It's been a wild ride
In 2008, a good friend Brigid Gibson had an idea. She was going to ride a bike from Bangkok to Khao Lak and raise $10,000. Her husband Andrew said "It would be easier to just donate the $10,000". Well thank our lucky stars that Brig didn't listen to Andrew. Starting with 17 riders in 2009, the rides, well lets say that they have served us well at Hands. Some brief back of the envelope facts:
We have had over 1300 riders who have ridden distances between 300 and 1600kms;
A combined distance of over 882,000kms has been ridden on the roads of Thailand by Hands riders which equates to:
To the moon and back + some or;
22 laps around the globe.
And have raised in excess of $10.2m in the process.
That fundraising has allowed the Hands family to:
Provide a safe and loving home for hundreds of kids across seven locations in Thailand;
Ensure there was a consistent supply of medicine that stopped kids in the north east dying from HIV related illness;
Create opportunities for our older students to study fully supported at University;
Provide employment for Thai staff from caring for the kids, maintaining the facilities to driving the kids backwards and forwards; and
Ensured every child had access to three healthy meals, every day.
We have built new buildings, we have shared amazing times together and created strong independent children, all from the back of a bike. Through Dale Beaumont and the Business Blueprint Community and Steve Carroll and Digital Live, we have created unbelievable partnerships that have provided the funds that allow us to create a life of choice and not chance for the kids.
Right now we can't ride in Thailand and it will be some time before that is back again. Without question it will be back and we will create amazing shared experiences together riding the roads of Thailand, but that is sometime off. Whilst we can't ride, it makes it hard to raise money and to provide what we have committed and a reliance has been built upon, that is meeting the needs of the kids and creating a life of choice not chance.
At Hands, from the Board, the Hands Group team and our amazing supporters there is an overwhelming desire to do whatever we can to fill the gaps in income generation and continue to provide the support to the kids who are reliant upon us more so now than ever before.
I am filled with incredible optimism and enthusiasm in spite of the challenges that lay before us. The optimism comes from the response by the Hands community. Firstly by the team to develop new and exciting ways to respond and then secondly by the community to embrace those opportunities. Sitting and licking our wounds and looking for hand outs won't cut it now and is not in our DNA.
The rides have provided so much to those who have travelled to Thailand and ridden with us. It's beyond question the importance they are for the income generation that allows us to do what we do. But while our passports are locked away for the foreseeable future, that doesn't mean we can't come together and ride, it doesn't mean we can't support the kids and believe it or not it doesn't mean we can't ride the roads of Thailand (well almost)!
The Ride to Provide Virtual Challenge is a 30 day challenge for the month of June were we invite you to join us as we make our way from Petchaburi to Khao Lak, replicating the 800km Coastal Ride in Thailand, which was the original ride in 2009. You can join us at 7am or 12pm in our Zoom Room, you can log the k's on your favourite indoor training platform or through Strava count the k's you do on the road towards your 800km journey. What you get:
You get to ride with other riders as part of the Zoom Room experience;
Watch your progress on the map via My Virtual Mission; and
You get to arrive at Baan Tharn Namchai on the 30th of June to see the kids.
You will miss out on:
The Thai drivers;
Pot holes;
Dogs chasing you;
Snakes on the road; and
The taste of fresh pineapple at the water stops.
I thought the Australian bushfires was the biggest challenge we would face this year in raising money, but how wrong I was. The current climate is a challenge that will test many, some will survive, some won't. We can with you. If you have every thought about riding with us but have been worried about the obstacles, the Ride to Provide Virtual Challenge removes them all. $49 to sign up and $500 between now and the end of June to raise. If you start fundraising on the 1st of June you only need to raise $16 a day. Even in these difficult times most of us could raise $16 per day for 30 days - try asking, you will be surprised by the positive response.
This could just be the most important ride you ever undertake.
To find your more or register - all the details can be found here Ride to Provide Virtual Challenge.
Thanks
Pete