PEPY Ride 4 Begins

by Lucky Herath

I am totally blown away after meeting all the riders! It has been so much fun matching faces and in-life personalities to names and emails I've been receiving these past few months. The entire office, on top of their regular work, has been planning, organizing and running errands to make this trip run smoothly and for that I am very thankful. I've been looking forward to this for months and it is finally here and I feel like our entire group is rockin' it!

We spent an amazing day at the temples with the morning grade 4 class from the PEPY Ride School. It was the most fun visit I've had to the temples and with the cutest company. We took over a shady spot under a huge tree outside the Bayon with the largest hokey-pokey circle I have ever been a part of! The students were our teachers for the day and taught us some Khmer and a Cambodian game that involved lots of running around the big circle we made and giggling. I'll remember that afternoon of huge smiles on flushed faces, the sound of leaves crunching under running feet and laughter for a long time to come.

Yesterday, Lucky our bike guide took us on an adventurous ride through the temple grounds on small sandy trails and dirt roads running through green fields. I always find the experience of cycling around the temples surreal as I catch glimpses of ancient walls and carved faces through the bushes and behind large trees.

We start riding out of Siem Reap tomorrow and our cycling journey to the southern coast begins. I am excited to be a part of this team and feel very lucky to have the opportunity to cycle through Cambodia and learn more about development here, the country, our partners, fellow riders and myself.