WELCOME TO PEACEBIKE!
First
the PeaceBike Cliff Notes...
PeaceBike is an ´edu-venture´ around the world for
peace.
PeaceBike is a educational non-profit organization
started in 1999 to connect young people around the world to each other so
that their friendships
build a peaceful future for us
all.
From 1999-2001, Tad Beckwith and
others traveled through 25 countries by bike and shared their journeys
online in order to increase cross-cultural awareness.
PeaceBike builds peace through connecting people.
We visit about a school a week and have met students ranging from preschool to university levels, connecting them with pen pals, conducting interviews, sharing visions for peace, and telling tales from our journeys.
PeaceBike has presented to over
20,000 students and connected more
than 1060 new pen pals from more than 25 countries!
PeaceBikers have traveled a combined distance of
over 30,000 kms (by bike) through the USA, Canada, Mexico, Central
America, and South America, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Indonesia,
China, Nepal, India, Italy, and Tunisia (that makes five continents). We
document the journey in video clips, photos, interviews, and journals for
the online community (Friends of PeaceBike) to share and learn
from.
PeaceBike is supported financially through contributions from schools, businesses, families, and individuals. We encourage you to donate to PeaceBike, so that we can reach more people, if you believe in what we are doing.
Why bike? Whose idea was this? Where are you going?
Who is PeaceBike?
Expedition Team
Board of Directors
HomeTeam
How can I be a part of PeaceBike?
And now that you are really interested...
"A Journey Begins" by Tad
Beckwith...
Founder of PeaceBike and Expedition Team
Member
"Yeeoow. The wind licked under my helmet and blew the
watery tears of excitement into the corners of my eyes and down my cheeks
as I sped away from the Astoria Tower down the hill. The rush of living my
dream pulsed and surged through me down to my fingers as they clutched the
handle grips and the breaks at the same time. I was beginning what would
become the first mission of PeaceBike, a 222 mile trek down the Oregon
Coast (USA) from Astoria to Florence. This was just a practice ride to
test my legs against the dream of my head. I was now
officially in training for PeaceBike, a 45,000 km bicycle journey to
connect people around the world. "
-Excerpt from the first PeaceBike
Journal Entry, August 26, 1998
We at PeaceBike believe that travelers can best get to know the heart of a culture by traveling at "bike-speed". From experience, we know a bike allows the traveler to pull off the road and share a cold, dripping ice-cream cone with a new friend or watch children playing in a gurgling brook at the road’s edge. Bike travel is also a sustainable technology that is economical, efficient, non-polluting , and good exercise. So, really, why not bike? Where could you bike today?
The founder of PeaceBike, Tad Beckwith, was inspired by the travels of his eighth grade social studies teacher. In the early 1980s his teacher, wife, and sons (ages 8 and 11 at the time) decided they would give themselves a more "whole world" education and took a bike trip around the world. After their trip this couple began teaching at Kodaikanal International School (link opens in new window) in South India where Tad was studying in 1987-89. Tad learned more than social studies "by the book" though the vivid stories of their three and a half year bike trip and was inspired to, someday, take a bike trip of his own.
In high school Tad worked as an activist on local and national environmental issues and became involved in the peace movement during the Gulf War. In college, Tad interned with the YMCA of Seattle’s ecology programs and participated in a training and service program with Fellowship of Reconciliation. In 1997, Tad became an elementary school teacher and many of his students, when they learned about his planned bike trip wanted to come too. After much discussion with students, other educators, and friends, Tad realized that his dream had transformed from a "bike trip" to an online, educational odyssey to share the world with the world. In 1999, Tad, with the help of many, established PeaceBike, a non-profit organization, to implement this vision of living out "a message on a bike", a message of peace, sustainability, and cross-cultural celebration.
PeaceBike shares Tad Beckwith's trip down the West Coast of the United States, across Mexico, through Central America, South America, Oceania, and Asia and also connects people to the journeys of other PeaceBikers: Frank Pollari,, Shauna Curry, and Penny Beckwith. After over 26 months on the road Tad decided to call his journey complete and fly home to Dayton, Oregon from Mumbai, India after over 10,000 bike miles.
The original planned PeaceBike route continues from Central India to North India and then into Iran, Iraq, and other countries in the Middle East. Then the team will travel into Egypt and up the Nile River into Sudan. On to Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya to experience just a bit of the people and ecology of West Africa. Flying into Europe the expedition will travel from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia and then south to Spain. As thenext leg of adventure PeaceBike plans to travel across the United States. The timing of this course has been determined to avoid harsh climate conditions, such as summer in Egypt or winter in Tibet. The trip is approximately 45,000 kilometers (averaging 45 kilometers/day). Tad has covered nearly a third of that distance and may be out riding in the near future. If you are a visual learner check out our route map.
Tad Beckwith, Executive Director of PeaceBike and Expedition Team Member: Tad Beckwith from Dayton, Oregon is a graduate from Seattle Pacific University, elementary school educator, and former bass singer for the acapella quartet the Acafellas. Tad, having worked as an elementary school teacher, has a special focus on connecting children around the world through letter writing and online technology. Others will be joining Tad throughout the trip, some for months and others just for a PeaceBike Ride-Along across town. tad@peacebike.org
Frank Pollari, PeaceBike Grant Writer (1999) and Expedition Team Member (2000-2001): Frank has put over 10,000 miles on his bike before he became a PeaceBike X-Team Member and works as a computer support and resource person. His home is in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. He strums the guitar, wails on the harmonica. He has joined Tad and ridden with PeaceBike for a year through South America, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, China, Italy, Tunisia, the USA, and Canada. frank@peacebike.org
Shauna Curry, Expedition Team Member and Founder of
Cycle Celebration (1999-2001):
Shauna Curry started her own bicycle
journey on October 4, 1999 from Canada with the dream of visiting an old
friend from Chile, learning Spanish, and sharing "love and light" with those
she meets. As an environmental engineer Shauna has often lent her
expertise to environmental projects along the way. She met Tad in
Guatemala and then El Salvador and they rode together to Costa Rica.
Shauna presents to thousands of students, connects pen pals, shares
PeaceBike, loves granola and whole-wheat bread, and shares her journey
with hundreds online and on-bike. shauna@peacebike.org
Penny Beckwith, Expedition Team Member (July-September 2001): Penny and Tad had a vision of meeting in India and riding together but weren't sure it could really happen. Through Penny's hard work and the support of many she was sponsored for a 1-month journey through South India. Penny traveled over 320 kms by bike, authored a number of journals, and presented to children in Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, India. She now attends Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. penny@peacebike.org
PeaceBike is a non-profit organization with U.S. federal tax-exempt status. As a non-profit organization we are guided by the decisions of a board or directors with specialties in the areas of education, information technology, and business. We are very thankful for such hard working, and creative people on our board.
Stephen Marshall: Stephen is a professional musician, artist, educator, and designer. He is the founder of Marshall Architecture and Design in Seattle, WA. Stephen brings his expertise in both education and business as the board's president.
Kathy Beckwith: An interim member of the board since January 2004, Kathy has been a creator and collaborator in peace education for decades. As a mediation trainer and author of children's books she brings humorous and thought-provoking stories of peace and conflict directly to families and schools.
Bob Crawford: Bob is an avid recumbent cyclist and supporter of PeaceBike and can be seen cruising the backroads of Yamhill County, OR, USA sporting his yellow PeaceBike t-shirt. Welcome, Bob!
The PeaceBike "HomeTeam" is composed of a group of committed web developers, educators, and business leaders all volunteering to keep the PeaceBike expedition on track and positioned for thousands to access online.
Also, PeaceBike is made up of thousands of PeaceBike Kids and Friends of PeaceBike who join an online community with people around the globe. Finally, PeaceBike is made possible through the generous contributions of individuals, families, businesses, and other groups. Thank-you to all for your part in PeaceBike!
Kathy Beckwith, Treasurer, Web Design: Kathy works as a K-12 Conflict Resolution Trainer in Oregon and also spends her time writing children's books. She has stepped forward to act as Treasurer for PeaceBike. "Thank-you, Mom!", says Tad.
Kelly Carroll, Project Coordinator: Kelly is a full-time student at George Fox University, studying history and philosophy. He has spent a modest amount of time overseas and has been very excited about the opportunity to help PeaceBike expand. In his free time he can be found traveling, singing in his car, or eating ice cream out of the carton. Welcome, Kelly!
Daryl Fisher, PeaceBike IT: Daryl works as an
IT instructor and business consultant for both the private and public sectors.
He has recently been selected to receive a Community Information Fellowship by
the Alliance for Community Technology and the University of Michigan in
recognition of his continuing work for public interests. As he put it,
he "rides a bike just about everywhere." In fact, in spite of
Michigan winters, he has not owned a car since 1994. Welcome, Daryl! daryl@peacebike.org
On Call...
Thank-you to all "on-call" volunteers including Julie Johnson (Publicity), Sonja Skurdal-Bunn (Web Advisor), Jonathan Shaw (Webmaster Emeritus), Gloria Foltz (Grant Writing).
Many others... volunteer for PeaceBike for shorter projects such as writing for the Journals For Kids. PeaceBike goes and grows through the volunteer support of many. If you would like to volunteer for PeaceBike let us know.
How can I be a part of PeaceBike?
PeaceBike is building a dream into an educational odyssey and online community through the efforts of literally hundreds of people.Kids can get involved in PeaceBike and easily learn about other kids visited by the Expedition Team at PeaceBike Interviews, download our mini-videos at the PeaceBike Film Room, or read questions students ask PeaceBike at (you guessed it!) Ask PeaceBike. If students want to become pen pals they can write to the kids we interview or can visit our pen pals pages for links to pen pal organizations. Anyone can send the PeaceBike Expedition Team through our Contact Us page . Kids can also help PeaceBike by telling their friends and teachers about the PeaceBike website.
Parents, home-schoolers, and teachers are invited to check out the Learning with PeaceBike which includes a bulletin board, educational links, and ideas, all tailored to help young people explore our world’s people and geography and learn about issues related to the PeaceBike expedition. Teachers wanting to connect their students to a pen pal classroom visited by PeaceBike please visit our ClassConnect program.
Cyclists, peacemakers, and almost everyone will find resources of interest from the Cycling Links to daily journal updates about the trip.
We also invite your support through encouraging emails, prayers, tips, and financial contributions. Let´s build peace together!