100 Bikes for 100 Miles
Bob Naegele spearheads an ambitious fund raising campaign at Colorado's Eagle River Century Ride: 100 Bikes for 100 Miles.
On July 26th, the day before my 43rd birthday, I am attempting to ride my bike 100 miles(on roads) through the Rocky Mountains for the Eagle River Century Ride. It will be my first such attempt. For the past three months, I have been training hard to prepare. Last Saturday, Ashley and I rode 60 miles with 3500 feet of elevation gain. It was brutal, but we managed to get through it. The Eagle River Ride is longer but only has 2750 feet of elevation gain!?
Last year I was infected by a great cause called Project Rwanda, headed up by Tom Ritchey of Ritchey Design, a long-time bike industry leader. After taking a trip to Rwanda in 2005, Tom recognized a need for well built cargo bicycles to help coffee farmers efficiently transport their crops to washing stations enabling them to sell their coffee at a profitable price, and thus support their families and local communities. While I have not yet been to Rwanda (I hope to go this Fall), I understand that the Coffee Bike program that Tom initiated is becoming a model of success. The challenge is, the bikes are not cheap for a poor Rwandan farmer. The bikes are sold at a subsidized cost of $225 through a micro-finance program.
My goal is to raise enough money to purchase 100 bikes for the coffee farmers of Rwanda. 100 bikes for 100 miles! I like the ring of that, don't you? With your help, I think the goal is achievable. I'm personally committed to purchasing 10 bikes myself. So, we only have 90 left! What do you think?
Here is a picture of the bike that we will be purchasing. They are basically re-engineered, rugged mountain bikes with a wider base to allow for heavy cargo.
If you care to get on board, please click on the DONATE link on the Project Rwanda website. Of course you can donate whatever you wish and you'll see many ways to get involved on the website above and beyond the purchase of a bike. If you choose not to make a donation, please check out the website and see what a wonderful initiative this is and how it is helping a formerly war-torn country that was devastated by genocide, recover and now prosper. Rwanda is quickly becoming THE HOPE of all of Africa.
