The Vision From Evariste

Evariste (pronounced like Everest) has a vision.   A vision not just for Burundi but for all of Central Africa.  He believes that Central Africa (CA) can be the driver of a stable and developed Africa. This vision is a vision of a self supporting CA that feeds all of Africa from the rich lands of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

Evariste is on the left, Simon in the middle. This is near Evariste's home and the spot where he received his vision and idea!

This vision has started with 120 imported cows, owned, fed and cared for by independent families.  These cows are producing 10-15 liters of milk per day from an elephant grass diet.  Evariste and Milk for Transformation are supporting families to import and finance these Fresian cows and then teaching buying, processing and distributing excess milk from these cows, which now number 300 (1 calf per year on average).

This is a simple idea that is working, that is feeding and that is empowering exponentially.  I saw this yesterday and spent time listening to Evariste both about this Milk For Transformation project and his greater vision for Burundi and CA.  Your donations to GLO are providing financing for this plan. Your prayers will support this vision.  He asks that we never give up on CA as a lost cause as there is great potential here as the poor are given hope through basic empowerment.  This must be believed and then supported!  I do believe now. 

Brussels Breakfast

Just finishing breakfast and ready to head to check-in.  A few butterflies in the stomach, so feeling a bit full. Was VERY happy to not have any baggage or bike fees at check-in yesterday. The checked bag full of cereal and other things for Simon's family was overweight, but no hassles from Brussels Airlines!  Bag and bike checked all the way through too, so no need to pick up and recheck here in Brussels. Flight departs in 1 1/2 hours, so I best get going and say good-bye for now. Thanks for all the good wishes!  Adios, Mark

Welcome to Burundi!

Economy became business class as the plane was largely empty, so 2-3 seats per person made for a very relaxing trip in a pretty new (interior at least) Brussels Airlines 747.  The 8 hours flight time "flew" and suddenly we were landed safely in Bujumbura.  It is dark here at 6pm, but the humidity was greeting enough. The airport is small here and we crossed the Tarmac to get to "arrivals" where after 30 minutes I was able to buy a visa for $90.  9 of us riders were on the flight and lo and behold, 9 bikes arrived!   4 of those made 3 connections from the US, from as far as Alaska, so a big Whew!

That is my view as I lie here at 6:15am.  My night was not comfortable on a 6 foot bed with both headboard and footboards👎.  That and my malaria anxiety made for some on and off sleep over 9 hours.  It seems that most are taking malaria tablets, something I would like to get today somehow and put my mind at ease.  Today we will be off at 8:30 to visit the "cow man" and see their new solar milk processing equipment about an hour outside Bujumbura.  We'll return late afternoon and head this evening to a midweek worship service with about 2,000 people!  Mark, a pastor from the UK that is riding with us will lead the service. Coincidentally the Drapers (friends from my BCN church that moved back to the UK) now attend his church in the UK!

Home sweet home for a few nights!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock - less than 44 hrs from Bujumbura!

THE BIKE IS PACKED!!!  I found a good youtube video to lead me through the disassembly and packing into my Serfa and after a couple of hours and a Sam Adams, the bike is READY!!

Total packed weight of 26kg - just slightly over the 23kg limit for checked bags.  Lots of biking extras as there are no bike supply stores there.  Between all of us, hopefully we'll have any biking emergency covered.  I have another bag full of cereal, etc… for Simon and his family.  Those hopefully will be my two "free" checked bags, but we'll see at check-in tomorrow.  More importantly, I can get the bags checked all the way through instead of having to pick them up in Brussels, lug them to the hotel and then re-check on Wednesday morning.  

The bike received a well deserved and thorough cleaning before being packed (fun, fun….):

Departure from BCN is only 18 hours away as I layover in Brussels tomorrow night before Wednesday morning's 8 1/2 hour flight to Bujumbura on Brussels Airlines.  I have not really packed as yet, though I did make it out for a quick 2 hour ride this morning to say good bye to my favorite route.  It seemed a breeze after 2 days off, so that is certainly promising!

Personal packing I will leave for the morning (the couch, Ola and Game of Thrones beckons!!!).  That should be straightforward as there really is not much to take.  I will get by on the bike with 2 "outfits", though packing a 3rd shirt (long sleeved) just in case it is cool in the mountains (or the sun is too fierce for my sunscreen).  Off the bike, flip flops, 2 khaki pants with zip off bottoms and 2 light polo shirts should do the trick, with some running shorts and 2 light tops for sleeping/lounging/recovering.

My biggest packing questions right now are on the electronic side, though I am pretty certain, with over 20 hours of flight time, the ipad with keypad cover is a must and the kindle is coming as well.  That will require a few wires and chargers - ugh!  Overall, I will get the personal stuff all into a "school" size backpack.

Thanks for the send off emails of support and continued donations!  GLO will use the funds well and I really appreciate the show of faith in GLO and Simon.

The time has come to say good-bye!  I will try and update further before departing Brussels but if not, "see you" in two weeks or earlier if i get a lucky internet connection down there!!!

The Big Why Question…..

It has been a monster riding week for me here as I have forced myself out on the road every day and more so, cranked up the mileage and climb elevation to boot.  The legs are rather numb at this exact moment, but I will likely get out tomorrow morning as well for at least a two hour ride before taking the bike to a local shop for some fine tuning and maintenance.  A final training ride on Monday then before packing the bike up and heading to the airport on Tuesday (though Tuesday night is in Brussels before a 10am departure for Bujumbura on Wednesday).

Tasza and I have had a few chats about the Burundi trip this week as her school teacher has discussed it a bit in class.  The big question was "why are you doing this?" and that one has been on my mind quite a bit as a result.  Certainly the challenge of preparation physically was a draw at first, but there are marathons and bike races locally that would easily provide such a physical challenge.  As our discussion evolved this week, I could really only best explain it as something that I think God has presented for me to do.  There really is not a better way to explain it.  It does not feel as a self-serving thing, as certainly those of you that know me well would expect a Scotland golf trip or something along those lines (don't worry - Scotland with the college roommates is coming up in 3 years when we all hit 50!!).  Burundi is a great cause and certainly the more I have learned about the place and its people, there may not be too many other places on earth with a bigger "8-ball" to be born behind than in Burundi.  That said, passion-wise I would love to be spending a week there running a basketball clinic, not torturing myself on Burundi's mountains.

Thus, after a week of thinking about the "why" (and trust me - 12 hours on the bike allows for some thought!) and how to explain it to Tasza, that is my answer - it is an opportunity that I have been led to that I think will be pleasing to God and return just a tiny bit of all the great things He has given to me to date in my lifetime.  It just FEELS right.  It feels a good time to give back, to organize an opportunity for all of you to give a bit too as many do not have the time or flexibility to do some of this, but certainly many of you would do the same given the opportunity!

Next post soon along with some training photos, packing lists and anxiety attack descriptions!!

Thanks for the great words of encouragement and donations made to date!!  Please do consider a donation.  It is great way to double your donation dollars as I am matching all donations up to $30,000!

All the best…….

What it MAY be like there (a few of your questions answered)

There will be 22 of us riding in Burundi for Great Lakes Outreach.  Including Simon (GLO's leader), there are another 4 riders that are living in Burundi and managing GLO or other NGO projects.  The rest of us "tourists" I am sure will have wide open eyes as from the 14th of May when we land well through the end of the biking on the 24th.  As I have received quite a few inquiries about what it will be like there, let me try and answer a few (though I am only relaying info as I have no idea what it will be like!!):

Where will you be staying?  Yes - 5 star Starwoods for the lot of us! :)  Actually, Simon has told us to enjoy hot showers at home on the 13th of May, as those will be the last ones we experience (aside from hippo spit) until returning home on the 26th of May!  Thus, I am not packing a razor and may become a bit grizzled by the time Ola and the girls see me again.  Our first nights in Bujumbura we will stay at the Rainbow Center, an orphanage for HIV positive and/or abandoned babies.  While outside of Bjumbura and on the Tour, we will stay in relative (to typical Burundi) luxury hotels, with running water, individual rooms, mosquito nets and possibly electricity.  Internet may be available (24kbps) - so probably not a lot of blog updates!!

What is the food going to be like?  We have been told to expect to eat well as a Burundian chef will accompany us on the tour.  Meals will be carb loaded and typically stews with rice.  Tropical fruits like papaya, pinepple, banana, mango and tangerines will readily available.  American riders are bringing a lot of pancake mix with them for breakfasts!

How safe is it?    There are always unavoidable risks and certainly bad luck.  Politically, Burundi has had a very stable period and until recently, very little in the way of "old issues".  Tensions have risen a bit recently as the President would like to change the constitution and allow himself a 3rd term (contrary to the Arusha Accord, which ended Burundi's civil war in 2005 - here's a not so positive Economist Article on such matters.  Nothing is guaranteed of course, but Simon and the folks on the ground there live there with their families and we are not expecting problems, but precautions are being taken while we are on the ride.  Aside from riding accidents and food poisoning, there are health risks, but I have loaded up on my vaccinations the past few weeks and am reasonably prepared aside from malaria (side affects can be as bad as the disease and they are not foolproof protectors).

Our first three days there do include some fun:

• Cultural do's/don'ts session;
• Visit to see (play!) with crocodiles and snakes at the "World's Most Interactive and Zero-Rules Zoo".  Hmmmm, right up my alley….

•  2,000-strong youth worship event on Thursday night;
• Visit to the BBAC (Friesian Cow Import project!) site to see new solar powered processing equipment and a "few" cows ($1,000 buys a cow, so a $500 donation along with my match and "we be mooing"!!!);
• Friday evening dinner/reception to meet many English speaking locals and some expats as well;

Cranked out 102km today - my longest ride to date.  Feeling ok, but man oh man, seven of those in a row down in Burundi will no doubt take its toll.

Adios!!

A bit about my training and on bike preparation

My training over the past six weeks, as a few people have asked about how I have prepared (or IF I have trained!).  I have also added a strava gadget to the right that will keep  postings of my rides.  I am not sure if my garmin gps will work in Burundi, nor if we will have internet access with which to upload the rides there.  I certainly hope so though as I love the stats/information that strava tracks.

That 32km ride in late March I remember as being such a "big" thing, but now it is nothing.  I ramped up the week after Easter to nearly 300k and 3,800 elevation, which is about half of what the week in Burundi will be.  It did not leave me dragging terribly, so I think I am physically ready for Burundi, but this week I will pound it hard until Friday before getting the bike cleaned up, taken apart and packed for the flight on the 13th.

My training has been greatly helped by Manuel, a friend from Vilanova with whom I have rode a majority of the above rides.  We met by chance one day and as he is a policeman with tough hours, he has most afternoons free to ride.  More importantly, he is experienced both in terms of riding and in terms of all the local routes and roads.  Thus, a great deal of my preparation I owe to his guidance (thanks Manuel!!).

My bike is a 2013 Specialized Roubaix, which I bought use in January off of EBAY in the States (we were in Miami for Mark Iantosca's wedding).  Alex Alexandrov was my guide in terms of choosing a bike and I certainly could not have a better bike in my view.  I love it.  It is lightweight (9lbs?) and really has been a perfect bit of kit in getting ready and comfortable on the road.

Nutrition wise, also on Alex's advice, I have been using Hammer Nutrition, both as a vitamin supplement (Premium Insurance Caps), on the road electrolyte drink (Heed lemon-lime) and post-ride recovery (recoverite).  I do not know much about such things, but in terms of how I feel, I certainly have no complaints aside from being a bit edgy/hyped up in the day to day.  Ola is putting up with it, but certainly I have a shorter fuse with the kids in the past few months while training than previous to getting on a bike.  Who knows…..

Luckily My Cycling Training is More Advanced Than This Blog!

This was driving me nuts not to at least get something up and going to share in some of my thoughts and preparations for the Burundi trip, so, for better or worse, here it is.  Some quick thoughts prior to heading to the beach with the family (Saturday is a training day off!).  Certainly take the blog as a work in process.

In 10 days, I leave the "bubble" happily known as Sitges and head to Bujambura, Burundi to spend 10 days there seeing first hand some of the projects of Great Lakes Outreach ("GLO"), a Christian charitable group led by British friend Simon Guillebaud.  Oh yeah, for seven of those days Simon will be leading myself and 20 other men on the 2014 "Tour du Burundi", a 600km (373 miles) bike ride around the country.  This trip and the bike tour are focused on increasing or giving everyone that we know some awareness of Burundi, a small nation in Central Africa in the not so upscale neighborhood of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as raising funds in support of GLO's projects in Burundi.

My introduction to Burundi was over ten years ago via my good friend Brian Gimotty, whose wife worked with GLO and Simon.  Brian and Paula spent time in Burundi after their wedding and also introduced me to Simon, who just awes me with his faith and energy for God and Burundi.  After financial support over the past few years and now with my own children being near an age when some Daddy time away will not be the end of the world at home (so to speak), Ola and I decided this year would be the time to go to Burundi and really see GLO up close.  The added challenge of the cycling tour makes it that much more interesting of a way to spread the word to my friends and colleagues about GLO, Burundi and Simon.

For more on the fundraising efforts, check out my fundraising site.  I am matching any donations up to my goal of $30,000 USD for GLO.  So please, spend my money by considering your own donation now.

This gets the ball rolling.  More updates to follow very soon!  Thanks for reading and stay informed on my preparations, thoughts and the experience itself by using the RSS subscription feed to this blog or just bookmarking this site and check in regularly over the coming 3 weeks.