Stage 1: Tour De France
Hello from Bilbao, Spain. We arrived here two days ago after a 13 hour overnight drive from Paris where we rented a camping van we will be using throughout the trip.
Our first few days have not been without challenges but we are delighted to have the opportunity to take Cycle Connect across Spain and France.
The team includes Javo, Salem and Isma and myself. All three are Mexican and hopefully you already know know where I am from. As for how does a Ugandan meet a few number of Mexicans, I will leave that for another chat.
As I write, we just finished the first stage of the tour (110 miles in 8 hours and 9 minutes with over 10,000 ft of climbing). To say it was challenging would be an understatement and can only hope my body recovers in time for another 120 miles tomorrow. The current drive is actually to the Bilbao airport where I will be picking up my bike. The airline lost it and since I couldn't stay in Paris to wait for it, I asked them to send it to Bilbao. In the meantime, I used our Salem's bike today (yes, a lady’s bike).
Among other developments is the fact that we began cycling today instead of Sunday. We recently realized that beginning one day before the tour is a better option since the road is already marked and you do not have to rely on the GPS as much. Besides, people start lining up on the road a day before. Today we already got some cheers on the last climb of the day and got to talk to a local newspaper.
You may wonder why I am going through all this. Is it for the love of pain or just for fun. Well, those two are part of it but the main reason is to fundraise for Cycle Connect. We are looking to raise $200,000 for bicycles and other assets that change lives in Uganda. We are currently making good progress on the fundraising but lagging our goal. The goal is to essentially be at the same percent complete of our cycling as our fundraising. That is to say, the first week is seven rides (33.3% complete), the fundraising should be at the same percent. Unfortunately we are currently at 11%. I invite you to go to https://cycleconnect.kindful.com/?campaign=1244802 and help sponsor us as we ride for good. To follow our adventures, our instagram is @pedal4purpose if you want to see some pictures And if you would like to check out the details of the ride everyday, check out my strava.
After finishing stage 1.