Wooden Bike Racing in Rwanda
Have you heard about this? There’s a great article in the current issue of Outside Magazine about how Tom Ritchey and others are trying to help people in Rwanda through cycling. One of the big events for Project Rwanda, a non-profit formed by Ritchey after a trip to Africa in 2005, is the annual Wooden Bike Classic.
Photos courtesy Project Rwanda
Wooden bikes are fairly common in Rwanda and they’re used pretty much daily for transportation of goods and people. Ritchey got the bright idea that the bikes should be raced as well and now the event draws curious tourists from around the world for a chance to watch (and even participate!).This year’s classic will be held August 29-31.
The goals of Project Rwanda are pretty simple and they all come back to cycling: building awareness for the country (through events like the Wooden Bike Classic), specialized bike design (real steel bikes for transporting coffee crops), bike distribution, and national pride (through support of the Rwandan National Cycling Team).
If you have some time, take a minute or two and see what Project Rwanda is all about and how you can help. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll even see wooden mountain bike components from Ritchey Logic!
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