Bikes For Bibles –
Cycling for Literacy
In 1998 while driving from Melbourne to Sydney, I drew up behind a slow moving bus with “
Bike For Bibles” emblazoned in large letters on a banner attached
to it. A little further on was a sizeable
group of push - bike
riders in various states of
exhaustion, all wearing yellow shirts with the “Bike For Bibles” logo.
My curiosity was aroused; I wanted to find out about this group.
Where did they come from? Where were they going? Why were they doing it?
This particular group, I discovered, was on its way to Sydney from Melbourne. A
relatively short ride compared to others that the group had done before.
“Bike For Bibles” is a Bible Society fundraising project. It began in Australia in 1988 by a man called Bob Forest. Cycling had become a popular pastime so it was decided to tap into people’s enthusiasm for cycling by using it to raise funds for overseas literacy projects.
So what motivates someone to give up his or her vacation to ride a push - bike across the country? There is no financial return. Riders join the ride voluntarily as well as pay their own expenses.
Rides usually begin in September, at the start of Spring, but serious training begins in January. Riders train in all kinds of weather, peddling up and down hills, chewing up the kilometres. They need to
build up their fitness and endurance to be able to ride, on average, 150 kilometres per day. The ride goes for 30 days on average, interspersed with 5 rest days. A daunting task, but the riders seems to thrive on it.
All the riders are volunteers. Riders come from all walks of life, women
as well as men. None of the riders are professionals, some tag along for the adventure; the
only pre requisite being a nominated amount of sponsorship pledges collected by each
rider. This keeps everyone focussed on the ultimate goal of raising money for the Bible
Society.
A faithful band of “
roadies” support the riders on the
Road. They man the vehicles that travel ahead and behind the groups of riders warning traffic of their presence. All measures are taken to ensure the safety of riders.
Roadies have numerous tasks on the journey. Meal preparation probably the most
important one for the riders, but roadies also provide first aid, TLC, and a rest in one of
the vehicles if one of the riders is not up to it one day.
The enthusiasm of the riders never falters despite the pain. Yes, it is a long hard road, but there is camaraderie among the riders and friendships build up during the long hours on the road that last a lifetime. They have a break and then do it all again next year.
Published: January 05, 2006
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