Wheels4Life in Kapenguria Posted on: 01/25/2012

We've been friends of Hans Rey for over 25 years now, dating back to when Hans participated in some of Scot's 'backyard trials' events in the mid 80's (we recently wrote about these events and Hans in one of our 30th anniversary stories here -- you can scroll down to see the part on Hans).

Last year we participated in the Dreambikes project with Hans' Wheels4Life charity, organized by our friends at crankbrothers.

The Dreambikes project involves getting companies in the bike industry to donate frames, forks, wheels, drivetrains, etc, enough to make a complete 'Dreambike'. The bikes are then auctioned with 100% of the proceeds going to Hans' Wheels4Life charity. Through the generosity of everyone who bought auction bikes, we were able to raise a lot of money and get a lot of very deserving people on bikes.

We're well into this year's effort. After last week's auction, we have raised a total of $22,277, or enough to purchase 222 bikes for Wheels 4 Life—that’s 45% of our goal!

We think it's best to let crankbrothers tell the story from here...

The next bike available for auction is a truly unique Ibis Mojo SL. This is one of two custom painted Mojo SL frames for the crankbrothers race club. The custom blue paint looks beautiful with the gold and blue crankbrothers cobalt products, and the Ibis Mojo SL is a stunner in itself. Its long travel and light weight blur the line between all mountain and cross country riding, and it’s simply one of the best bikes you can ride. Take a look at http://crankbrothers.com/dreambikes/ibis-mojo-sl.php.

For this week’s auction of the Ibis Mojo SL, the winner will contribute to providing bikes to a mix of school children, teachers, and farmers in Kapenguria, Kenya. The funds raised will help sponsor Phase 3 bikes for the E4N Foundation, a project lead by a man named John Valent. John has successfully lead two previous projects with Wheels 4 Life (Phases 1 and 2), and he has now applied for an additional 50 bikes to support this community.

John is very passionate about the difference a bicycle can make not just to one person, but to an entire family. His progress reports over the years have proven just how life changing a bike can be. With a bicycle, a child or teacher is able to travel the long distances to school, allowing them to arrive both on time and with plenty of energy and focus. Providing more bikes to children means better access to education and a higher chance at a life without poverty. John’s work has also confirmed that farmers were able to transport a larger load of produce to the nearest market town both faster and in better condition. This allowed their income to double, and the farmers could then support their families with a higher quality of life.

This community has seen impressive results after Phases 1 and 2 of this project, and Phase 3 can only bring even better living conditions to the people in Kapenguria. The dreambikes auction of the Ibis Mojo SL will make a difference directly in Kenya by supporting this project.

Each week the dreambikes auction continues to gain momentum, and it is so exciting to think of how many people are aware of Wheels 4 Life and the incredible change accomplished by Hans Rey and his wife, Carmen.

So there you go. But before we leave here's a word from the man Hans (not in his native German).

2011 was a milestone year for Wheels 4 Life. Thanks to so many fundraisers and individual donations we were able to provide over twice as many bikes to people in great need than in 2010. Donations were up and by the end of the year we had a total of 1201 bikes distributed.

If you or anyone you know might be interested in a gorgeous Ibis Mojo SL, custom painted and certainly one of a kind, once again here's the location of the auction: http://crankbrothers.com/dreambikes/ibis-mojo-sl.php.