Cycling in Uganda - watch out for the cows > Activism > Stories > Littleton

RECENT STORIES

Ballots are in the mail ( Julie Story )
Seniors offered free help with fall cleaning ( Nichole Parmelly )
Race for the Cure - 62,000 strong and counting ( Dana Brandorff )
Police blotter: Large suspect robs bank ( Littleton Police Dept. )
Turpenoff Portrait Gallery's LOGO has Died! ( Tricia Turpenoff )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Littleton \\ Stories \\ News \\ Activism

Cycling in Uganda - watch out for the cows

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: Steve Lowry on 9/18/2007

Bicycle tires cracked from the heat. Jerseys worn through and sun bleached. Tubes with so many patches the original surface is hard to see. Shoes with soles coming apart. Bike frames rusting. Sound like time for new equipment? That is what the members of the Uganda Cycling Association are facing, according to Steve Lowry who visited Uganda earlier this year while on a humanitarian trip related to water supplies. Steve is a recreational cyclist who lives in Littleton and does about 2,500 miles a year.

As he traveled around the country, he saw a lot of 50-pound, steel frame, single speed utilitarian Indian- and Chinese-made bicycles being used to haul people, water cans and materials substantial distances over the rolling hills. But it wasn't until the end of the visit when he finally saw a cyclist in racing gear on an old racing bike making good time in the blazing African sun on one of the busy rural highways.

The car he was in was having a hard time catching this rider because of all the obstacles on the road -- potholes, animals, pedestrians, vehicles on the wrong side of the road -- but when they did, it was obvious this was a rider with a mission who was risking his well being by getting out on his racing bike on this road. Steve had had some regrets for not bringing his bike along, and this scene made him think it might have been possible to get in a ride or two.

Later that day, back in the capital of Kampala and relaxing at the low-cost hotel across the road from Makarere University, Steve was surprised to see a cluster of racing bikes leaning against a tree in the courtyard -- even a Giant OCR like his, but about 10 years older and with tires that were cracked like a lizard skin.

In the dining area were a group of Ugandans of all sizes, shapes and ages in a wide assortment of bike gear. Even one woman, which in a country where women don't wear pants, much less cycling shorts, and are discouraged from riding any kind of bike, was quite a surprise. It turned out this was a seminar being put on by the ever-optimistic Ugandan Cycling Association to teach a lesson about racing strategy. After the talk was over, curiosity got the better of Steve and he talked with some of the members.

Most of them were students, but two had been riding since the days when Britain was the colonial power, and had kept it up even through the disastrous years of Milton Oboto and Idi Amin. All of them had the same look in their eyes when they talked about riding that you see in cyclists anywhere. They talked easily about Lance and Floyd and recent Tour events. These were serious folks. The enthusiasm was first class, but the equipment certainly was not.

More discussion disclosed that there was only one suitable bike shop in the whole country of 27 million people, and they had a very limited stock. In a country where the average annual income is less than $500 per year, getting a road bike and gear together is a major challenge. Most of their equipment had been picked up from expatriate foreigners that had worked in the country at one time or another and chose to leave something behind to encourage people to ride.

The Uganda Cycling Association does manage to put together local races. On the Sunday when Steve left Uganda, there was to be a 160 km (100 mile) race with 10 riders. He learned later that the first place finisher had a time just over four hours! Given the equipment and road conditions, this was an impressive time. The traditional local diet consisting of a lot of mashed green bananas, along with beans, peanut sauce, pasta, greens, rice and now and then a piece of chicken, must be providing good biking fuel.

A very few of the association members have been able to travel as a team outside Uganda and enter races. They have been to South Africa, Kenya, and Libya in the past few years. In 2008 they are trying to get a group together to do the new Tour de Egypt. The challenge is getting together suitable equipment and sufficient funds. Each member has to cover his own travel, food and lodging costs -- about $1,200.

In a country where there are so many needs to be met it might seem hard to support an activity like cycling. But that feeling soon disappears when you talk with these young people who see cycling as a way to improve themselves and the image of Uganda in the wider community.

Steve would like to help out these fellow bikers. He has sent over some new Michelin Krlion tires that Arapahoe Cyclery kindly was able to offer at an attractive discount. There was a universal request for used team or race jerseys -- easy to ship. Sending bikes, wheels, saddles, etc., is a challenge, but there are shipping companies that will sometimes put donated items of this sort into shipping containers that have some extra room.

With Christmas around the corner, Steve is asking cyclists that might have an extra jersey, a pair of shoes, socks, a helmet, a saddle, a set of wheels or even a road bike sitting in the garage that are no longer being used to consider making a donation. Uganda is half a world away and our day-to-day lives are quite different, but the common interest in cycling bridges those gaps.

To help

For more information, or to make a donation, please contact Steve at stevelowry@yahoo.com or 720-839-4132 outside of normal working hours.

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY

digg	Google
del.icio.us	Yahoo!
reddit	newsvine

What is this?

STORY RSS FEEDS

All stories

All stories in Littleton

All stories by Kevin Hamm

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad