Chris Ghiorse, director of the BSAFE youth cycling programme, has launched the BSAFE 24 Hour Challenge, a first of its kind endurance event in the Virgin Islands.
He plans to ride 500 kilometres in 24 hours. The aim of the event is to raise a funding shortfall of $50,000 to ensure that the BSAFE programme runs in all the schools for 2011/2012. The event will take place on Nov. 12-13. .
Mr. Ghiorse will start riding at 12 p.m. on Saturday and finish on 12 p.m. on Sunday. The course will be a loop of the Sir Francis Drake Highway between Port Purcell Roundabout and the Road Town Roundabout covering 3.602 km per lap.
In keeping with the principles of BSAFE, all road regulations will be observed throughout the ride.
BSAFE provides children with free safety awareness and fitness education using bicycles as the tool to teach these valuable life lessons. Since its inception in 2008, this free school programme has graduated more than 700 students in the Level 1 course with ages ranging from 8 to 11. He has also taught more than 280 children on Learn to Ride weekends with ages ranging from 3 to 14, and given away more than $40,000 worth of equipment in the form of bikes, helmets, T-shirts and bottles.
Having put in a number of hours on the saddle already to test the route and timing, Mr. Ghiorse anticipates that he will need to ride 140 laps and potentially stop at 560 red lights. Breaking the endeavor into bite-size chunks, Mr. Ghiorse has calculated that cycling at an average pace of 25 km/hour he will cover 65km every three hours and be able to include a 15-minute break in that period.
Mr. Ghiorse hopes to be joined by a number of support riders who will take part in shifts for the 24-hour period. These support riders will play an important role in helping Mr. Ghiorse achieve his goal. Three riders have already signed up for a 12-hour shift starting at midnight on Saturday, with others offering support for other periods.
“The support riders are going to be an important part of the process,” said Mr. Ghiorse. “Not only will I need the encouragement and physical support in terms of pacing, they will be an important part of the fundraising process. Each rider can set their own goals, use this event to challenge themselves, get sponsored to do so, and raise money for BSAFE.”
A website has been set up where individuals can pledge support, sign up to be a support rider, and follow progress in the lead up to, and during the event: www.bsafe24.com. The BSAFE 24 Hour Challenge headquarters will be near the entrance to the Festival Village Grounds.
“This event is about setting yourself a challenge and completing it. So I’ve structured the pledging on a per kilometre basis. If I only complete 400 kilometres, I raise considerably less money,” Mr. Ghiorse said. “ Money raised is based on meeting my goals. We’re going to have members of the Rotaract Club keeping tally of the time and distance and we’ll be continually posting updates on the official website. We anticipate a lot of people from all over the world checking in to see how everyone is doing, that is a great motivator for me to achieve the 500-kilometre mark I have set.”