17,000 miles for Charity

In mid-November, on a typical Seattle rainy day, Dutchman Dirk Spits rolled into town on his custom German-made touring bike, glad to discover that his bike bags were indeed waterproof.  Already 23 weeks into his journey, Seattle is one of the many cities Dirk will stop to raise awareness and funds on his way to Latin America where he will personally deliver these donations to a variety of charities.

His 17,000-mile charity ride, titled 99%RIDE, started in Alaska and will end in Argentina. The organization and ride is Dirk’s quest to do something more meaningful with his time, and serves as a platform from which to broadcast his message: "we can make the world a better place if we all just gave 1 percent of our time, money and energy to charity."

“Small contributions can have a big impact,” stated Spits. “We’re called 99%RIDE because we do 99% of the work, we just need your one percent.”

99%RIDE has teamed up with 1%Club; the global crowd-funding and crowd-sourcing platform that works under the mission of “If we all share a little, we can change the world“, and mobilizes people to support developing countries by funding small budget yet life-changing projects.

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Along the way to Argentina, Spits will visit and support several projects linked to 1%Club, personally delivering donations to actual people.

“We’re filming the whole process so you can see how your contribution is directly making a difference,” explained Spits.  

On his journey, Spits and his two 99%RIDE members are making connections with bicycling organizations, sponsors and communities in every big city to spread his mission, and get to know the bicycling communities around the world. He also hosts donations dinners and rides.

In Seattle, the ride will take place tomorrow, Saturday, Nov.16, at 1 p.m at the Dutch Bicycle Company.

Thus far, Spits said Seattle has been a pleasantly surprising, bike-friendly experience. 

“I was surprised how good cycling paths are here,” he said. “I’m looking forward to see what other cities like Portland and San Francisco are like.”

Spits’ 99%RIDE team travels by van and are usually a week or two ahead of Spits to set up connections with organizations and the media.

Spits meanwhile rides his touring bike, weighing between 70 and 80 pounds when fully loaded, from town to town, living off $6 per day. Spits revealed that he lost 22 pounds within the first three weeks of his adventure, and relies heavily on pasta meals and granola bars from a sponsor.

“But I think the hardest part, Alaska, is behind me now,” Spits said optimistically.

99%ride has already raised around 25000USD and they’ll continue looking for sponsors, donors and community rides until they reach Argentina.

Spits’ goal is to have completed his adventure in a total of 18 months. You can follow his journey on their website, Facebook and Twitter. And if you live on the West Coast, south of Seattle, you may get a chance to ride with Spits soon!