The Mission:

To cycle the length and breadth of the beautiful country of New Zealand. I’ll be visiting schools all along the way. Why? For three reasons:

1. To accept donations for the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Vietnam.
2. To spread the word about the amazing possibilities of the bicycle as a viable means of transportation.
3. To teach and present music at each school as a guest artist / educator

The Cycling:

I’ll be cycling between 50k and 100k a day.  Starting in the South Island at Christchurch and working my way down the east coast to Invercargill.  I’ll then head up to Milford Sound and the west coast before arriving in Wellington.  I’ll be hopping across to the North Island after that and continuing up the west coast through Auckland all the way to the northern tip of the country.  Then its back down the east coast to round out the journey.  I’m not a big fan of statistics so if elevation gains and kilometers (miles)/day are important to you, then you’ll be disappointed.  I do like good gear, however, so I’ll post that at some time.

The Music:

At each school I visit, I’ll be spending time both presenting and teaching as a guest musician.  (So if your school sponsors any amount of money you don’t just get the warm fuzzy feeling of helping those in need, you get me too!)  I’ve been teaching music for 13 years to children of all ages and have also delivered workshops to street kids, teachers, and parents.  I’m a practitioner of Orff Schulwerk, a guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist with an MA in International Education.  You can find out more about me at the ‘About Me’ page (of course) and at my website.  I’ll be delivering workshops and classes in movement and improvisation.

The Hope:

Each school I visit will be asked to raise funds for the Blue Dragon Children’s Organizaton in Vietnam.  This fine organization helps street children change their lives and get back on their feet so that they and their families can move forward.  Information on this Blue Dragon and on how you can help can be found here.  I’ll plan on speaking at each school about the merits of travelling by bicycle, share my stories of the journey to date, perform for and with the students and community at a school assembly.  I’ll also be available to work in your music classes as a guest teacher.

To help, contact me at teampeacedove@gmail.com or contact Blue Dragon at lesley@bdcf.org. Thank you!