SAN RAFAEL, CA (BRAIN)—Tour d'Afrique Ltd is planning its first ever North American bike tour and has partnered with the national bike charity Trips For Kids to raise money and awareness about their bike programs that help at-risk youth.
Through the Tour d'Afrique Foundation, the riders and staff of the 2011 tour will be making donations to these Trips for Kids chapters:
TFK Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, run by TFK volunteer Jack Harding
TFK Chicago Voyagers, a part of the Chicago Voyagers program
TFK Pontiac, Mich., operated by the Baldwin Center
TFK Marin, San Francisco, operated by TFK founder Marilyn Price
TFK Tallahassee, Fla., operated by Ken Foster of Bicycle Tallahassee
The tour will visit each chapter along the 8,000 km (4,971 mile) route from San Francisco to St. John's, Newfoundland, to make donations and to raise awareness about the great work being done by Trips for Kids, according to a press release.
"Cycling is a great way to introduce kids to a healthy lifestyle and the environment," said Tour d'Afrique foundation director Paul McManus. "Trips for Kids Chapters are getting tens of thousands of kids on bikes that otherwise would never have the opportunity."
The Tour d'Afrique Foundation gives back to the communities each tour travels through by supporting organizations that improve people's lives through the use of a bicycle. The Foundation has donated more than 1,300 bikes and raised more than $1 million dollars for various charities.
The North American Epic bike tour is the latest offering from the Tour d'Afrique, well known for its epic tours in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. Available in five sections, the full tour starts May 29, 2011 from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and ends 92 days later on the shores of the Atlantic in St. John's, Newfoundland. It is the longest North American tour currently available and the only tour that journeys through the U.S. and Canada.
