Thursday, September 21, 2006
Who Am I?
I am an Ottawa resident who loves to cycle.
Okay, that is the short answer and is not the most original statement. The longer answer is that I am a person passionate about living life to its fullest and love infecting others through activity with this interest. I am setting off on a 12,000km journey from Cairo to Cape Town because I love being on my bicycle and want others world wide to share in my passion for active living.
During my undergrad in mechanical engineering, I became involved in the sport of adventure racing. In this sport, competitors race for 36 hours continuously on mountain bikes, in canoes, on foot and over fixed ropes in a team of four with only a map and compass to lead us through the course. This taught me that no matter what conditions, together we can accomplish great and inconceivable things that alone would be nearly impossible.
Now finishing my Master's degree here in Ottawa, I am embarking on this journey as the next step in that lesson. Together we can accomplish the impossible. With your donations to the Tour d'Afrique Foundation (see below) or just your support by spreading this word and following along this tour on this website, we can accomplish a number of things: help some residents of some of the poorest nations in the world receive better care while simultaneously proliferating the bicycle as a viable means of transportation.
Be a part of the tour; support with a donation or just follow along!
Okay, that is the short answer and is not the most original statement. The longer answer is that I am a person passionate about living life to its fullest and love infecting others through activity with this interest. I am setting off on a 12,000km journey from Cairo to Cape Town because I love being on my bicycle and want others world wide to share in my passion for active living.
During my undergrad in mechanical engineering, I became involved in the sport of adventure racing. In this sport, competitors race for 36 hours continuously on mountain bikes, in canoes, on foot and over fixed ropes in a team of four with only a map and compass to lead us through the course. This taught me that no matter what conditions, together we can accomplish great and inconceivable things that alone would be nearly impossible.
Now finishing my Master's degree here in Ottawa, I am embarking on this journey as the next step in that lesson. Together we can accomplish the impossible. With your donations to the Tour d'Afrique Foundation (see below) or just your support by spreading this word and following along this tour on this website, we can accomplish a number of things: help some residents of some of the poorest nations in the world receive better care while simultaneously proliferating the bicycle as a viable means of transportation.
Be a part of the tour; support with a donation or just follow along!
# posted by Andrew @ 5:55 PM
What Am I Doing?
In Short:
The Tour d'Afrique is a mountain bike race from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa. It is a race that covers just under 12,000km in just under 100 days of riding.
A picture is worth a thousand words; the picture to the right is worth more than a thousand stories
In Long:
Check out the Tour's Website
# posted by Andrew @ 3:33 PM
Why am I Doing it?
A number of reasons. Bicycles are a viable alternative to combustion powered transportation and are often not regarded as such. This is a world wide problem, but in a variety of intensities. I am hoping that observers of this tour will question why they require an automobile to complete smaller trips in daily life.
The Tour d'Afrique Foundation donates culturally specific new bicycles to health care workers in various countries in Africa. Not only does this cut down on the amount of combustion-related emissions, this also increases the geographic range of health care workers not able to afford to acquire or even maintain a motor vehicle in Africa's harsh environment.
I am raising funds for this foundation to further the bicycle's presence on our planet. Every $100USD raised will purchase a bicycle for an African health care worker.
If you would like to donate toward this worthy cause, please see the donation links in the side bar (on left) and/or contact me. I can offer promotional and/or motivational talks before and after my journey. Any small amount helps, thank-you.
For more information on the Tour d'Afrique Foundation, please see the links on the right side of this page on the Tour's site.
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The Tour d'Afrique Foundation donates culturally specific new bicycles to health care workers in various countries in Africa. Not only does this cut down on the amount of combustion-related emissions, this also increases the geographic range of health care workers not able to afford to acquire or even maintain a motor vehicle in Africa's harsh environment.
I am raising funds for this foundation to further the bicycle's presence on our planet. Every $100USD raised will purchase a bicycle for an African health care worker.
If you would like to donate toward this worthy cause, please see the donation links in the side bar (on left) and/or contact me. I can offer promotional and/or motivational talks before and after my journey. Any small amount helps, thank-you.
For more information on the Tour d'Afrique Foundation, please see the links on the right side of this page on the Tour's site.
# posted by Andrew @ 2:33 PM
