Cycling for Health & Charity
The average visitor to Japan would not be blamed if he thought that there were more bicycles in Japan than there were people. Everyone seems to cycle. From the young mother with a baby in tow, to the ninety year old granny rushing on her bike to meet her friends for a round of Mahjong. The bicycle has always been an important mode of transportation for the Japanese. Needless to say, this form of transportation helps promote strong leg muscles and good health. I first started cycling in Japan about six years ago. I was overweight and suffered from frequent back trouble. With time, I learned to incorporate cycling into my health & fitness regimen. Eventually, cycling became more than just exercise for me, it became a passion. As I became fit and better at cycling long distances, I decided to try my hand at something a bit ambitious. In 2008 I cycled from Paris to Toulouse France. It was one of the best experiences of my life and the fulfillment of a life-long dream. Now I cycle just about everywhere. Cycling in Japan is both fun and a challenge. Just a few weeks ago I joined a group of cyclist for a 180 kilometer one day trip from Nagoya City to Kyoto. Now, come June 1st, I will be joining my good friends Lowell Sheppard and Mark McBennett for an 8 day tour across the Japanese Alps. We will begin the tour on the Pacific Ocean side of Hamamatsu City and end it on the Sea of Japan coast of Itoigawa City. Since Lowell is Asian Pacific Director for Hope International Development Agency, we decided to use the trip to help raise money to bring water to poor Cambodian farmers.
The Japanese mountainside
As I travel through the beautiful peaks of the Japanese Alps, I plan to meet with local villagers and farmers. My goal is to learn all I can about how the mountain people of Japan live and eat. What do they do to stay fit and strong? Perhaps I’ll discover locally produced health products or who knows what? An elixir for long life? I have always been impressed with the people I meet when traveling in the mountainous countryside of Japan. It always seems like the average age of local villagers is about 100, yet age doesn’t stop them from working in their hillside vegetable plots. I hope to have much to write about when I get back from my cycling tour. In the mean time, please visit the blog site we’ve set up to cover our trip at www.japanc2c.com . If you’re interested in pledging a donation just click here and scroll down to my name (Tony Torres). You can enter your pledge amount and currency to the right of my photo. Rest assured, 100% of whatever you give will go to helping Cambodian farmers to become self-sufficient.
The Three Amigos: Lowell, Mark and Tony
