ride for africycle

for my short stay at the country directors' home, i have jonny living on the other side of my bedroom wall. at the dinner table today, he announced that he would be gone for the weekend "just in case you care or something". i asked where he was going and he said he was off to Mt Mulange (Malawi's tallest mountain), not to do the climb, but to go around it. why? because that's johnny. he seems like your typical 20-something guy, but there are a few things that are not so typical 20-something of him:

Name: Jonny Perrott
Title: Africycle Country Director (Malawi)
Job: A little bit of everything.
Age: 22 and a 1/2
Status: Single
Height: Huge
Weight: 185lbs

My name is Jonny. I say and write the word “bike” in any given day enough times that it hurts. Am I a cyclist, you ask? Answer: Yes, but I think of my self more like a Cyclogist.

I live on a mountain. Cool eh? The Ride for Africycle is a thing that excites me. What are some other things that excite me, you ask? Answer: big fires, high speed, blueprint and technical drawings, big ideas, a good poo, cool drawings, nice people, keepin’ it real, good storytelling, jokes, adventure, music . . .

I am not going to be joining any of you in the “Ride for Africycle.” But, I will be doing a version of the “Ride from Africycle”
my ride will be a self supported solo ride from July 3–5/2009.

Day One: Starting at the Africycle shop located in Zomba, Malawi. I will be riding south to Mount Mulanje (Malawi’s tallest mountain)
Day Two: Riding around the mountain
Day Three: riding back to Zomba. (home) I will also be taking pictures along the way!

jonny is one of the co-founders of africycle and has been in malawi for the past 2 years setting up their initiative here. through the "re-cycle"-ing of bikes and bike shops in both canada and malawi, africycle's vision is to "use what we’ve got to provide those without opportunities the tools and a way to begin to lift themselves and their communities out of poverty.

jonny is trying to raise $100 for his SOLO ride to and around Mount Mulange - an estimated 211km while a team back in canada bikes around lake ontario. africycle is a great initiative and is truly empowering malawians. donate to africycle here.