Moyers Journal 4/4/08 Congo Cycling

[Mauriceloridans]

At least a third of the show tonight was about the use of sturdy rod brake roadsters to transport loads of relief food to remote villages. Very appreciative treatment. Strongly recommend getting a podcast or catch a repeat broadcast of this PBS gem. Meaux

[Mauriceloridans]

Here's the link to the video:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04042008/watch.html

And a comment from another list from a guy who lives in S. Korea:

--- In bicyclingadvocacy@yahoogroups.com, "Kimberly" <bikerat@...>
wrote:
>
> Want to see what they're doing in Democratic Republic of the Congo
with bicycles?
>
> The first half of the video gives some history of the war and
conflicts and some information on what World Concern is doing.
>
> About half way through, they start a long segment in which they
show how people are transporting food on bicycles throughout one
region.
>
> Thanks,
> Kimberly cooper

This video was interesting. The use of bikes for cargo movement is
common in the third world. The hiarachy for porters is: carry on
head, carry in cart, carry on bike, carry on motorbike, carry in car
or truck. In the US there really is only "carry in car or truck" but
as the country gets poorer you get all methods. A similar hiararchy
exists for transportation: walk, ride bike, ride motorcycle, drive
car. The trick is to go through the entire development cycle without
completely eliminating the walking and riding (bikes and motor bikes).

Cheers,

Tom

[thdave]

If I understood it correctly, they have 70 cyclists delivering 7 tons of food. That means each cyclist is carrying approximately 200 pounds of cargo.

I carry about 8 pounds of cargo daily. I won't be complaining about that anytime soon.:o

Plus, they carry it for a 3 day trip. I wonder how far they ride in those 3 days.

Wow.

[crackerdog]

I just dropped off 30 bikes in Seattle that are going to Ghana. Now if I can get some more people to ride the bikes they have here, I'd be happy.

[thdave]

If I understood it correctly, they have 70 cyclists delivering 7 tons of food. That means each cyclist is carrying approximately 200 pounds of cargo.

I carry about 8 pounds of cargo daily. I won't be complaining about that anytime soon.:o

Plus, they carry it for a 3 day trip. I wonder how far they ride in those 3 days.

Wow.

I finally watch the rest of the video. They travel 75 miles in three days. It doesn't seem like much, but they have to walk the bikes for many portions of the ride, since sections are war-torn.

What a great solution to the relief effort. It's truly outstanding.:)