rt. Every $1 raised provides clean water for 1 African for 1 year.

Well, the tour challenge is over. I am sad to say I did not come close to the 500 miles I was hoping for. I did ride 154 though. Thank you for your suppo

Le Tour de France Challenge

The Tour de France starts on July 3d and lasts for 3 weeks. They race around 2800 miles during that time. I plan to challenge myself to ride 500 miles during those 3 weeks.

I would like to ask for your help in this challenge. For me, 500 miles in 3 weeks, will be a hard to do. I'm not just riding for fun or my health, though both are benefits. But, I'm riding to raise awareness & money for the people of Africa.

What can you do? Sponsor my efforts and give to the ride:well tour & blood:water.

.01, .05, .10, .25, .50, $1.00 per mile or even just a flat donation. You can let me know that you will be supporting or not. Either way, just give.

Every $1 given will provide clean water for an African for a whole year.

I will be using a gps tracking device so all can see how many miles I've ridden and so that I can't make the mileage higher then it actually is.

I appreciate your considering supporting this cause. Thank you for your prayers as well.

And a special Thank You to all that have already given. Thank you!!!

You have changed a life with every $1 you have given!!!

Cow Creek Classic

The Cow Creek Classic & Ride:well Ride

Monika, Laurie, Pops, Grammy, & Sherri (not pictured: Christian & Dylan)

This is the 3d year that the oaks has teamed up with the Cow Creek Classic of Waxahachie and raised awareness for the Ride:well tour and Blood:water mission.

The Cow Creek is on Saturday the 26th of June. It starts at 730am. If you are a local rider you can go to the ridewell website and register to ride. The registration is $20 and then come out and join us for a great ride around Ellis county. If you are not local but would like to change the life of an African you can do that on the Ridewell site. Make sure you sponsor one of the cyclists riding: Sherri Bray, Christian Bray, or myself.

We also will be having some other very cool events in Red Oak to raise awareness for the ride:well tour and blood:water mission. The men & women who are currently riding their bikes cross country will be with us for these next two events. You will have the opportunity to hear their stories and meet them first hand.

On July 1st there will be a concert and art show at the oaks fellowship. You will have an opportunity to give money and also to bid on artwork from local artists. All the proceeds will go to ride:well and benefit their work in providing clean water in Africa.

Also, on July 3d at the oaks we will have a water:walk. We will walk 1 mile with empty water containers and then walk back with full containers. This gives us a very small idea of what most Africans have to do on a daily basis to get 'clean' water to drink or to us for cooking. We did this last year and it was an amazing experience. We forget how blessed we are in this country.

We hope to see you at one of these events!

Thanks for reading!

My Bike is Tighter than your Jeans

We have been enjoying this wonderful weather here in Texas. We've been doing a lot of riding. Me and the boys have been putting in some great miles together.

Dylan

Christian in front of the graveyard.

Dylan & Christian

Jason Dickenson gettin aggressive!

We have also been doing some saturday rides. Sometimes we ride out from my house to Italy and other times we leave from Red Oak and ride out to Cedar Hill. We have anywhere from three of us to as many as eight. Its great fun, great workout, and great time with friends.

Overlooking Joe Pool Lake, the view was worth the effort of the climb.

A few weeks ago Greg, Justin, and myself went out to the Thursday Night Crit Races in Sunnyvale. It was a blast! It was especially cool cause we were all in our Ride:well jerseys. Greg got 6th, Justin 7th, and I came in 17th. It was a lot of fun and another place where people saw the jerseys and were curious about there meaning.

Justin and I in the peleton.

Greg flying down the straightaway.

We will be racing a few more times before the big ride on June 26th. I will keep you informed on how we are doing. Please don't stop spreading the word about ride:well and blood:water mission. The African people still need your help.

$1 is clean water for 1 whole year!

Donation Update

Thank you! Thank you!

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Thanks to all of you that have given to this great cause!

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My goal is to raise $5000 before the end of September.

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Well, you guys have helped raise $800 already! That is amazing! Thank you so much!

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I hope you understand what you have done! You have changed the lives of 800 African men, women, and children. Having clean water in their village allows the kids to go to school and get an education, the women to work and the men to provide for their families. Now they won't have to spend hours everyday walking miles and miles just to have clean water to drink!

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Thank you so much for all you have already done! For all the prayers and support of Ride:well and Blood:water.

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Please continue to pray for the safety of all of us riding bikes out there. And espically the group that is getting ready to ride from the west coast to the east coast for ride:well. They leave in less then two months and will be coming thru Dallas somewhere around the 4th of July.

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Remember: Every single $1 changes a life! No amount is too small or too big ;)

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Thank you, thank you very much!

Bio Sand Filters & World Water Day

This past Christmas we were looking for something different to do with the kids. In the past we have done the angel tree at our church. We heard about what blood:water was doing wiht their Filters for Families campaign. We knew this would cost more then buying a toy for a local kid. So we challenged our kids to give up something of their own and raise enough money to buy a biosand filter for a family in Africa through Blood:water mission. The kids each picked some of their things to sell and we sold them on eBay. We were very proud of them and their sacrifice and their desire to help others. After selling their items and reaching into their piggy banks we were able to buy two filters. They really do love doing things for others. Trinity loves to draw pictures and write letters to her World Vision 'sister'.

Well, this past week I received an email from Blood:water about their Filters for Families campaign. There were 1,640 safe water filters bought for families in the Ndola and Lusaka regions of Zambia.

Here is a short transformation story: Mr. James Kayata lives with his wife and seven children in Mackenzie Township in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. Mackenzie is a community of about 9,500 that was plagued by cholera every rainy season until biosand filters were installed in their homes.

Before receiving the filter, Mr. Kayata's family collected water from a well that was contaminated by nearby latrines, and were frequently ill as a result. They participated in a hygiene and sanitation training, learned how the water was causing their sickness, and requested a clean water filter. Since receiving the filter, they have experienced no cholera, and even occurrences of diarrhea are very rare. His children never miss school due to sickness, and are healthier than they have been in years.

Mr Kayata credits the filter as being the solution to many problems, and shares the cool, clean water with three other families in Mackenzie.

Thanks to Christian, Dylan, and Trinity's sacrifice many more families like James' will have safe, clean water for many years to come. And thanks to your support of my racing and your sacrificial giving to Ride:well, which goes directly to blood:water, you are changing lives as well.

Every $1 you give changes the lives of someone in Africa for a whole year! $12 allows a child to go to school rather than collect water. $25 provides clean water to an African for 25 years!

Also, today, March 22d, is World Water Day. Here are a few facts about water:

I'm so proud of my family and the story we are writing together. My prayer is that when they leave our home they will write a better story then myself. Sherri, Christian, Dylan and Trinity are my heroes for what they do for others. Their compassion and caring have been an inspiration to me, to do more then just ride a bike.