Monday, February 20, 2012

Ride Kenya with a Bishop

The man in the bike helmet and on a new bike is Bishop Nixon Dingili.  Bishop Nixon oversees the Free Methodist Churches (FMC) in Kenya. He plans to join our Bike Kenya 2012 team as we pedal 600 through the northwest sector of his country in May.  The secondary school in Koi Barak, which our ride is raising funds to build, is under the auspices of the Kenyan FMC and International Child Care Ministries (ICCM).  We welcome Bishop Nixon to our team!

Bishop Nixon and our team members in the USA are training and making preparations for the 11-day ride in Kenya.  There are lots of arrangements in the process and we are all getting pretty pumped for the event.

Until March 1, our Bike Kenya 2012 is still open for three more participants.  The cost will be approximately $3200 per participant (includes roundtrip airfare between Chicago and Nairobi and all in-country expenses in Kenya--food, lodging, transportation support, fees, etc.).  In addition, each team member commits to try to raise funds to build the Koi Barak school.  I have a Fact Sheet I will immediately email to anyone interested in participating.

If you have signed up for / requested to participate in Bike Kenya 2012, but have not heard from me within that past two weeks, please contact me immediately. I am in contact with seven participants, but I just want to make sure I have not overlooked any early responders.

Please match our "sweat equity" with a per-mile contribution of 10c, 25c, $1 or other per-mile donation.  That's why we're pedaling: to raise awareness and funds for this educational endeavor.  That, and for the sheer joy and beauty of it!  Use this link to contribute right now (it takes you to ICCM's Special Projects page; scroll down for Bike Kenya 2012 giving options)!

Keep coming back to our site!

John Franklin Hay
Indianapolis, Indiana
johnfranklinhay@yahoo.com

Friday, February 3, 2012

Three Openings for Bike Kenya 2012


We're hoping to have a full team of 10 cyclists to travel to Kenya in May to pedal 600 miles in two weeks to raise awareness and funds to build a new school in Koibarak.  As of right now, seven hearty souls (well, actually whole persons!) are committed.

I'm looking for three more participants.  Want to join in?

Explore the blog below and on the side bar to get a sense of what the event is about and see if it's something you are interested in and "doable" for you.  You don't have to be an "expert" bicyclist for this.  It's not a race or high-speed tour.  But you will need to train to be able to ride 45-75 miles a day over 11 cycling days in some hilly terrain.  This is well within the range of most people who love cycling.

 The cost, including air travel between Chicago and Nairobi and all expenses in Kenya is about $3000 (could go slightly higher). In addition to paying our own way, each Bike Kenya 2012 team member is trying to raise funds to build a new school in the village of Koibarak.

All this information is available in a Bike Kenya 2012 Fact Sheet I will send via email to anyone inquiring. Let me know of your interest at this email: johnfranklinhay@yahoo.com.

I'm hoping to confirm the team by the end of February so all can move forward with planning, training, and fundraising.  It's going to be a fun adventure.  Give it some thought!