Eat, sleep, dream, bikes - I'm (also) organizing a project to send used bikes to Africa.

I'm biking across America this summer, but who who says I have to wait until then to get my hands working with bikes?

A Cornell friend and I wrote a grant to send used (and otherwise unwanted) bikes from the Ithaca-area to Ghana, where they will be repaired and distributed to rural communities or sold at affordable prices. Our project is called "Scrap Metal to Ghana Pedal" and I've been working on publicizing our project, writing press releases, hanging up flyers, and interviewing with local Ithaca area papers to get the word out that we're collecting bikes for Africa!

We are collaborating with the Village Bicycle Project, a not-for-project organization, which will take care of the trans-Atlantic shipping and work with local Ghanaians to repair bikes and teach courses on bike safety and simple maintenance to community members receiving these bikes.

Bicycles can dramatically transform the daily lives of people who have little access to other means of transportation by opening access to new markets, enabling people greater access to sell their goods, and helping the area to develop into a more environmentally and socially sustainable society. Bikes are especially empowering to women who are otherwise generally restricted to walking as a means of transport.

Everybody loves their bike! I'm especially excited about my upcoming Bike & Build trip across America for affordable housing. Interested in sponsoring my ride? So friends have contributed $1500 out of the targeted $4000 to distribute to affordable housing projects. Click here to sponsor my ride and support affordable housing!