Hitting the ground running...new PR volunteer Matt DeYoung

Well today marks six weeks that I have spent here in Rwanda as a volunteer for the Project. It certainly does not seem like it has been that long with the whirlwind of activity we have been experiencing here. I arrived just a week before the African Continental Championships commenced in Kigali, the nation’s capital. Here in Musanze at Project/Team Rwanda’s headquarters, race preparations were in full swing. Jock, Scott, and Clark were busy helping the team out with their last few days of training before the races, Max was busy seeing that all of the bikes were in tip-top shape, Jen was making sure that everyone was well fed and taken care of. I was definitely a bit overwhelmed the first few days, partly due to the frenetic pace of activity and partly due the jet lag.I eventually found a rhythm, helping out where ever I could, be it helping Max out with the bikes or going out on a moto with the team on training rides with water and tools, or helping with chores around the house. A few days after my arrival a film crew showed up to work on their documentary chronicling Team Rwanda’s development. You should check out the trailer here: www.risingfromashesthemovie.com. It was pretty awesome to see how passionate these filmmakers were about the team and about sharing the team’s story through a feature film.

Then it was off to races. I had relatively little knowledge of the ins and outs of road racing, so it was to be a learning experience for me. I rode a motorcycle in each of the races with a member of the film crew riding along filming the race. This was a fantastic introduction to the sport as I was able to watch the whole race in close proximity. I learned a ton about all of the strategy, the team work, and the timing involved. I was able to keep up with Team Rwanda’s progress through the road race, and watched with bated breath as Adrien, Team Rwanda’s star rider, who had been amongst the first few riders until he broke a chain going into the last lap, put up a heroic effort to attempt to regain his position. Unfortunately it was too late in the race and Adrien was denied a podium spot.

The Continental Championships were followed by a small break of a few days before the Tour of Rwanda, an eight day stage race, commenced. I spent this time with Max building Coffee Bikes and seeing some of Kigali, a bustling city of hills and erratic traffic.

The Tour of Rwanda was a good introduction to Rwanda’s geography. Each day had us in a different part of the country. I got to see majestic lake Kivu in Kibuye and Gisenyi. I saw the flatter, drier southeast of the country when we traveled to border with Burundi, and the southern region when we went to Butare. I was also on a motorbike for this race with a cameraman for a French international news station. I saw all of the drama unfold, with Team Rwanda in the yellow jersey for two days, ultimately to be beat out by the Eritreans who dominated the field with 3 or 4 riders in the top ten every day.

Things have quieted down since the Tour. The team has gone home, Scott, Jen, and Clark have made their way back to the states. Cedric the French soigneur and Ted the Belgian mechanic have left us as well. All will be missed. The week after the race was spent cleaning bikes, doing routine maintenance on all of the motos and doing some riding myself. I have been able to get out and ride extensively both on the mountain bike and road bike here in Musanze. Excellent riding is to be had here. Mountain biking here is a unique experience as the trails are used not for recreation but for access to farm fields and homes. There is a constant stream of people traveling these routes. So added to the technical challenge of the trail is the challenge of not colliding with an unsuspecting local who has no idea why some mizungu (white person) is out here riding a bike in the first place.

Namodan

I spent the past week in Kigali, building Coffee Bikes to fill all of our current orders and to stock some for future orders. I have two Kigali locals helping me out with the bike assembly, Namodan and Jean Paul. They had worked as biked mechanics before so had a general understanding of the bicycle. After the first day of training they have become quite proficient, completing bikes rapidly. They speak little English and I speak very little Kinyarwanda so we resort to primitive means of communication which has worked out ok with only a few instances of misunderstanding.

Paul

That about covers the happenings thus far. As for my general impressions of Rwanda… I really had no idea what to expect before I came. I had never been to Africa and had spent little time in the third world. Everyone whom I told I was going to Rwanda reacted as if it was a dangerous and destitute place. So when I arrived I was surprised to find a clean, safe, country full of generally amiable people. While Rwanda is without question an impoverished nation, it is not as strikingly so as what I had seen in Latin America. No one appears to be starving and all seem to have some form of shelter to call home. There are no sprawling shanty towns here. Kigali is cleaner than most U.S. cities. I have not once felt menaced or unwelcome. Walking around town at night is perfectly safe. The country seems bent on being the best that it can after its sordid past.

It is also a strikingly beautiful country. It is called “The Land of 1000 hills” with good reason. It is a country of lush, green, hills, terraced for farming. Everywhere you look people have made use of the terrain for farming. Banana trees, coffee trees, bean stalks and countless other crops cover the earth here.

Read more on Matt's Blog: Matthew De Young goes to Rwanda to build Cargo Bikes for Coffee Farmers

Here in Musanze a chain of volcanoes provide a stunning backdrop. Lake Kivu is a vast, crystal clear lake from which the steep, aforementioned hills rise right from the shores.

I have enjoyed my time here thus far and am looking forward to the next few months.

OK
Matt De Young