Backroads leaders at forefront of Climate Ride
BERKELEY, CA (Sept. 2008)—The Brita Climate Ride from New York City to Washington D.C. Sept. 20-24 is an example of Backroads’ commitment to responsible travel.
Backroads President and Founder Tom Hale has been promoting responsible travel since leading his first biking trip in 1979. Nearly 30 years later, Backroads’ environmental commitment includes running carbon-neutral trips through offsetting, regional aid projects in Peru, Costa Rica and Bhutan, and in-house programs for daily commuting, sustainable products and leader training.
“Traveling under one’s own power is the ultimate minimal-impact approach to travel,” Hale says. “But we also recognize that any travel has an impact, so we do everything we can to make that impact positive.”
Backroads is a proud sponsor of the Climate Ride. The five-day event is as much an awareness campaign as a fund-raiser, calling for renewable energy legislation and biking as a fun, carbon-free solution to climate change.
Logistical support for the first annual two-wheeled climate change conference will be provided by seven current and former Backroads trip leaders, including Climate Ride founders Caeli Quinn and Geraldine Carter. Beginning in downtown Manhattan, 120 cyclists will pedal 320 miles through New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland en route to the National Mall in Washington D.C. Each rider will raise $2,250 with proceeds earmarked for green nonprofits Clean Air-Cool Planet and Focus on Nation.
“I saw the world with Backroads, working in Europe, China, the Galapagos, Chile and Peru, and I guided hundreds of people through some of the most stunning natural beauty on the planet,” Quinn said. “Year after year I saw how beautiful places were changing in small, but noticeable ways. Climate change was effecting farmers in the Andean Highlands and fishermen on the Italian coast.”
“I realized that the idea of ‘treading lightly on the trail’ needed to be applied to global climate,” Quinn said. “This was my path of discovery, and now, through Climate Ride, we can share this in a Backroads-style way—on the bicycle.”
Carter is convinced that the collective experiences and world views of former and current Backroads leaders will be instrumental in bringing attention to climate change and showing the world how biking can be a small step toward reducing the effects of travel on the environment.
“We decided to combine the things we do best—lead bikes trips and provide great experiences—with the critical issues of climate change, access to renewable energy, bicycle advocacy, and how Americans are going to address their energy future,” Carter said. “Our know-how and can-solve-anything spirit will make all the difference in the success of the event.”
For More Information on These and Other Backroads Itineraries
To request a catalog, please contact a Trip Consultant by calling 800-462-2848 or visit www.backroads.com/catalog. Backroads is open 7 days a week 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Pacific Time.
