PEDAL POWER
It’s not just a way to get from Point A to Point B (even when those points are Cairo and Cape Town, opposite ends of an entire continent), pedal power is also a way to raise awareness and funds for causes that are most important to you during your incredibly active vacation.
Tour d’Afrique provides a cross-continent bicycle trip (they actually have other, equally epic trips on offer as well) that traverses Africa, where riders raise money for humanitarian causes. This is a “small, socially responsible bike tour company with huge intentions.” Cyclists commit to many charities and NGOs, like (examples from this year’s tour):
Project Rwanda (http://projectrwanda.org/) founded by bike builder Tom Ritchey. This project funds custom ‘coffee bikes’ for the coffee farmers and replaces older wooden bikes.
Melanoma research (a deeply personal cause–the rider having dealt with two melanomas in her life) through the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation. Follow her blog: http://7500milesformelanoma.wordpress.com.
Suncatchers Project (www.suncatchersproject.org) a non-profit that builds solar ovens for remote rural communities in Africa.
Lance Armstrong Foundation for Cancer. This rider asks for public support by logging onto: http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2010/rickwasfy.
Additionally, the foundation arm of the Tour d’Afrique company works to donate bicycles to medical professional practicing in Africa, support bicycle advocacy and carbon-neutral, eco-friendly projects, and encourage and support participants to maximize their fund-raising for the causes that mean the most to them.
Kind of the perfect blend of vacation, adventure, trip-of-a-lifetime, and philanthropy. Ready to start training?
Change by Doing 