  An organic cycle adventure!
There’s nothing better to start
your day than with a good cycle and a cup of organic rainforest tea from
the highlands by the Rainforest Rescue International. From the freezing,
snowy covered grasses of England a group of 11 dedicated cyclists
reached tropical green Sri Lanka in seven days, to raise funds for the
Rainforest Rescue International. Their adventure covering 360km, from
Kandy before moving towards Nuwara Eliya and into the challenging hill
country.
On one day the cyclists climbed over 2,000 miles through the tea
lands testing the fitness of all of the riders. When one of the bicycles
couldn’t quite take the strain of the hills, a local plucker gave a
helping hand to repair the bike, showing true Sri Lankan hospitality.
The cyclists continued on to Horton’s Plains National park, descended
through the deep valleys emerging at the Castlereagh reservoir, and then
climbed again to the Peak Forest Reserve. The journey continued with a
tumultuous descent to pastoral lowlands of paddyfields. A day of rest
was taken on the edge of Sinharaja, where the Rainforest Rescue staff
met the group to take a gentle trek through the forest and explore why
conserving Sri Lanka’s forests is so important.
 The final stretch of cycling was downwards, much to the joy of the
group, with one final stop at the Rainforest Rescue plant nursery in
Baddegama. To celebrate the end of the bike ride and the start of a new
conservation project, the group ate a traditional lunch with curries
prepared from rainforest produce, learnt about the biodiversity and
fragility of Sri Lanka’s rainforest, and planted native rainforest
trees.
Desert Venture has a history of organising socially responsible
adventure holidays - and having chosen to support the Rainforest Rescue
in Sri Lanka, the sponsorship money will be utilised for rainforest
restoration, amphibian habitat creation and the Rainforest Ranger
Children’s program.
Ian Wyness sums up the ride and the project by saying “At the end of
a challenging but amazing week’s adventure, planting a tree was a simple
yet poignant act, and brought the whole experience of cycling through
this beautiful country to life. I was immediately struck by the thought,
which to some may seem melodramatic, that without these trees and the
ecosystems they support, there will be no more adventures for any of
us.”
- RRI
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