Gold Medal for Charity: Serk Rides with Olympic Spirit
Let the games begin! The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games officially began on Friday with a vibrant opening ceremony and plenty of expectation. Even if we can’t physically attend the events, the best way to honour the Olympic spirit is exercising with a desire for self-betterment and, perhaps, a wink to solidarity.
Beijing cycling brand Serk understood this assignment and organized its own torch relay on Friday, prior to the inaugural ceremony. The Olympic Ring Ride had participants meet up at Tianze Rd early in the morning and ready to complete a route to draw the Olympic rings on Beijing’s cityscape.
Riders challenged the icy wind courtesy of winter temps to cover a whopping 130 km for a total riding time of about six hours. After all, they sure have the stamina. While everyone else fell into a dumpling-induced coma, this pack of cyclists has been riding daily during the Chinese New Year holiday week to get in a minimum of 400 km. Their reward? A jolly good time and the satisfaction of adding to their count for the Firecracker Challenge.
What’s the Firecracker Challenge, you ask? The vision of Serk co-founder, Australian expat Shannon Bufton, to create a wonderful annual charity initiative that is already on its sixth edition. Wanna know more? Read this interview with Shannon and Lars Reifschlager, one of the brains behind the Olympic Ring Ride, which was part of the Firecracker Challenge.
Happy Year of the Tiger, Shannon and Lars! Tell us more about the Firecracker Challenge. What does it involve?
Quite honestly, it’s been all about getting folks out of winter hibernation mode to start the Lunar New Year with a bang. From Jan 31 to Feb 6, it went like this: ride 400 km, run 100 km or walk 40 km in seven days. Every kilometre counts for a collective count raising funds for a different cause every year.
We love to see a neat challenge. What did you accomplish last year? And what are your goals for this year?
For this year’s funding goals, Serk has selected the Masaka Cycling Club (MCC, Uganda, East Africa) project again. In 2021 we managed to send two high-end Serk titanium bikes to a pair of Masaka riders, Kato and Wasswa. They ended up placing top 10 in the highest profile gravel race in Africa — The Migration Gravel Race. Their amazing feat scored them semi-professional contracts to race the most exciting gravel races worldwide in 2022. This achievement has inspired Masaka citizens to join the city club and start riding. By supporting upcoming cycling talents in Uganda, the MCC is encouraging riders to overcome adversity and achieve their dreams.
This year, the Firecracker fundraising goal is to supply 5-10 Serk Titanium race bikes for the 2022 season. With the focus on increasing female participation in the club, this year will see racers Florence and Miria attending the Migration Gravel Race. Ultimately, we hope to empower and encourage more young women to take up racing on two wheels.
This is really awesome. How does the fundraising work?
A total sum of RMB 100,000 to 160,000 is needed to meet our goal. Funds are split between frame restoration, purchase of new group sets, wheels, bike finishing kits and the logistics to get the bikes to Uganda. Therefore, we ask everyone who joined the Firecracker to pledge an RMB donation of their choice for ever km you rode, ran or walked. If you prefer not to fundraise that’s also ok — just get out there and exercise. At the end of the Firecracker, we tally up each participant’s count, calculate their pledge and ask them to send the money via WeChat. It’s also worth mentioning that in 2022 we’ve had the generous support of both Peach and Arabica Roasters for the challenge prizes and closure party.
Serk clearly has a lot to offer to the community. Where can our readers find you?
Catch up on all things Serk at our website! Stay active and generous, Beijing.
READ: Four Reasons Why Cycling in Beijing is Way Nicer Than You Think, Even in Winter
Images courtesy of Serk Cycling
