Around the Pearl: Day seven

Friday, 18 April 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

17 April 2014: Mulativu-Jaffna (95 km): Cycling update - Day Seven: After another early start, we travelled from Mulaitivu to Point Pedro, which is famous for its broad stretch of sand dunes (some of which rise up to 100 feet in height). We encountered rough and uneven terrain which made the ride up to Point Pedro which was extremely gruelling. Today was all about dirt road riding, we swapped from the road bikes we have used up until this point of our journey to use mountain bikes to manoeuvre around this terrain. The rough roads continued past Nallur and as a result we experienced one of the toughest stretches of cycling to date. We finally reached Jaffna, which was bustling with commercial activity and energy. Jaffna has always been a mercantile centre and supported various industries including fishing, manufacturing and other businesses. Post-war Jaffna is thriving and increased connectivity to Colombo and the rest of the country is boosting trade and growing the city into a vibrant and commercial epicentre.

Our team is feeling incredibly tired today as we encountered many difficulties due to the poor condition of the roads. However, we are cycling for a great cause and this keeps us all motivated. Our support team has also been phenomenal throughout our journey, which has enabled us to focus on our cycling. The ‘Around the Pearl’ initiative by ‘Wheels for Wheels’ is a 1,427 km bicycle tour around Sri Lanka which is being conducted by 12 business professionals to raise funds for 1,000 wheelchairs for children with Cerebral Palsy. The ‘Around the Pearl’ initiative is being conducted in partnership with the Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation (CPLF) and WrooM – a project focused on promoting cycling in Sri Lanka as an alternative transport mode and increasing awareness of public road safety rules. Cerebral palsy is a common physical disability that affects many children in Sri Lanka and is caused by events before, during, or after birth. In Sri Lanka, CP is highly stigmatised and remains a significant health problem. The ‘Around the Pearl’ initiative by ‘Wheels for Wheels’ is being conducted in partnership with the Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation (CPLF) and WrooM - a project focused on promoting cycling in Sri Lanka as an alternative transport mode and increasing awareness of public road safety rules. Sponsors and partners of the initiative include Janashakthi Insurance, Orient Finance, CAL, Jetwing Hotels, Wijeya Newspapers, Blinking Bikes, Shift and Leo Burnett. The ‘Around the Pearl’ journey is almost complete, to help raise funds to better the lives of children with CP, log in to www.aroundthepearl.lk.