Save One Life, Inc. Announces Wheels for the World 2014
Georgetown, MA (PRWEB) May 05, 2014 -- Cyclist Barry Haarde commenced his third cross-country bike tour, “Wheels for the World 2014: Big Wheels Keep on Turnin’ in Costa Mesa, California on April 19. He is riding a total of 2,904 miles through nine states to raise funds for Save One Life. Averaging 120 miles a day, he is due to arrive in Savannah Georgia on May 17.
Save One Life supports over 1,100 impoverished children and adults with hemophilia in twelve developing countries through direct sponsorship, scholarships and micro-enterprise grants. Hemophilia is a rare genetic disorder that prevents blood from forming an effective clot. Estimated to occur in one out of every 5,000 male births, untreated hemophilia can cause prolonged internal bleeding, painful joint deformities, crippling and death.
Barry became the first person with hemophilia and HIV to cycle across the United States in 2012. Starting in Ashland, Oregon, Barry cycled 3,667 miles through eleven states and Canada to arrive in Portsmouth, New Hampshire 50 days later. In 2013 Barry cycled 3,456 miles from Costa Mesa, California to Amesbury, Massachusetts, averaging 110 miles a day.
Barry dedicates each day of his ride to a person with hemophilia who has lost his life to hepatitis or AIDS and posts their photos and names on Facebook. This includes Ryan White, the teenager who became the face of HIV/AIDS in the late 1980s when he was expelled from his school due to his infection.
For many years Barry hid his own HIV-positive status. But, after surviving a grueling multi-year treatment to cure his hepatitis in his early forties, Barry decided to make his disorder public. Since then Barry has been symbol of courage, determination and endurance for people with hemophilia around the world.
Barry is an outstanding example of his favorite motto, attributed to musician Bob Marley, “You don't know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”
“Having survived over thirty years with HIV, and also having cured hepatitis C—from which I’d developed liver cirrhosis—I have a very strong sense of gratitude and appreciation,” says Barry. “Not only have I survived, I am able to maintain the physical health and conditioning required to ride a bike across America. I can at least honor our lost and help those who still struggle by dedicating my rides to them.”
The last ten days of Barry's ride will start in Fort Smith, Arkansas on May 7, head south through Aberdeen, Mississippi, through Tuscaloosa, Alabama toward Columbia, Georgia. By the time Barry arrives in Savannah on May 17, he hopes to have raised over $45,000 for his favorite charity. To learn more about Barry and his Wheels for the World campaign, visit http://www.SaveOneLife.net.
Wheels for the World 2014: Big Wheels Keep on Turnin' is sponsored by Baxter International, Inc., Bayer Healthcare, The Alliance Pharmacy, Matrix Specialty Pharmacy and George King Bio-Medical.
Martha Hopewell, Save One Life, 978.352.7652, [email protected]
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