PEPY Ride 4 — On the road!

By Allana Hearn
And we’re off!!! Just a few days into our 3-week journey and we’ve already created many bonds and memories.  We are a 16-strong group of riders hailing from Canada, America, Japan, Australia, Ireland, England, and Cambodia and with 448 collective years of life experience.  Already a tight-knit team, we are excited for the challenges and adventures that await us as we pedal through Cambodia’s countryside.
Our trip started in Siem Reap visiting the magnificent Angkor temples with the PEPY Ride School students.  Their awed faces and bright eyes upon viewing this source of immense national pride amazed and inspired us as much as the temples themselves!
Our Cambodian cycling guide, Lucky, took us on a bicycle tour to visit some of the more remote and less-explored temples.  While in Siem Reap we’ll also have a chance to head out on our own to explore the city and visit a local hospital.  Our group will celebrate the holiday season by stuffing ourselves in a delicious feast at the Singing Tree complete with a delightful environmental gift exchange.  Happy Holidays!
On the 25th of December we will cycle from Siem Reap towards the PEPY Ride School in Chanleas Dai.  Here we will teach eco-lessons, touch up a few murals, and join some classes — all the while enjoying the beautiful scenery and gregarious students and teachers in Chanleas Dai.  In addition we will help build the junior high school alongside the community.
Soon after we will pedal to  Battambang and learn to cook some Khmer eats. From here we will round the Tonle Sap to meet with our partner organization Sustainable Cambodia and head out to one of their schools with more eco-lessons.  From Pursat we’ll head to Phnom Penh where we will meet more of our partner organizations like RDIC (Resource Development International – Cambodia), Cambodian Living Arts and Nyemo.  In Phnom Penh we’ll also spend time studying the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge period through visits to S21 and the Killing Fields.  Next we’ll head down to the sleepy coastal towns of Kampot and Kep to wrap up our trip with sand, sea, and smiles.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed to make this trip happen!