News

Cycle for Rwanda sponsored by Rohloff

The riders will start the ‘Cycle to Rwanda’ trek on 28th April 2012 from Nowton Park, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and ending in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali. The team are appealing for riders to accompany them on the first leg of the journey from Bury St Edmunds to Harwich on Saturday 28 April starting at 1pm from Nowton Park, led by the Mayor of St Edmundsbury Christopher Spicer and Paralympian Brian Aldis.

Why Rwanda?
The Arena has been chosen to host the Rwandan Olympic and Paralympic teams Pre-Games Training Camp as they prepare for London 2012. The team aim to arrive in Kigali, Rwanda, in time to accompany the Rwandan Olympic team on their journey to Bury St Edmunds.

Why fund raise?
In 1994, Rwanda was torn apart by a brutal and swift genocide—in roughly 100 days, close to one million Rwandans were murdered. Since the end of the Genocide, Rwanda has enjoyed political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, tourism, and mining industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Rwandans live in poverty and disease and lack of education remain big issues in Rwanda. The Cycle to Rwanda challenge is part of the ‘Sport For Rwanda’ fundraising appeal which aims to raise £80,000 by 2012 to provide 140 schools in the country sports equipment and training materials to introduce sport to the Rwandan educational curriculum, through charity Rwandan Aid. ‘Sport For Rwanda’ was set up by the St Edmundsbury Olympic Steering Group as part of its Go Rwanda project to build a lasting legacy with Rwanda.

What route will they take?
The trek will take them from Bury St Edmunds to Harwich where they will cross by boat to the Hook of Holland. From there they will cycle the 700 miles through France to Marseille, taking a total of six days. They will travel from Marseille by ferry to Tunisia’s ferry port and then cycle 1,750 miles in 18 days through Tunisia and Libya (recent events may change the route nearer to the challenge) to Cairo in Egypt. From Cairo they will journey 1895 miles in 18 days across Egypt and Sudan to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The final leg of their journey will take 16 days and 1,605 miles from Ethiopia through Kenya and Uganda to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

Further Information can be found under:
www.sportforrwanda.org
www.facebook.com/cycle2rwanda