Rwandan coffee farmers.

Boyer was invited to join Project Rwanda by Hall of Fame mountain biker Tom Ritchey, the project's leader. While Ritchey has been desiging the "coffee-bike" and conducting an annual race called the "Wooden Bike Classic," Boyer's role has been to organize and coach a national cycling team to help raise international awareness for Rwanda. Boyer went to Rwanda with a laptop and some training equipment, tested every local who came to him and eventually narrowed it down to this group of five riders.

Every one of these men has been deeply affected by the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, losing brothers, fathers and friends. Despite this, says Boyer, their compassion and kindness is overwhelming.

"They are super people," he says. "When you see what they've gone through...Anybody who meets them can tell there's a depth and perspective that we will never know."

They are also strong riders. Known as the "Land of 1,000 Hills," Rwanda is a fertile country of plains and rolling hills swathed with green terraces. Riding at an elevation over 5,000 feet, these young "hill-climbers" quickly impressed Boyer with their endurance and work ethic.

In April, Boyer brought the team to the US for a month-long racing tour, including a stop in New Mexico for the Tour of Gila. He says each day was a new adventure.

"Everything is brand new," says Boyer "they screamed when they saw the freeway for the first time... some had never been in cars."

Boyer and Ritchey also took the team for a ride through the La Salle Mountains above the city of Moab, Utah.

"They were like kids when they first saw snow," Boyer recalls. "All rubbed the snow on their heads, arms, legs. It was amazing to watch such screams of joy and bewilderment."

Boyer says the local reception and support in California was tremendous, with sponsors donating airfare, entrance fees, food and equipment to aid the cause.

"Most people are shocked to see a Rwandan team," says Boyer "One hundred percent of people are just jazzed."

After their stay on the Monterey Peninsula, the team returned home to race the Tour of Rwanda on June 19th, before heading to the African Games.

"These guys are going to come back national heroes," says Boyer. Indeed, the survival of the Rwandan people as a whole has been quite heroic, and these riders celebrate the resilience with every stroke of the pedal. —Nathan Randal