The Sea to Sea Bicycle tour is a 3,900 mile, nine-week bicycle trek through North America. The intensive bike ride is meant to raise awareness and funds to support those in poverty in the world. The 2013 tour began on June 24 in Los Angeles and will end on August 24 in Staten Island, NY. Stops along the way include Phoenix, Toronto, Colorado Springs, Chicago, Grand Rapids and Manhattan.
Each of the 120 participating cyclists will travel an average of 68 miles per day, resting only on Sundays. Full distance riders are also required to raise $10,000 for the cause. The bike tour is sponsored by the Reformed Church in America, as well as Partners World Wide and World Renew, in addition to a number of other smaller organizations. In total, the Sea to Sea Bike tour has raised $1.8 million to fight poverty. Funds raised will be used to support organizations and agencies that are actively combating global poverty. The final goal of this year’s bike tour is to raise $3 million in support of anti-poverty measures.
This year funds will be carefully divided amongst specific recipients. 25 percent will go to World Renew, 15 percent to RCA World Missions, 25 percent to Partners World Wide and 35 percent to local programs that aid the poor. Local organizations can be awarded the funds through a grant process that takes applications. A list of recipients from 2008 is available online for anybody to view.
Additionally, Sea to Sea offers news updates and means of following the progress of the cyclists themselves. Anybody interested can follow updates on Facebook or Twitter, and also read news on the Sea to Sea web page. For more devout followers, a Christian devotional guide that accompanies the bike trek’s mission to end poverty is also available.
So far, the trail across the United States and Canada has proved to be a challenging one. During the trip, the cyclists have been challenged by wildfires in Colorado, stalled by a heat wave in Arizona and experienced washed out roads in New Mexico. They have worked their way through a number of states from Kansas to Illinois to Michigan and have crossed over into Canada.
On August 19, the team of cyclists crossed back into the United States and finally made it into the state of New York. The bike riders then celebrated the conclusion of this journey of a lifetime by arriving in Staten Island on August 24. These cyclists will have certainly completed an amazing feat of human of accomplishment. But most importantly, they will have made a significant impact for the fight against global poverty.
– Grace Zhao
Sources: Christian Reformed Church News, Sea to Sea, Cross Map
Photo: In the Spin