Scootering For Charity. An Interesting Scooter Opportunity for Burgman Riders..
My daughter recently introduced me to this site 2wheels4water with Tim and Ali and their efforts to do good by riding their scooter. It was such a neat use of a scooter that I had to meet them and do the interview below.
By the way, I’m going to be joining them in Raleigh and ride along for a bit. As you will see in the interview below, you are invited along anywhere on their trip as well. You can contact Ali and Tim directly for meeting details.
Steve
August 1: Greenville to Spartanburg to Columbia
August 2: Columbia to Bluffton to Hilton Head to Beaufort
August 3: Beaufort to Charleston to Myrtle Beach
August 4: Myrtle Beach to Cape Fear, NC to Raleigh
August 5: Raleigh to Greensboro to Winston Salem to Charlotte
August 6: Charlotte to Asheville to Greenville
2wheels4water Route
Q1: So you’re off on a scooter trip around the Carolina’s to raise money for water resources in developing countries. That’s a pretty interesting use of a scooter. Why a scooter?
Tim and I both love scooters. When we got married last September we decided that our first major purchase would be a Vespa. In May we finally made that dream come true when we purchased our Vespa ET2. We started talking about how fun it would be to take a long trip on the scooter and that transformed into making it a charity ride to raise money for an amazing organization called Hydromissions. We have known about Hydromissions for a while and I just had this burning desire to help them. 2 Wheels 4 Water turned out to be a unique, fun way we could help them.
Q2: It looks like you’ll have some big travel days and long distances to cover on a 50cc scooter. How have you prepared for such a long trip on a small scooter?
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little unsure about the trip. The longest trip I have ever taken on the scooter is about two hours. But then again, when I ran my first marathon I had never run 26.2 miles, so it just takes faith and endurance. It’s also good to know that we have nice places to stay every night along the way. Hampton Inn donated hotel stays for us so we can rest up. Plus knowing that the distance we cover will translate into money for an organization we believe in is extra motivation.
Q3: Do you have any concerns about heading out on a 1,200 mile trip on a 50cc scooter?
There is always the unexpected but we know it will be an adventure. Our scooter (the one I will be riding) is technically a 50cc, but it has modifications to give it extra power which is nice when you are side-by-side with traffic. The wonderful people at Touring Sport BMW here in Greenville, SC are loaning us a 250cc Vespa for the trip. My husband will be riding that one. We plan to take a small gas can with us in case we can’t find a gas station. We also have a tire repair kit in the event of a flat. We also know that the people in the Carolinas are so friendly that it won’t be hard to find someone to help us if we need it.
Q4: Why scootering for water? Is this a combination of the love of two passions?
We are a pretty ordinary couple. We don’t have lots of cash to donate. We aren’t celebrities. But we do have a scooter and a passion to help others. We are proving that you don’t have to have lots of money or power to do your part and make a difference. We just found an organization we believe in and we wanted to help them.
Hydromissions was started in 2004 by Steve and Jennifer Lorch. In just four years since they founded Hydromissions they’ve worked to bring access to clean water to over 30 countries. Without having any engineering background, they used 100-year-old sets of encyclopedias for inspiration to invent low-tech water pumps. They go to third world countries and teach people how to install, operate and maintain these pumps. I love Hydromissions because it’s not an organization that is just throwing money or expensive equipment at people. They are teaching people how to get clean water and that translates into saving lives. The numbers are huge- 1.1 billion people don’t have access to clean drinking water. It would be easy to get overwhelmed by that number and just think that it’s too big of a problem to be solved. But Hydromissions knows it’s not about helping all 1.1 billion people. It’s about helping one village at a time and impacting the lives of those people forever.
Q5: How can people in the scooter world help support your fundraising goals?
There are so many ways you can help. First of all, you can support us by making a donation or a pledge. You can do that by visiting our website at www.2wheels4water.com and clicking on the “Donate/Contact” page. Every penny we raise goes directly to Hydromissions. Secondly, you can support Hydromissions by purchasing some of the soap they manufacture.
Currently they fund their trips to third world countries by selling soap that is made in a one-car garage here in South Carolina. You can buy the soap by visiting www.Hydromissions.com. Thirdly, you are more than welcome to ride with us! Check out our route on our website and let us know if you are interested in joining us. Finally, just help us get the word out. If you have a blog, write about our trip and post a link to our site. We want as many people as possible to know about the work of Hydromissions.
Q6: How did you pick the route and are you sticking to back roads?
My husband was in charge of making the route. We decided to try to drive about 200 miles a day. So once we had the main stopping points nailed down my husband mapped out back roads to each location. We are really looking forward to riding along the coast. Our goal is to avoid as much traffic as possible. We’ll probably get lost a few times along the way, but hey, that’s part of the fun.
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