Cycling Adventures

With an increased awareness of global climate change, and our impact on the environments around us, it seems that more and more adventurers are adopting a more "green" approach to their travels. For instance, we're beginning to see an increase in cycling tours and long distance biking adventures, much like the two that I'm about to highlight.

First up, I received e-mail earlier today regarding the Going South project that Dutch film company Deepeei currently has in pre-production. It seems they're looking for a group of adventure cyclists who want to be part of an environmental documentary. Actually, they're looking for two groups of cyclist, who will make up two different teams. One team will ride from Alaska to Central America, while the other will ride from Central America to the southern most point of Argentina.

The documentary will actually be a 13 part television show following the teams as they travel for an expected 8 months in 2009. They're looking for riders who are capable of long distance cycling, have an inquisitive and independent nature, ride well as part of a team, and are comfortable in front of the camera. In addition, you should be fluent in English, and a second language, either Spanish or Portuguese would also be preferable. If that sounds like you, and you don't have anything on your schedule from May to December of next year, drop them a note over at info@deepeei.com to find out more. Looks like a great project.

This second bicycling adventure is one that has been sitting in my inbox for some time, and it completely escaped my attention that I hadn't posted on it yet. Fortunately, the event is still some time off, so I haven't blown my chances for writing on this and bringing it to the attention of cyclists who want to mix culture, while riding for a cause.

Back in January of this year, a group of 30 cyclists from the U.K., the U.S., and India cycled more than 200 miles through Andhra Pradesh region of India in an effort to raise funds for the Heal Organization. The group is dedicated to finding food, shelter, healthcare, and education for underprivileged children around the world. The destination for their ride back in January was to a Heal village, and the very successful event raised more than $200,000.

Now, the organization is in the early stages of planning another ride, this time to take place in January of 2010, and they're hoping to have an even bigger turnout this time. They've set their sites on getting 50 cyclists from around the globe to join with a local team of Indian riders, to cycle through Southern India in the Coorg, Mysore and Bangalore area. Everyone who signs up for the ride will be expected to raise funds for the cause, and those funds will have a direct impact of the children living in the region. You can learn a lot more about this event, as well as keep up on current developments at the Cycle India Blog.

I know that January 2010 seems like a long way off at this point, but it'll actually be here before you know it. This gives you plenty of time to plan for the trip, raise funds for Heal, and figure out how you're going to get your bike to India. 2008 is rapidly slipping away, and 2009 will be here before you know it, giving you less than a year to plan everything.

Two great events and two great opportunities to have a cycling adventure. So, you can either gain fame and fortune on Dutch TV or help save lives in India. Decisions, decisions....