Youths Cycle Coast to Coast to Transform Honduras

Get AJS Updates!



	Counter-clockwise from Top Left: Cyclists arrive in Tela on Tuesday after a 100-km. ride from Ceiba; a local hip-hop group and a traditional dance troupe perform at one of the cultural events organized in concurrence with the bike trip; a police escort accompanies the cyclists on the highway to ensure their safety; this isn't just for the guys--lots of women are participating too!

January 6, 2010 - From January 3 - 10, some 100 Honduran young men and women are taking place in a week-long bicycle odyssey, taking them through most of Honduras' major cities and from its Caribbean coast to its Pacific coast, to promote the AJS-supported Transformemos Honduras movement's message of citizen involvement in fighting corruption and working together to improve the country, especially in areas such as health and education.

As of the afternoon on Thursday, January 6, the participants, for many of whom this was their first ever long-distance cycling experience, had reached Lake Yojoa, having traveled a total of nearly 300 km. since leaving the coastal city of La Ceiba on Tuesday morning.

In addition to the excitement and publicity brought by the bike trip itself--one of the first of its kind in the history of Honduras--TH has organized cultural events with Honduran musicians and other performers in the central squares of each of the major cities the group is traveling through.

Participants Reflect on Journey So Far
Jorge Sosa, a profesional cyclist who has represented Honduras in international competitions, was excited enough about the idea of “Honduras’ first ever cycling-for-a-cause event” that he decided to help TH organize the journey.

“Transformemos Honduras deals with issues that are important to me, like education and health, and I like it that they are not just interested in these topics, but they are actually doing something about them to improve the country,” he said.

Anna Ver Beek, a high-school senior, says this trip is a way to get to know the country she’s grown up in in a different way. “I like seeing the country in a less hurried way. These days we’re all used to traveling in cars with the air conditioning on and without seeing, smelling, or feeling anything,” she said.

“[on the first day] when there were still 50 kilometers to go I thought, 50 kilometers is a lot! But they went by quickly.”

Another of the participants, Sergio Campos, 19, said after the first day, “This first test was fun. Some people were having a hard time of it and others were going really fast, but I feel like I went at a perfect pace.”

“I feel like I’m helping an important cause, and that Honduras needs this help. It’s an underdeveloped country and we all need to help to improve living conditions,” he added.

Donate to help AJS and TH to Transform Honduras!