The email from my friend Keely went something like this: “I’ve got a crazy idea! You’re crazy… want to do it?” My reply went something like this: “Of course I do!” The crazy idea was a bike ride around Western Africa in an attempt to raise money for a community centre in Jacmel, Haiti. I loved the idea but didn’t think it made any sense to pedal in Africa for a Haitian cause so the polished version of her plan is a bike trip from Montreal to Miami through NYC (all three cities have large Haitian communities) and then maybe on to Hispanolia to pedal around the DR and Haiti.
I’ve never done a long distance bike trip in my life. Or even an overnight hike, for that matter. I do love cycling though, so there’s that. Plus it’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. Long distance bike trip + travelling in the US + raising money for a good cause = killing three birds with one stone on my ‘to do’ list.
Keely is a friend I met for the first time while volunteering in Haiti in 2009. She spent around five or six months there and then, like me, returned after the earthquake in 2010. She spent a lot of time this time around working with artist’ in Jacmel, polishing off her Creole skills, making local friends and really getting involved in the community. We get along, she’s artsy fartsy like me (she’s a photographer and an artist) and we’ll have a lot of fun and get up to some serious mischief… that’s guaranteed.
This whole thing is her baby and I’m just along for the ride. I’m going to whip up a website when I get back to Kigali at the end of May and help with fundraising, promotion and sponsorship ideas but she’s got plenty of ideas and contacts already and has a vision… which is perfect for me. I’ll help where I can and let her define the path this thing takes. The pressure is off me which is good (especially since I’ll be in Africa for most of the lead up to this crazy event) but I’ll be there to do what she needs doing and help with whatever I can.
We’re thinking of leaving in August 2012 from Montreal and planning for the trip to take about three months. It gives us plenty of time to organize but committing to something so far in advance is a bit scary for me. I haven’t even looked at a map so far, have no idea of the route, and no clue about how crazy this adventure will be but I know we’ll figure it out and turn it into something great. We want to raise the money and also attempt to put Haiti back on some people’s radars… at least for a little while… because there’s still plenty to do over there (which I’m sure will be depressingly evident once I get back next week).
Has anyone done a trip like this? Got any advice? Tips on wrangling freebies? Sponsors? Any and all help would be great including any links you have to the websites of people doing fundraising bike journeys. Words of encouragement? Words of warning? Words of “you’re nuts!”?
My cousin runs a voluntourism project in the north of Haiti called Extreme Bike Adventures. He can guide you just about anywhere in Haiti. Haiti is one of the most awesome places to ride – miles of singletrack, mountains, unbelievable descents, beaches, interesting people, and great food. You should check him out at http://www.extremebike.com/ and drop him a line at extremebikeadventures@gmail.com
Alas, my only contribution to your plan is this: Nope, you surely ain’t NUTS!
Indeed, a brilliant plan (and g-knows the – continued – plight of Haiti needs to be nudged back into the minds of the masses). My only suggestion is that 3 months might not be enough time – when you factor in all the potential promo events along the way. IOW, why not take it a bit slower and set up little promo events (via local Chambers of Commerce or whatever) along the way. Maybe even devise a “Pennies for Haiti” thing through schools (like that Three Cups lad who’s so lately in the news.)
In short, I say shoot for as much fanfare (and thus as many donations) as possible using every available outlet along the way.
I’ve never done a trip like this but have spoken to a few people recently who are doing similar types of trips – not for charity or anything, but on bikes or motorbikes. One guy and his mate were planning to bike South America from top to bottom, for example. It sounds like a fantastic adventure and wishing you luck with your plans =)
@ryan Just checked out their site… looks like an interesting guy! I’ll get in touch for sure once we’ve got a bit more of an idea what we’re up to. Thanks for the link!
@dyanne Thanks for the encouragement! I’m all for taking it slow and I think drumming up support and pulicity along the way is a big part of our plan. Little events here and there, maybe have friends or interested people joining us a long the way for part of the ride. Not sure… lots of ideas to think about. A guy I met recently in Rwanda who’s biked around the world who said to stress the ‘women biking’ thing and try to wrangle some woman’s group into the mix, too. All good ideas!
@andrea Thanks for the encouragement! I’ve always been super inspired by people doing these sorts of trips.
I just got an email from a reader sharing this link: http://safebiking.wordpress.com/ Looks like someone I’ll be picking the brain of.
So, you and I have something like 20 friends in common on FB now because I just spent three months in Leogane, and we’re going to have a lot more because you’re going to run into a bunch of my friends who I left behind there. Fun! It would be amazing to run into you somewhere on this earth and talk about 45 people we know in common.
Alastair Humphreys is one of my favorite adventure travel bloggers; he did a 4-year trip around the world on his bike and has done fundraising before. Look him up on the ‘internet.’
AH should be a lot different this time around… Enjoy!
Mike
That’s a pretty sweet goal. I have ideas in my head to do a super-long-distance bike ride through multiple states, even though I have no experience with distance riding, either. I guess you can work up to it!
Do it do it do it….
You’ll regret it if you don’t!
Have a look at this, the all-important first step:
http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/2009/05/chapter-1-ten-lessons-from-the-road/
Al
Well, if it wasn’t a little nuts, nobody would pay attention. Good luck and I envy you… again, so don’t forget to blog about the trip. We want to hear some details!
ahh , having a good time
Have you thought about opening it up for other people to come along for the ride an possibly make more money at the same time? We maybe interested joining you or supporting in anyway possible. Great idea guys. I can’t make any promises, but let us know what we can do.
@mike Ya that’s really great you got a chance to go. I’ll have to head over to your blog to read up on what you thought about the whole experience!
@scott Ya I think I’ll get into some sort of fitness regime starting soon. Biking on the hills of Kigali with my shitty, heavy Kenyan bike should prove a good workout!
@alistair Thanks! You’re an inspiration to me and I’ll take all of your advice on board for sure!
@10 Will do! I think it’ll spice up the ol’ blog for sure.
@anthony Ya we’ve considered that. We also want to involved the Haitian communities in Montreal, NYC and Miami in some way. Maybe just to help raise awareness by sharing the stories of their families in Haiti or by asking for ideas for fundraising. But having people join us for shorter legs of the trip is also an option and we’ve had a few people already ask about this. Things will be fleshed out a bit more in a couple of months!
Sounds like a really cool, exciting and worthwhile thing to do, Kirstie. I’m sure you all will have a blast. I agree that opening it up to more people is a good idea. That you will get more support and perhaps raise more money. Have fun with it and stay safe. Looking forward to seeing how it goes.
This is quite the ambitious trip Kirsty. I couldn’t imagine biking so far. It definitely will be a great adventure though. When it’s for such a good cause, I’m sure it makes it all easier. Good luck!
If I could take some time off of work and school that would be such a cool thing to do. The only thing I am doing right now volunteering my time to help out at the local shelter.
That’s a crazy idea but cool! Doing that and help people is awesome! Two thumbs up to you and your friend!
Wow, this sounds like a really exciting adventure. I’m living in the south of France and I’m doing a lot of cycling myself. Well, I don’t really do those long distance rides, but I love the big mountains like the Ventoux, Alpe d-Huez, La Bonnette…
A friend of mine from Austria did the RAAM about 8 years ago – I think it took him a bit over 10 days to finish. He told me it was extremely tough – especially psychologically, because you don’t get a lot of sleep and after 5-6 days everything hurts, your knees, your tendons, your muscles…
Anyway, if you decide to do this monster trip I wish you all the best.
I think this adventure is fun and exciting. I love mountain biking but I dont have the nerve of biking so far. I wish to have that kind of motivation you have, Kristy.
Brilliant idea…cycling will open up a whole new world to you. We used to backpack but since we discovered bike travel there’s no going back to the bus.
If you need any help planning your adventure, just shoot me an email.
Can I come?