Kona BikeTown Africa

AfricaBike: Jasper BikeTown

For four years the Jasper, Alberta, Canada municipality and a local bike shop have successfully created and stoked-out community members with their own, yet different, version of BikeTown.

Each year, the project doles out new bikes to cycle-goers to encourage people to ride  around town on two wheels instead of four. This year, the program will be giving away eight brand spanking new Kona AfricaBikes to residents who write a short essay detailing how they or someone they know would benefit from the use of a bike for the summer.
The lucky winners get the new rigs.

The program educates people about climate change and  demonstrates how small daily changes like riding your bike to work can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and alleviate traffic and parking congestion. It also helps increase your fitness level and currency in your wallet from not having to shell out cash for expensive gas.

Nice moves Jasper! Check the full story here http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id=69&x=story&xid=401059.

Going The Distance - Campaign Style

She's done it! Our AfricaBike all-star campaigner Christine George has reached her goal of raising $10,000 for the BikeTown program - and says that she even surpassed it. The professional number crunchers (read: Virginia Tech honors students) are compiling the grand total as we write and will have a final number in due time.

One major campaign donor was the Wytheville, VA Rotary Club who's members ended up  giving $2,200! Here's Christine (middle) with the group.

Other major campaign donors included: Patricia Caldwell ($1,000), Dr. Jack Dudley ($600), VT Communication Skills Classes ($600), Ava Howard ($500), Wiley Contracting Co. ($500), Members of the VT WLP Council ($500), and the VT College of Vet. Med. Class of '09 ($400).

Simply awesome. Ultimately, these donations will help save lives.

Thanks for your generosity.

AfricaBike in June Reader's Digest

The AfricaBike graces the pages of the June issue of Reader's Digest in a story titled "Four Ways of Looking at a Bicycle" - the best thing on two wheels in Africa, Germany, New York City and Paris. Looking at the AfricaBike "As a Lifesaver," the article goes on to explain the importance of the AfricaBike to healthcare workers (and others) in sub- Saharan Africa and how it has become a vital means of transportation. It also features three other bikes in the categories: as a concept, as a memorial and as community property.

Check the story out here: http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/4-ways-of-looking-at-a-bicycle/article58758.html. 

Happy Bike Month

For most of the country and locations across the globe, the month of May is the bridge between spring and summer - unless you live in Jackson, WY where May (at least this year) just means more winter and snow!

Hence, May is national bike month and the time to pull-out the bikes from the depths of the  garage and basement (or just buck up and buy a new rig to replace that beater of yours) and start pedaling. Not only does biking to work, the grocery store, your kids soccer game, the movies, help transport four-legged friends or the local pub promote fun and exercise, it keeps you away from the pump - which your wallet will smile at you about. Considering that gas prices have soared over $4.00 a gallon recently, riding your bike will also let you save some extra coin for that long awaited trip to Hawaii or the Maldives you've always been pushing off.

So, Bike-to-Work Week is from May 12-16 and Bike-to-Work Day is on Friday May 16. Keep the car in the driveway for a day, or week, and see how it feels. I bet you'll like it.

And, back to that beater of yours ... why not hop on an AfricaBike for size. A new set of stylish wheels for the season and the chance to contribute to a noble cause. A no-brainer, really!

To locate your local Kona dealer check here http://dealer.konaworld.com/index.php?country=US.

Campaign Wiz Honored At VT

Talented Virginia Tech senior and honors student Christine George isn't your typical graduating student. Nope, she's more the atypical kind.

The kind that, besides spearheading a super-successful AfricaBike fundraiser campaign over the last few months, was recently awarded the 2008 Outstanding Senior in the College of Science for the 2007-2008 academic year http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2008&itemno=285.

The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding student performance in each college of the university. Students are selected on the basis of their quality credit average (3.4 or higher on a 4.0 scale) and outstanding performance in several or all of the following areas: academic achievement, extracurricular activities, leadership positions and contributions of service to the university and/or community. She also reeled in the USA Today’s All-USA College Academic First Team, among numerous other awards and scholarships.

As for her commitment to Kona's Biketown Africa program: Impressive. Christine has raised more than $8,000 through donations and events associated with her fundraising campaign, with sights set on breaking her goal of $10K.

Check her updated progress here.

In other news, generous Biketown and Adopt-a-bike donations keep pouring in. Most recently, the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas sent a kind gesture of $2,500. One of the school's bike enthusiastic faculty members read about the program in the Dec 07 issue of Bicycling magazine and the wheels started turning immediately. Thanks!