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The annual newsletter of the Ride:Well Tour, a cross-country cycling campaign designed to raise monetary and social capital for clean water and HIV/AIDS prevention for our friends in Africa | Composed of words and pictures and delivered with hope | Real stories of real people who are bothered by injustice and passionate about change.
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THE LONG HAUL
Venture Expeditions powers the 2009 Ride:Well Tour . Connect with a Venture staffer at (952) 886-7688 or email info@ridwelltour.org.
All roads lead to Rome (or Washington D.C.)
With fondness and
gratitude, we remember
the 2008 Ride:Well Tour, a
3125-mile cross-country cyclotour that raised
$201,000 for Blood:Water
Mission, including over
$80,000 from one benefit
concert in Tyler, Texas.
Getting a team of
bicyclists safely across 3,125 miles of public roads
is no small task, and we’ve
been encouraged by the
hospitality of ordinary
people everywhere.
People across the United States helped us raise
$201,000 for B:WM. This
great sum goes a long
way in a continent where
$1 provides clean water
for one person for one
year.
What a great way to
provide simple and vital
help to our African
brothers and sisters!
By visiting cities from surf
country in Santa Monica
to the nation’s Capitol, we generated awareness and
donations to help our African
friends with sustainable clean
blood and water initiatives.
Since 2004, Blood:Water
Mission has funded more
than 617 water projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
Blood:Water Mission also
exists to fight the continent-
crippling AIDS pandemic.
ABC News recently
featured two Kenyan brothers who helped build
in Lwala, Kenya a clinic
funded in part by B:WM.
–R:WT
In this issue:
The cross-country cycle
tour that’s changing how
adventurers go about
mission|Composed of
words and pictures and
delivered with hope|Real
stories of real people who
are bothered by injustice
and passionate about
change.
Individual Highlights
Donald Miller’s Blog 2
Wrestling with recession 3
Why Ride:Well? 4
Training for R:WT 5
Community events 6
Stories from the team 7
Blood:Water Mission 8
Venture Expeditions 9
Ride:Well “the second” go for launch
Reflections from a summer in the saddle
A mobile & mobilized community of compassion and hope
The newsletter of the
2nd annual Ride:Well Tour
2 TYPE TITLE HERE
A Ride:Well Network blog
by Gregg Mwendwa
05.19.09 // ridewelltour.org
Last year, I had the great
opportunity to travel from
Kenya through London to Chicago and finally landed
in Nashville, with an
intention of proceeding to
California for the RWT.
We had all sorts of fun, from
the Ride:Well band, and
Ride:Well show... everything. For me, it was a
great opportunity to see
the USA by bike, traversing
over 10 states meeting all
sorts of people.
Within that fun, I learnt a lot. I discovered my real
passion and the soul. I
admit it was not easy at all,
being in a foreign country,
new culture everyday,
food, new roads and
sunscreen. I remember the
times I had to jump into the support van and save
myself from the sun. By the
end of the ride, I was
blacker that coal, having attracted all sorts of heat
and light.
Everything looked bigger
than life, the apples, the
prawns and chicken
breasts. I blogged like I
never did in my life. Funny, eccentric, unresolved and
at times, contentious.
However, sharing my story
with the fellow bikers and
taking time to listen to what
America feels about Africa
brought within me new
passion to love and serve mankind.
I came back to start JIJUE 1
Million campaign
(www.jijue.org), a shared
vision to systematically
efforts to make a tangible contribution towards
preventing further HIV
infections among Kenyan
youth, by ensuring 1 Million
Kenyan youth take a HIV
test and safeguard
themselves from infection.
In partnership with
Blood:Water Mission, we
have so far seen over
14,800 youth take the HIV
test and join the grassroots
movement of preventing further HIV infections.
Moving out of town, I am
now based at Kajiado,
expanding the HIV
prevention agenda to mist
at risk, under-served and hard to reach populations
in the Rift valley province,
which forms home to half of
all HIV infections in Kenya.
This is a hardship area, with
kids still not going to school
to herd cattle. It has a
proven a hassle, but we are getting somewhere slowly
and surely!
I am excited that you got
the opportunity to ride
across America, for the 15
of us who did it last year,
ours are now changed lives. I will follow your story!
‘08 cyclist returns to start JIJUE 1 Million
Gregg Mwendwa is a Kenyan determined to heal his country through the JIJUE
1 Million campaign. To date, over 17,000 youth have been tested for HIV. The
story of JIJUE reminds us that no one NGO or nonprofit can successfully defeat
AIDS/HIV in Africa. That’s why we’re telling the story of JIJUE in a newsletter
devoted to Ride:Well for Blood:Water! Thanks JIJUE for your message!
3
What a dollar can buy in today’s world
Homeless community donates $2000
As recession-conscious
marketers from Seattle to
Singapore chant the
mantra of value-based
offerings, Ride:Well
“changeth not”.
From, the beginning, the
Ride:Well Tour and our
cause, Blood:Water Mission,
have always presented a
great use for a dollar.
Our “value” is simple. A
dollar donated to
Blood:Water Mission
through the Ride:Well Tour
provides clean water for
one African for one year.
Since its conception,
Blood:Water’s 1000 Wells
project has built 617 wells in
communities across sub-
Saharan Africa.
Wells give Africans the gift
of clean water to protect
them from life-threatening
illnesses. Women and
children will no longer walk
up to 10 miles a day to get
water. People with HIV will
live stronger, longer lives.
Communities will flourish
and be changed.
Inherent to Ride:Well and
Blood:Water’s Mission is the
value not only of dollars but
of people themselves.
We believe that many little
actions will someday spell
big change, but we know
we can’t do it alone.
That’s why we ride. –RW:T
The R:WT brings new life to
the idea that someone
always has it worse than
you.
During a daily Bible study at
Newgate Homeless Mission
in Longview, Tex.,
Restoration Director Joel
Heflin, who donates to
B:WM, shared the story of
how many people in the
world still lack access to
clean water.
The homeless realized that
there were people in the
world more unfortunate
than them. One woman
suggested that every day
at mealtime they collect
change for the cause.
Less than a year later,
Newgate Mission had
raised over $2000 for the
Blood:Water! –R:WT
We do not live in denial
about the dire state of the
U.S. economy, but we
believe the spirit of
Ride:Well will again capture
the hearts and
imaginations of the
American people.
Last year’s Ride:Well Tour
was a beautifully-lucid
journey. Our trek showed
us that ordinary people
always have something to
give.
Already, our newest crop of
riders is excited to begin
raising support and
awareness. Already,
friends and family are
requesting ways to give.
Ride:Well asks each rider to
raise $3895, with an
additional donation of
$1000 for Blood:Water
Mission.
In addition to enlisting the
support of friends and
family, many riders
received spur-of-the-
moment donations from
people along the route.
“Nearly every member of
the team has been
handed a twenty-dollar bill
as soon as we explained
what we were doing, ”
writes Donald Miller via his
blog.
-R:WT
"My church is continuing to
host and raise support for
Ride:Well because it is
making a difference in our
community. When we
give despite the needs we
may have, and when we
realize that there are
greater needs other than
our own, we become part
of a larger community of
faith... that helps make us
whole. "- Paul Hurckman,
Oak Hills Church. Ride:Well
2009 RW:T Tour Stop #22—
When recession grips, RW:T rides on
4 TYPE TITLE HERE
Why would anyone ride across the United States?
It’s a question worth asking. Why R:WT?
The RW:T cyclist is a socially-minded endurance athlete
with the ability to communicate his or her passion to
others. Our riders have in common two desires: a
longing to live life fully and a desire to benefit others.
As “adventure sports” like triathlons and ultramarathons
continue to gain popularity nationwide, Ride:Well offers
adventure with a purpose. It’s more than “killing two
birds with one stone” – it’s a holistic integration of
worldview and passion.
If one thing is true, riding for R:WT requires a bit of old-
fashioned courage. Riders must be fit enough to
endure an all-weather trek through demanding terrain
in desert, mountain and urban landscapes. Riding long
hours on paved roads can take a real toll on the
human body.
As well, riders must raise $3895 to finance their trip, with
an additional $1000 given to B:WM. Joining R:WT
involves an interview, but getting to California requires
fundraising, training and planning.
The great demands of the R:WT require the cyclist to
wear several hats: grassroots activist, marketer and
organizer.
A different breed
Through the successes of (red) and other socially-
conscious initiatives, consumers have opened to the
idea of “activism through consumption.”
We also see in our riders the evidence of a generation
who grew up watching “Forrest Gump”. Besides the
obvious connection between R:WT and Forrest’s cross
country tours, something else is at play.
The “Forrest” generation could be seen as a group of
young people who gauge their wealth not only on their
401K or their standard of living but on their experiences,
relationships and personal happiness.
It’s the kind of idealism that often annoys their Boomer
parents, but marketers understand that allowing this
ethos to penetrate a brand can release the pent-up
energy of the most socially-conscious generation in
history.
Yet, as the Internet becomes overrun with people
asking for time, money and attention, even the well-
meaning citizen must begin to tune out messages that
“don’t matter.”
It’s a skepticism determined not by any apathy or
perceived uncaring but by the simple economy of
time. Thus, the R:WT cyclist must know how to
communicate quickly and effectively their vision for the
Summer tour.
Sharing the story, one person at a time
We asked our participants to describe the tour in one
word, and responses ranged from “Love” to
“Ridiculous” and “Crazy” and even the made up word
“Intenselyworthwhile”.
In the early days, perception is everything. In order to
galvanize the elements, the R:WT operates an online
Network of riders, supporters and staffers
Riders are encouraged to blog about their training,
fundraising and social media efforts.
The goal is connectivity and support for the team.
Many of our riders have ties to other grassroots
organizations. Already literate in movements and
causes, they learn the “selling points” of Blood:Water
Mission and begin to glean the passion of those “who
went before.”
Then, they become “brand evangelists” of sorts as they
share their passion with their friends and family. Support
letters solicit donations from altruistic friends and
acquaintances, but the Internet also opens their
“personal brand” to the knowing eyes of their peers.
If one thing we know: people do not give to causes or
other people—they give to vision. As the R:WT pedals
to raise social and monetary capital for Blood:Water
Mission, the vision goes forward in hops, skips and
bounds.
We don’t have a spin or a schtick. We have a bunch
of cool stories that combine to make a big story we call
the Ride:Well Tour. Like Lance, we truly go beyond the
bike, to life, hope and sacrifice for a worthy cause.
–R:WT
5
Amateur hall of famers
Stationary bike= devotion
Rider training diary
Brady Miles, Waxahachie,
Texas, April 15, 2009.
“I found a bike group, and
we ride about 30-35 miles on Saturday morning. It’s
an awesome ride. It’s great
to meet up with people
and have a pack of riders
breaking the insane wind
we get down here. I am
the youngest of about 15
riders that range from 23 to
about 60.
It’s incredible how cycling
is such an equalizer among
ages and genders. You
would never see a 60 year
old be competitive in a
basketball or football
game.
I love/hate how some days
you can just fly on the bike and you feel so good and
then other days its so
incredibly painful you just
want the ride to be over
with. Rest, nutrition,
hydration, and sleep probably all play a role in
good rides and bad rides.
So I guess I shouldn’t be too
surprised when I was in pain
the whole time trying to
play catch up with the
riders all morning. –Brady Miles, math teacher and R:WT cyclist
Bicycles and summer are
seemingly inseparable, and
so the converse holds true
as well. Often, bikes and
winter would rather not be.
And so, while winter raged,
many of our riders
retreated to the safety of
gyms and workout facilities
to get in shape.
Lisa Ralph, who found in
the gym a refuge from feet
of Maine snow, joked at all
the “fake” miles she was
racking up.
In fact, anyone north of the
Mason Dixon line who plans
to ride with us this summer
will have to do some
training indoors.
We save the best for last.
Last year, a UK-based R:WT
fan biked over 2000 miles
on a stationary bike, in
support of the ’08 team.
Now, that’s dedication!
–R:WT
To be frank, skill levels vary
greatly among our riders.
Graduate student and
nutrition specialist Brian
Elliott was one of the last
additions to the team.
We’ve pardoned his delay
in finding us, since the
superfit Texan has been
grinding out a marathon a
month since last
December.
In April, he’ll be in Boston
for the historic footrace. In
June, he’ll be on a bike,
with us.
Yet, Brian definitely
represents the fitter side of
the team dynamic.
“R:WT is not a race,” says
tour organizer Aaron Smith.
“We’re more geared
towards endurance.”
In fact, some riders are
spending their first hours on
a road bike this summer.
In light of this fact, we often
joke that completion of
Ride:Well is a shoo-in for the
Amateur Cyclist Hall of
Fame! –R:WT
Union University student and R:WT cyclist Bethany Stallings is
new to the sport. Here she takes a break from a spring
training ride to pose for a pic with her new friend for the
summer, a Fuji Newest cycle she named “Suki”, just for fun.
6 TYPE TITLE HERE
R:WT events plan to inspire, educate
This summer, Ride:Well
Events are bringing together the collective
energy and passion of the
highly-activated supporters
of Blood:Water Mission and
the Ride:Well Tour.
We’re excited to present
large, community-wide gatherings in Phoenix,
Arizona; Dallas, Texas; and
Baltimore, Maryland. Read
our story, tell your friends,
collect donations,
participate in the event,
meet the team, and leave
with the awesome feeling of knowing you have made
a very positive and
tangible difference in the
world.
Of course, we’ll kick out
some super cool Ride:Well brand swag for our faithful
fundraisers. Let’s see
something amazing this
Summer. One day, one
message – HOPE.
♫ PHOENIX, AZ-
Blood:Water | Sara Groves
Benefit Concert (6.21.09)
It’s hard not to like Sara
Groves. When you
consider her thoughtful
blend of faith and artistry, her years of faithful service
and her down-to-earth
approach to songwriting
(and life), you get the
feeling Sara is a person you
can learn a few things
from.
Join us on June 21 for a
night of music, vision, and
compassion for
Blood:Water and our friends
in Africa, presented by
Desert Springs Church and
the Ride:Well Tour.
DALLAS, TX- | the Cow Creek Country Classic
(6.27.09)
For Ride:Well Tour
supporters of all skill levels,
the Cow Creek Country
Classic is the perfect way
to share the message of
Blood:Water with your friends, family and
neighbors, while still getting
a healthy dose of pulse
raising cycling. Like any
good one-day “classic”
race, the Cow Creek offers
several options of distance
and pace. Whether you’re a diehard roadie waiting to
eat up some pavement or
a casual cyclist who just
wants to enjoy a good ride,
we hope you’ll join us in
Waxahachie! If you sign up
with Ride:Well, you’ll get
one of our exclusive t-shirts.
DALLAS, TX- | the
Oaks Fellowship Water
Walk (7.xx.09)
Every day, thousands of
sub-Saharan Africans must hike several miles just for a
drink of water.
In the United States, a
modernized country with
almost ubiquitous access to
clean drinking water, we
find it hard to connect with the plight of our African
brothers and sisters. A
water walk will change
your perspectives about
daily life in Africa.
Plus, it’s a great way to
share the mission of Blood:Water with friends,
family and neighbors.
Come walk for water with
the good folks from Red
Oaks!
♫ Dallas, TX- Blood:Water
| Jars of Clay Benefit
Concert (7.xx.09)
It’s no secret the Grammy-
winning rock ensemble Jars of Clay founded
Blood:Water Mission, but it’s
not publicized, either. Jars
have always kept the focus
where it should be—on our
African brothers and sisters.
Empowering sub-Saharan
communities to construct wells, latrines and clinics—
the three pronged-attack
against AIDS/HIV in Africa—
has always been
Blood:Water’s mission.
Join us on July xx for a night
of vision and compassion for Blood:Water and our
friends in Africa, presented
by Red Oaks Church and
the Ride:Well Tour.
“We have never been
more pleased to be a part
of an event more than the
B:WM Ride:Well night…
The most satisfying night in
our 10 year career.” –Troy
Groves, husband of
recording artist Sara
Groves
Author Donald Miller at the ‘08 Tyler, Tex., event.
7
Ride:Well Tour fosters deep friendships
Grassroots org. always dreams bigger
Serendipity often blesses the “nitty-gritty”
As a grassroots nonprofit
with big dreams, positive
word-of-mouth referrals
comprise the majority of
our connections.
Like most small nonprofits,
we also rely on social
media to overcome an
almost microscopic
advertising budget.
Others come to us through
Donald Miller, a bestselling
Christian author who rode
with us last year. Donald
has considerable influence
with young people who
want a hands-on approach
to their faith.
Many more know Ride:Well
as one of the major
projects of Blood:Water
Mission (BW:M). We like
working with BW:M.
Some athletes know the
R:WT because they have
taken part in trips for
organizers behind R:WT.
We hope our 2009 press kit
will capture the interest of
beat journalists and editors
versed in the efficacy of
new social movements.
Nashville native and Union
University senior Erin Morris is
passionate about R:WT!
Here’s an excerpt from her
Network blog:
“This past weekend, I went
home for Easter and had a
yard sale Saturday
morning. Lots of my sweet
friends donated things to
help for the sale. It was a
pretty cold day, but the
turnout was amazing!
We couldn't have asked for
a better group! Anyway, I
think the total money raised
was just under $1,000! Also,
there was a surprise! My
stepdad found a random
book he'd never seen
before (we can't figure out
where it came from)...he
quickly flipped through it,
and there tucked in
between the pages was a
hundred dollar bill! Crazy.”
http://www.ridewelltour.org
.
Through emails and phone
calls, we’ve had the
pleasure of getting to know
our 2009 team, who will
convene for the first time in
Santa Monica, Calif. There,
they’ll begin the “ride of
their lives”.
If the overwhelmingly
positive experience of last
year’s team is any indicator
of the 2009 cyclists’
potential, the 15 cyclists
and three leaders behind
the R:WT should be in for an
unforgettable summer.
Many members of the 2008
Team found the ’08 Tour to
be a “life forming”
experience.
As the new batch of riders
seeks to grapple with the
immense demands of the
Tour, last year’s team is
offering advice on
everything from bike
selection to nutrition and
training programs.
Call it “in-flight intimacy.”
Call it camaraderie. Call it
crazy. We call it
community, and the
American road has always
brought people together.
All the great sacrifices
considered, to be a
Ride:Well alum is to be a
friend for life.
“There are only a couple
times that I can recall
seeing rapid growth
happen in my life, and I
know without a doubt this
will be another one of
those times. I couldn't be
more excited."
–Lisa Rudzik, 2009 cyclist
and elementary school
teacher for special needs
children
Erin poses with her
cherished (and pretty
cute) nephew, Jack.
8 TYPE TITLE HERE
Why we pedal: the Blood:Water story
Director of Africa Programs writes home
Lwala clinic featured in documentary
Blood:Water Mission is a
grassroots organization that
empowers communities to
work together against the
AIDS and water crises in
Africa.
Blood:Water Mission exists
to promote clean blood
and clean water efforts in
Africa, tangibly reducing
the impact of the HIV/AIDS
pandemic while addressing
the underlying issues of
poverty, injustice and
oppression. Blood:Water
Mission is building clean
water wells, supporting
medical facilities, and
focusing on community
and worldview
transformation, both here in
America and in Africa.
We recognize that numbers
and statistics are hard to
grasp, and that sometimes
a step back is necessary to
conceptualize the enormity
of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Yet
we also know that simply
standing from a distance
with arms thrown in the air is
not a solution. We believe
in pressing inward, in
building relationships and
bridges with communities in
Africa. We believe in
hearing personal stories
and walking alongside
brothers and sisters who
have demonstrated
strength and faith in the
midst of desperate and
tragic situations.
We hold fast to the
conviction that we are all
The work of a news
producer who quit his job
to start filming, the award-
winning film ‘Sons of Lwala’
tells the tale of two Kenyan
medical school students,
Milton and Fred Ochieng,
and their struggle to help
their village build a clinic.
After HIV/AIDS claimed the
lives of the Ochiengs’
parents, the brothers
continued in their parents
mission to help raise $90,000
to build a medical clinic, a
vital provider in a
community isolated from
medical care.
The clinic in Lwala is one
example of how
Blood:Water Mission is
partnering with Africans to
work together to address
AIDS in their own
communities.
Blood:Water is combating
AIDS not only through
clean water and sanitation
projects, but also by
Letter from B:WM Director
of Africa Programs, Barak
Bruerd:
“I am traveling again... I wish
I could package Africa and
send it to you in a box; a
taste of chai, the scent of
markets, and the chill of early
morning breezes in the
village. Worlds apart, it's
easy to forget the urgency of
a continent that is filled with
the stories of life existing on
the threadbare strands of
survival
Yet woven within these
frayed strands is a fiber of
hope that is manifest in the
vibrancy of laughing smiles
and the calluses of strong
hands that labor towards the
restoration of an unseen
promised land. We have the
great privilege of laboring
alongside these kindred
spirits whose humanity is as
frail as our own; to weave
the fibers of our own story,
weak for weak and strong for
strong, into a fabric that can
shelter against the tempest
of an uncertain future.”
"We shall not finally defeat
AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria,
or any of the other
infectious diseases that
plague the developing
world until we have also
won the battle for safe
drinking water, sanitation
and basic health care." ~
Kofi Annan, former United
Nations Secretary-
General
directly funding health clinics,
late-stage AIDS hospices,
community health workers,
and support groups, which
help in the prevention,
treatment, care and support of
communities affected by AIDS.
9
Venture Expeditions powers the R:WT
Venture = adventure + compassion
Venture Expeditions uses
intense physical
challenges, like biking
across countries or climbing
mountains, to raise
awareness and funds that
benefit hurting and
hopeless people.
We endeavor to spend our
greatest energies on the
world’s greatest crises. Our
priority is to recognize and
meet the humanitarian,
social and spiritual needs of
suffering people. Our focus
is on providing service and
monetary assistance to
faith-based organizations
that help orphans and the
diseased, along with
victims of injustice and
disaster.
Minneapolis-based Venture
Expeditions organizes and
operates the Ride:Well Tour.
In 2002, three acquaintances
from North Central University
determined to do something
big. Though none of them
owned a bike or knew the
first thing about fundraising,
they planned to raise $10,000
for a church plant in
Argentina—by cycling.
“We just knew we were
supposed to ride across the
country,” says Ride:Well Tour
Director Aaron Smith
The team purchased bikes
and gear on the drive out to
the Pacific coast, where they
started the cross-country trip.
As the guys loaded up their
bikes and left their starting
place, they received a call.
“Someone donated $10,000!”
said the voice on the other
end.
The guys started calling
themselves Venture, and a
movement was born.
The Ride:Well Tour is
powered by:
Venture Expeditions
511 E. Travelers Trail
Burnsville, MN 55337
Phone
(952) 866-7688
Fax
1.800.599.2933
info@ridewelltour.org
“Benefit the world.
Discover your soul.”
PRESIDENT BARACK H. OBAMA
1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW
WASHINGTON, DC 2500
VENTURE EXPEDITIONS
511 E. Travelers Trail
Burnsville, MN 55337
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
http://ridewelltour.org
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