FIRST BIKES DELIVERED IN ZAMBIA!
April was quite a month for World Bicycle Relief in Zambia! All the planning and preparation came together beautifully, and the first bicycles were successfully delivered to the volunteer HIV/AIDS caregivers involved in the project.

It's just the tip of the iceberg: This first shipment of 8,000 represents a strong starting point for the 26,000 bicycles this year. What will get started as 250-300 bicycles delivered per day will eventually reach more than 500!

In addition, training began for the first of 400 mechanics involved in the program, and word-free bicycle maintenance manuals were shipped to the assembly locations. (Think Ikea for bicycles.) This job creation component is vital to the sustainability and success of the World Bicycle Relief vision.

We have partnered with a World Vision-led relief consortium called RAPIDS in order to increase the mobility of the volunteers on the ground. Each bicycle is provided on a two-year, work-to-own basis, and volunteers will continue to be a part of the program for at least that long in exchange for the use of the bicycle.

In addition, volunteers are free to use the bicycles for their own purposes upon completion of their care work, and many of them are used to increase access to education, healthcare and economic develop ment opportunities.

This is quite an exciting milestone in the history of World Bicycle Relief, and as the photos show, quite an exciting event in the lives of the caregivers!

SRAM employee Peter Dorsch from Germany teaches the new mechanics some of the the finer points of coaster brakes

Each delivery is preceded by a community
gathering to outline the program and give basic instruction in the care of the bicycles

Look for more photos soon on the World Bicycle Relief web site! 

GOING COAST TO COAST IN APRIL
April was also a busy month for the World Bicycle Relief team back in the States, with events on both coasts leading to increased awareness and fundraising! First up was the Sea Otter Classic, a cycling festival in Monterey, California, where volunteers Tom and Leslie Burton of Davis, California, and Diane Wassmann of Chicago braved horizontal rain and gale-force winds to spread the World Bicycle Relief message. (See below for Tom's account of the event.)

Then, the World Bicycle Relief team traveled to New York City to attend the Clinton Global Initiative Mid-Year Meeting, a chance to network with corporate heads and dignitaries and make them aware of our work. Ultimately, we were able to meet and speak with former President Clinton himself, and tell him about our work in Zambia!

Our final trip was to Blue Ridge School near Charlottesville, Virginia, where the school's Outdoor Program promoted the "Ride the Ridge" mountain bike race, with all proceeds going to World Bicycle Relief. This is race No. 1 in the "Blue Ridge Triple Threat" series, which will help support us through awareness and fundraising. Karen Fink, Nolan LaVoie and Tony Brown from Blue Ridge were instrumental in putting together an incredible event, and James Gist from the Charlottesville Racing Club has been great to help us expand the program!


SEA OTTER CLASSIC: WONDER AND POWER
By Tom Burton, World Bicycle Relief volunteer

"A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Jesus said, 'This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.'"  - The Bible; Mark 12:42, 43; abridged

Monterey Sea Otter Classic, Friday at noon

He slowly approaches the booth, looking to be all of 15. And as with many teenaged boys, seemingly uninterested, shy. I speak with him for a moment; he says "yes." Out of his pocket comes a five dollar bill, which he unrolls slowly and puts on the table.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I can give right now."

It was enough.

Hello, my name is Tom Burton. My daughter, Leslie, and I spent three days at the Sea Otter Classic as volunteers to gather donations and tell fellow bikies of World Bicycle Relief's impact in Zambia and its goals for Africa.

I learned being a volunteer for something you really believe in is a mixture of wonder and power.

It's wonder-full to meet a group of people who - despite the world's endless disturbing headlines - still care, eager to help people they will never meet. It's empowering because you become the one who converts some ill-defined desire to help, to action that heals.

With Chris, World Bicycle Relief's Communications Manager, and Diane, a friend with SRAM, we raised about $1,100. Not really a lot of money, but what an impact!

Ten bicycles will be sent to Zambia, each bike helping keep twenty HIV/AIDS victims alive for at least three years, each bike helping keep their average-sized families of six together. All told, four of us will have helped sustain some 1,100 (1,100!) fellow human beings. Not a bad weekend.

And our teen-aged friend? Given each bike costs about $109 and serves 20 victims, he is helping one person fight for their life.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I can give right now."

Indeed … it was enough.


'allsevens' ON TARGET FOR GOAL, PROLOGUE
In the cycling world, the Tour de France is the pinnacle of racing. It's the largest annual sporting event in the world, tracing a route through some of the toughest terrain that can be tackled on a bike.

This year the race starts with the traditional Prologue in London, on July 7 - 07/07/07. When Chris Davey of Bath, England, learned of the date, he realized it was a chance to do something special. And when he and a friend (and fellow cyclist), British expatriate Nigel Taylor of St. Louis, Missouri, put their heads together, "allsevens" was born.

After recruiting Mark Neuman and Bert Berla, both from St. Louis, the plan really came together: ride for 7 days, visiting 7 countries, stopping in 7 former Tour Prologue cities, covering 777 miles. And arrive in London in time to see the start of  this year's event.

Knowing that this could be bigger than "just another ride," the group also decided to dedicate itself to raising funds and awareness: for World Bicycle Relief and Jole Rider, a U.K.-based charity that also provides bicycles to Africa. They set the fundraising goal of at least $10,900 - enough to buy 1,000 World Bicycle Relief bicycles. And, we're happy to report, they are well on their way: as of yesterday, they are at about 58 percent of their goal!

For more information and to follow their quest, be sure to visit www.allsevens.org .     

May 11: Free Wheelchair Mission reception, Chicago

May 19: Miles for Malawi Fun Run, Chicago

May 20: Walnut Creek Chimney Challenge MTB race, Virginia

May 27: Bike the Drive, Chicago

June 3: Norco Days, United Cycle, Edmonton, Alberta

June 14: Chicago Cultural Center lunch presentation, Chicago

July 7: Tour de France Prologue, 07/07/07, London

July 21: RAGBRAI Expo, Iowa

Hosting a World Bicycle Relief event? Please let us know! 

Leslie Burton and Downhiller David enjoy the Sea Otter festival. David contributed $109 to World Bicycle Relief

Unicycler Ben spreads the love of World Bicycle Relief at the Sea Otter Classic

Spirits were only slightly dampened by the rain storm that swept Sea Otter on Saturday