India

In Sept. 2011 Wheels 4 Life founder Hans Rey went on a bike adventure in the Uttrakhand Region in the Indian Himalayas with fellow pro mountain bikers Joscha Forstreuter and Richie Schley. At the end of their 6 day adventure they distributed 10 bikes to local children who live in scattered villages in the remote mountain region. Most of them have to walk 5 – 10km each way to school on a daily basis. The bikes will be a big help to cover the distance on the relatively flat jeep road on the high plateau in the mountains. Public transportation is not available. Hans and his team got to meet the potential recipients, choose them based on their needs and distance from the school and even got to visit some of their homes, where they enjoyed a cup chai tea. The bikes where purchased by W4L from Ti Cycles who not only distributes GT Bicycles in India, but also the more utilitarian Hercules bicycles. We were able to buy each bike at US $ 55.- which is way below our average cost for a bike in the Third World.Thanks to the help of our guide Ayan Brahma, who works for India Hikes Tour operator, we were able to identify the persons who needed the bikes most.