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P.L. & Kristen Meindertsma

@cycle5tosurvive

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Just finished bike-packing Africa. Follow along here 💙 We're on a journey to change lives: 5 rides, 5 years, 5 continents, 5 charities, $2,500,000.00

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WATCHING THE WHEELS 🚲 Scenes from 4 continents, Cycle 5 to Survive.

🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️

We're on a journey to change lives: 5 rides in 5 years on 5 continents to raise $2.5 million for 5 deserving charity partners.

To date, thanks to the generous support of Cycle 5 friends, we've raised over $1.25 million - halfway to our fundraising goal.

Share to help spread the word 🙏

#bikelife #bikepacking #endpoverty #bethechange #cycle5tosurvive by @cycle5tosurvive

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a month ago

OUR CYCLE 5 CHARITY PARTNERS: Helping empower the people who are going to make the world a better place...

These rides represent pretty epic adventures for us, but that’s not why we’re riding.

Thanks to your support, Cycle 5 has raised over $1.25 million dollars for our charity partners - halfway to our fundraising goal.

And, oh, do they deserve it! These charities do exceptionally important work:

🧡 Himalayan Life: "Empowering girls through education" - Cycle 5 funds are providing scholarships for girls at the Yangri Academic Center. Through strengthened academic resources, health support and leadership development opportunities, the initiative has contributed to increased engagement, confidence and community recognition of girls’ potential.

🧡 Hope for Korah: “Breaking the cycle of extreme poverty…” - HFK works to break the cycle of extreme poverty for the most vulnerable children in Korah. Cycle 5 funds provide opportunities for these at-risk children through the Youth Empowerment Centre; a safe and supportive place equipped with programs aimed at helping children thrive and stay in school.

🧡 iDE Canada: “Powering entrepreneurs to end poverty…” - Cycle 5 funds have supported, among other initiatives that provide grants for locally-led solutions, the first ever Polak Fund Ignite awardee! This award was given to a Cambodian team working toward improving garbage collection and disposal solutions in rural Cambodia.

🧡 LCC International University: “Providing pathways to a new life…” - Cycle 5 funds support the Pathways to Peace program which extends university scholarship opportunities to students whose lives have been shattered by war, offering not only financial support but also safety, belonging and renewed hope.

🧡 Opportunity International Canada: "Out of poverty and into possibility…” - Funds raised through Cycle 5 are expanding Aspiring Together Women’s Groups, a community-based model helping women in the DR build savings, launch small businesses and create more secure futures for their families.

Learn more about each of our amazing charity partners at the link in our bio 🙏 by @cycle5tosurvive

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2 months ago

👋 Hello! We are Cycle 5 to Survive and we're on a journey to change lives around the world:

5 rides on 5 continents in 5 years to raise $2.5million for 5 amazing charities.

And we're halfway to our fundraising goal, having raised - to date - just over $1.25million thanks to the generous support of Cycle 5 friends.

This June we'll head to Africa for Ride 4 (another fully self-supported bikepacking journey).

We hope you'll follow along here and help us spread the word. These charities are doing incredible work and every dollar helps 🙏

➡️➡️➡️ LINK IN BIO to learn more.

Feel called to donate? Thank you so much! Our 100% Promise for those who choose to give:

100% of every dollar we raise goes directly to the charities. How? We are covering all expenses (including travel costs and credit card and processing fees). Each charity has waived any and all administrative fees too.

The charities:

@hopeforkorah
@himalayanlifeinternational
@idecanadaorg
@opportunitycan
@lcc_international_university

Our awesome sponsors:

@7meshinc
@tailfincycling
@lightbicycle
@redshiftsports
@bigagnes_
@crankys_bike_shop
@wineworksco
@kismetyogaandfitness

#cycle5tosurvive #bethechange #endpoverty #bikepacking #africa taken in Fraser Valley, British Columbia by @cycle5tosurvive

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7 months ago

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮? 𝗛𝗶𝗻𝘁 ⬇️

The people! ☺️☺️

Seeing the work Hope for Korah is doing was a highlight. The cycling event they hosted for us was quite amazing: roads in the centre of Addis Ababa were closed for the event. It also led to an interview on Ethiopian national television, with a potential reach of more than 24 million viewers.

There were so many other moments: standing at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, seeing wildlife, and hiking
among some of the world’s largest sand dunes.

Then there were the people who helped us keep going. Zane repaired the damaged rack at the hunting lodge, and the Freyer, Tor and Martens families provided
accommodation, food, transportation and more.

Those encounters stay with us long after we forget a day’s distance. We also spent a day in Namibia with Ronnie, a Jewish man born and raised in Israel who is working with Palestinians to build peace... crazy!

🚲🚲

#newfriends #kindnessofstrangers #africa #cycle5tosurvive @hopeforkorah taken in Montreal, Quebec by @cycle5tosurvive

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a day ago

𝗤&𝗔: 𝗕𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 ➡️ 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹?

We recently cycled from Ethiopia to Cape Town. Thinking about our favourite place, or the most beautiful...

It's difficult to pick one country because the landscape changed so much across the continent - and we went to 9 countries so it's pretty hard to pick!

A favourite might depend on whether we are talking about desert scenery, wildlife or the beauty of a particular day on the bikes.

Namibia would be a strong contender, with its desert scenery and our excursion along the Orange River, one of the most scenic stretches of the trip.

South Africa also gave us some remarkable riding along the ocean and opportunities to watch whales...

❓️ 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮? 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘆?

🚲🚲

#africa #adventuretravel #bikepacking #cycle5tosurvive taken in British Columbia, Canada by @cycle5tosurvive

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2 days ago

"𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀?" 😅 It's a challenge!

"It helps that we had done this several times already. With every ride, our roles become more defined and more of what we do becomes routine.

That means fewer discussions about everyday tasks and fewer opportunities for arguments. It is a real bonus that we are also both strong cyclists and ride well together.

That does not mean we never disagreed. We had two significant disagreements that each lasted one to two days.

Both came from poor communication and misunderstandings. We had not taken the time to address the situation early or simply pause and discuss it so that both of us could contribute to the outcome.

The lesson for us was to take that minute before a misunderstanding grows. Our daily routines help, but we still need to make room for both of us to be heard when a decision needs a proper conversation..."

❓️ 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟴𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿?

#marriedlife #bikelife #bikepacking taken in Canada by @cycle5tosurvive

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4 days ago

💬 𝗤&𝗔 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝟱: 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮?

"No, we never felt scared. We did sometimes feel uncomfortable, mainly because of cultural differences we needed to get used to.

This was most noticeable in Tanzania and Malawi, where children would ask us for food or money and people would gather around us whenever we stopped for a break or to buy food.

People were often simply very curious about us. Being the centre of attention took some getting used to,
especially when we just wanted to stop and rest.

For us, that discomfort was part of adjusting to unfamiliar surroundings and understanding how people interacted with us." ~ P.L. & Kristen

❓️ 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽, 𝗯𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲?

➡️➡️ Stay tuned for more bikepacking and adventure travel Q&As!

🚲🚲

#africa #adventuretravel #bikepacking #cycle5tosurvive taken in Montreal, Quebec by @cycle5tosurvive

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5 days ago

REFLECTIONS: People ask what we miss the most when we're on these long Cycle 5 rides. Well? Besides our coffee machine (lol), it's our kids 💜 taken in Montreal, Quebec by @cycle5tosurvive

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6 days ago

🏕 Back home in BC and washing our tents after bikepacking across Africa for 3+ months! We put alotta miles on this @bigagnes_ gear...

🚲🚲

#bikepacking #bikelife #bikegear #cycle5tosurvive by @cycle5tosurvive

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11 days ago

3 months on the road means lots to clean up and put away...

#bikelife #bikepacking by @cycle5tosurvive

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12 days ago

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone behaved as well as a properly cared-for sourdough starter 😁 DYK that P.L. is a bread-making expert?

#homebaker
#sourdoughbread
#sourdoughstarter taken in British Columbia, Canada by @cycle5tosurvive

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13 days ago

Ahhhhhhh, the comforts of home 🏡 It's quite something to wake up in our own beds after so many weeks on the road in Africa. taken in British Columbia, Canada by @cycle5tosurvive

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14 days ago