Rwanda's golden opportunity

Rwanda reminds you of two things: Diane Fossey and her gorillas and the 1994 genocide where Hutus killed more than 800,000 Tutsis.

And who would have thought that a bicycle race, supervised no less by the UCI, would be run in a country just recently known for its savagery in killing its own people? Well, say “hello!” to the Tour of Rwanda, an 8-day stage race that crisscrosses this landlocked country of Eastern Africa? The race not only have local riders and other African countries represented but also European teams as well! In fact, ToR had the chutzpah to invite the 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong to join the race!

Since the 1994 genocide Rwanda has made a remarkable recovery and is Africa’s biggest success story. Its now considered as a model for developing countries. The government is stable, the economy is growing and the average income has tripled in the past decade. Its government is known as one of the more efficient and honest ones in Africa.

It was Tom Ritchey, the co-founder of mountain biking and CEO of one of the top MTB companies in the world, who helped shaped the race and cycling in Rwanda. Tom, who was having personal problems back in 2005, had visited Rwanda upon the invitation of a friend and fell in love with the land. "The first time that I went out on my bike, a Rwandan followed me with a big sack of potatoes loaded onto his bike. He was smiling behind my back. I realized then how many people here used bikes, in particular wooden bikes, to transport fruit and vegetables. So in the autumn of 2006, I created a race – the Wooden Bike Classic. The Rwandans soon confirmed that they had great potential as cyclists." Tom then called Jonathan Boyer, the first American to ride the Tour de France to help him out.

Today, Boyer is training the Rwandan National team. Each rider is receiving a US $100 a month, which could double with the prize money, an unheard amount even with our so called professional cyclists. That’s more than double in a country that has a per capita income of just over $1000.

Recently, team Rwanda visited the US. To say that they were in shock at everything in the US would be an understatement. For one, they could not understand why food was so plentiful and just as easily discarded when a lot of people from their continent was dying of famine. To their credit, nobody TNT’d.

I envy Rwanda. I’m sorry but I can’t help but compare it to the sad, deteriorating state of RP cycling.

RACE RESLULTS 3.6.2006.

CAT C: 1- LITO QUEBEC, 2- TONY CODINA, 3- JV ARANETA, 4- TATA TY, 5- LITO PASTEDIO

CAT B: 1- MARCELINO VILLAROSA, 2- JOH ERMITANIO, 3- ART LAMBO

Finally, thanks to John Pages, I downloaded the audio version of, “Open, An Autobiography, Andre Agassi” from the internet right away. Although I’m still halfway listening through it, it is absolutely a compelling read. Andre considers Jeff Tarango a cheat, Jimmy Connors arrogant and swears never to lose to Thomas Muster after Muster touched his hair! So what was the big deal about his hair? It wasn’t his real hair but a toupee!!! Here’s a one Andre quote I like, “A win doesn’t feel as good as a loss feels bad; a good feeling doesn’t last as long as the bad. Not even close.” Right!