Biking for a Purpose
It was this time 3 years ago that our first Bike4Haiti group was preparing to trek from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. in order to raise money for a new school in our partner community of Meloniere.
Kidnappings, riots, and political unrest shut travel to Haiti down in February of 2019. The youth from the Church of the Ascension had already made plans to visit Meloniere and work to rebuild the school that was destroyed in the 2016 hurricane. But the shut-down did not dampen their spirits. Out of the exuberance to help, the Bike4Haiti was born. Since then, we have taken at least one group per year on a ride to help raise funds for our partners in Haiti, adding a family/adult ride with more support (and better sleeping arrangements!). This year we are offering a one, three, or seven day ride.
Eric Randall was able to go on his first Bike4Haiti trip last year with the Church of the Ascension Youth Group. Having missed the very first ride which his sons participated in, he was excited to be involved.
The group planned other activities after their long days of riding, one which included a float down the river on innertubes. What was supposed to be a relaxing activity turned into one of the most memorable parts of the trip for Eric.
“One of our team members was having a medical issue, which delayed our timing getting to start the tubing,” Eric recalls. “Then, the river was extra slow because of long-term mild drought conditions. Then, none of the adults had a good grasp on what our exit point from the river looked like. Then, it started getting late into the afternoon, and we had no idea how much further we needed to go, and people were starting to get cold. I ended up being the prime organizer of our efforts to ditch the tubes, evac from the river, find the bike trail, and get back to camp. We were mostly barefoot, without cellphones, etc. Some of the team ended up walking/jogging three miles back to camp; the last stragglers didn't get back until after 10 pm.
“It was kind of harrowing, but a huge relief. For me, it also helped bond me to the rest of the team.”
Eric also recorded a game the youth played during their ride called ‘Duck Duck Bike.’ You can watch it by following the link below.
Eric and his wife are now gearing up to go on Haiti H2O’s first adult Bike4Haiti ride all the way to Washington, D.C. in September. “I loved the 2021 trip and knew the day that it was over that I would love to do it again,” says Eric. “Also, I'm now helping Haiti H2O with a podcast telling its various stories, including stories from bike and run volunteers, and I figured that this trip might be a great opportunity to get some stories in real time.
“The bonus, after I expressed interest, was that I learned that this trip will be a B&B affair (instead of camping, which I enjoyed but probably won't exactly miss this time around). And then my wife decided to come along — to share the ride and my B&B accommodations. This should be a great trip!”
Interested in joining us for the Bike4Haiti? Find more information here.