World Renew Launches 4,350-Mile Bicycle Tour
World Renew
Registration is now open to bicyclists and volunteers to participate on the Sea to Sea cross-continental bike tour, an athletic event that raises funds to help end extreme poverty worldwide.
Registrants can sign up for the entire nine-week ride or a segment of it at seatosea.org. The full tour takes place from June 26 to Aug. 31, 2017, and spans the U.S. and Canada from Vancouver to Halifax.
Tour Director Terry Barnes emphasized that riders don’t need previous cycling experience to be able to make the ride.
“Although it seems intimidating,” said Barnes, “people of all backgrounds successfully participate in Sea to Sea each year.”
Prospective riders can find registration information, upcoming training schedules, and other resources on the tour website at seatosea.org.
Barnes works for Sea to Sea, the not-for-profit organizing the tour, which aims to raise more than $2 million (USD) to benefit the ride hosts – faith-based non-profits World Renew and Partners Worldwide as they work to end global poverty and hunger.
Barnes says that he expects a minimum of 300 cyclists to join the 4,350-mile (7,000KM) Sea to Sea tour next summer.
Much of the ride takes place in Canada, including British Columbia, and the Canadian Rockies, Revelstoke, Lake Louise, and Banff, Alb.
The cyclists ride into Minnesota and across Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula in late July and early August. Six shorter ride lengths are available to accommodate participants who want less than a nine-week commitment.
The 2017 event is the fourth transcontinental bicycle tour raising funds for World Renew. The first Sea to Sea ride took place in 2005.
The inaugural event raised nearly $1 million. Since then, Sea to Sea tours have raised more than $5 million in all to support local organizations and fight poverty across the globe.
“Some people ride for the friendships they develop on the tour, and some ride to check it off their bucket list. But all are seriously interested in doing something that will address the issue of poverty and help others to realize that they, too, can do something that will make a real difference in people’s lives,” said Tom McWhertor, a steering team member for the 2017 tour.
More information and details about the tour, route, and registration can be found at seatosea.org or visit the Sea to Sea Facebook page at facebook.com/rideseatosea.
