CUSCO AND SACRED VALLEY DESTROYED BY FLOODING - SACRED RIDES WANT TO RAISE FUNDS

Hello fellow Riders. As you may know, we have been offering mountain bike adventures in Peru for several years. In fact, Peru was the first place outside of North America that I rode my mountain bike, and the site of our first international trips. I have close friends there, and part of my heart still resides there, among the valleys and villages of the Andes.

So it was with great sadness that I first heard the news of the devastating floods in the Cusco, Urubamba and Machu Picchu areas. Although the media have been focused on Machu Picchu and the tourists that were stranded there, the reality is that thousands of Peruvians in the area have lost much more than a few days of their vacation. Some have lost family members, many have lost their homes, and many more have lost their livelihoods, through destroyed crops and land.

As part of our ongoing efforts to use mountain biking to make a positive difference in this world, we will be donating $200 and 5% of the revenues from our spring trips to Peru to help people affected by the flooding.

I invite you - especially those of you that have joined us in Peru and know how magical the land is and how warm the people are - to help us help those affected by the floods by making a donation to help those in need. We will be donating to Peruvian organization Caritas (website in Spanish), which is working directly with those affected by the floods. You can make your donation directly on their website if you read Spanish, otherwise you can make a donation via our nonprofit organization Bikes Without Borders. BWB will be making a wire transfer to Caritas next Friday.

To make a donation to Caritas via Bikes Without Borders, go to the online donations page, scroll down to 'Donate to help those affected by the flooding in Peru,' and click 'Donate' All donations processed between now and next Friday will be sent to Caritas. Please note: BWB is a registered Canadian nonprofit organization.

Peru needs your tourism dollars, so if you're considering a visit, the spring will be a great time, as the damaged areas will be reconstructed, Machu Picchu will be open again, and communities will be in dire need of renewed tourism.

Please help us how the world that mountain bikers can make the world a better place!

Yours sincerely,

Mike Brcic, president,
Sacred Rides Mountain Bike Holidays