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A Greensboro pastor determined to bring fresh water to Africans raises money by cycling across the continent.

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A Lee Enterprises, Incorporated newspaper. Majority shareholder: David Hoffmann, Hoffmann Media Group.

Pedal to the mettle

A Greensboro pastor determined to bring fresh water to Africans raises money by cycling across the continent.

1 of 5

Hope Ride distance

Team Hope Ride encounters various conditions on its fundraising trips to various areas of southern Africa. On a bike, the roads through parts of Africa have the feel of gravel covered in peanut butter.

Hope Ride terrain

This past August — spring in Zambia — marked the eighth annual ride in a territory where road signs warning travelers about dangerous animals are common.

Sometimes, riding through parts of Africa is like being in a big city. Other times, it’s desolate and stark.

Wild kingdom: “We’ve had 40 giraffes at one time running down the fields beside us,” said David Crabtree, the senior pastor of Calvary Church in Greensboro and founder of the Hope Ride. “We’ve had elephants, lots of elephants, cross the road in front of us.”

As the Hope Riders have become more familiar to villagers, they’ve gained a following.

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Nancy McLaughlin

Cycling through Africa can be an adventure.

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People are also reading…

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Hope Ride water

Liquid gold: “It’s still just as thrilling every time you see them hit water and it comes flooding out,” said David Crabtree, the senior pasto…

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Hope Ride rocky terrain

Hope Ride rocky terrain

Sometimes, riding through parts of Africa is like being in a big city. Other times, it’s desolate and potentially dangerous because of wild animals.

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Hope Ride hug

With the bicyclists making repeat trips to the region, they have become more familiar to villagers, who often greet them with cheers.

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Close

Hope Ride

Hope Ride

“I connect my passion for missions with my passion for the bike. To that end, I founded Hope Ride in 2011 ... to help fund missions projects in southern Africa. I ride for kids – for clean water – for missionary outreach – for hope.”

The idea

He said, ‘You know there are moments of obedience in our lives that are so fragile that if we don’t obey them in that moment, they will turn to dust in our hands.’ I wondered how many of those moments I had missed.”

The need

People go to the river to get water but the area is thick with crocodiles. Everybody has someone they've lost this way. The year before we dug the wells there were 45 deaths on a small segment of river. Last year there were 11.

Getting started

“There was no blueprint.”

The path

“We’ve 40 giraffes at one time running down the fields beside us. We’ve had elephants, lots of elephants, cross the road in front of us. We were almost taken out one year by an ostrich.”

A good idea begets another

“He came out of the gas station (in Botswana) with a little stuffed animal and said, ‘We are riding for kids, right? I’m going to put this in my jersey pocket and when we get back we are going to auction off.’ So we all did it. We looked so crazy going down the road — we had ears flopping everywhere. ... (They later raised $5,000 with an Internet auction).”

Hitting water

“It’s still just as thrilling every time you see them hit water and it comes flooding out. The children will come and the mamas will come and the men will come. Out of nowhere. It’s in the bush and all of a sudden you see 200 people.”

So many emotions

“You just feel that sense of, this is really helping. When this little boy is sitting there with a Coke bottle filled with brownish water that you or I wouldn’t drink, you know he’s not going to have to do that again.”

The reward

"When I started I thought maybe before I die I’m going to raise a million dollars on the back of this bicycle. I thought that was huge and this year we’ve passed a million."

What it means

“Matthew 25 always comes to mind – '... I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink ...’ It’s when Jesus says, ‘You want to know what it means to be a Christian. This is what it means.’ “

At the end

The last day is the worst day. It's 78 miles... of the most horrific ups and downs. I always dread that day because it’s hard work. But the kids know it's Hope Ride day and near the end they start running out with this large white flag with their handprints and that buoys you a bit.

Hope Ride 2018 Gallery

Calvary Church’s “Hope Ride” — a yearly fund-raising bicycle trip across Africa — raises money to provide clean water and other needed resources to the poorest sections of Africa. The Rev. David Crabtree shares his thoughts about the most recent Hope Ride across Africa. 

Hope Ride

Hope Ride

“I connect my passion for missions with my passion for the bike. To that end, I founded Hope Ride in 2011 ... to help fund missions projects in southern Africa. I ride for kids – for clean water – for missionary outreach – for hope.”

The idea

He said, ‘You know there are moments of obedience in our lives that are so fragile that if we don’t obey them in that moment, they will turn to dust in our hands.’ I wondered how many of those moments I had missed.”

The need

People go to the river to get water but the area is thick with crocodiles. Everybody has someone they've lost this way. The year before we dug the wells there were 45 deaths on a small segment of river. Last year there were 11.

Getting started

“There was no blueprint.”

The path

“We’ve 40 giraffes at one time running down the fields beside us. We’ve had elephants, lots of elephants, cross the road in front of us. We were almost taken out one year by an ostrich.”

A good idea begets another

“He came out of the gas station (in Botswana) with a little stuffed animal and said, ‘We are riding for kids, right? I’m going to put this in my jersey pocket and when we get back we are going to auction off.’ So we all did it. We looked so crazy going down the road — we had ears flopping everywhere. ... (They later raised $5,000 with an Internet auction).”

Hitting water

“It’s still just as thrilling every time you see them hit water and it comes flooding out. The children will come and the mamas will come and the men will come. Out of nowhere. It’s in the bush and all of a sudden you see 200 people.”

So many emotions

“You just feel that sense of, this is really helping. When this little boy is sitting there with a Coke bottle filled with brownish water that you or I wouldn’t drink, you know he’s not going to have to do that again.”

The reward

"When I started I thought maybe before I die I’m going to raise a million dollars on the back of this bicycle. I thought that was huge and this year we’ve passed a million."

What it means

“Matthew 25 always comes to mind – '... I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink ...’ It’s when Jesus says, ‘You want to know what it means to be a Christian. This is what it means.’ “

At the end

The last day is the worst day. It's 78 miles... of the most horrific ups and downs. I always dread that day because it’s hard work. But the kids know it's Hope Ride day and near the end they start running out with this large white flag with their handprints and that buoys you a bit.

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Hope Ride stuffed animal

A stuffed animal found at a gas station in Botswana two years ago sparked a fundraising idea for the Hope Ride.

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Hope Ride vista

After the second year of the Hope Ride, founder David Crabtree came up with a 1,000-mile, 10-day trip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Oc…

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Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 336-373-7049 and follow @nmclaughlinNR on Twitter.

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Related to this story

Hope Ride 2019 kicks off to raise money for humanitarian missions — including fresh water wells — in Zambia

This year's Hope Ride participants — ranging from a Realtor to a retired Navy SEAL — arrived in South Africa on Monday and started their trek today.

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Hope Ride distance

Team Hope Ride encounters various conditions on its fundraising trips to various areas of southern Africa. On a bike, the roads through parts of Africa have the feel of gravel covered in peanut butter.

This past August — spring in Zambia — marked the eighth annual ride in a territory where road signs warning travelers about dangerous animals are common.

With the bicyclists making repeat trips to the region, they have become more familiar to villagers, who often greet them with cheers.

Sometimes, riding through parts of Africa is like being in a big city. Other times, it’s desolate and stark.

Wild kingdom: “We’ve had 40 giraffes at one time running down the fields beside us,” said David Crabtree, the senior pastor of Calvary Church in Greensboro and founder of the Hope Ride. “We’ve had elephants, lots of elephants, cross the road in front of us.”

As the Hope Riders have become more familiar to villagers, they’ve gained a following.

Sometimes, riding through parts of Africa is like being in a big city. Other times, it’s desolate and potentially dangerous because of wild animals.

A stuffed animal found at a gas station in Botswana two years ago sparked a fundraising idea for the Hope Ride.

After the second year of the Hope Ride, founder David Crabtree came up with a 1,000-mile, 10-day trip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean — right across the heart of South Africa.

Liquid gold: “It’s still just as thrilling every time you see them hit water and it comes flooding out,” said David Crabtree, the senior pastor of Calvary Church in Greensboro and founder of the Hope Ride. “The children will come and the mamas will come and the men will come. Out of nowhere. It’s in the bush and all of a sudden you see 200 people.”

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