Do you have old cycling clothing that is clean and in good shape? Do you have any old bike parts that still have some life left in them? Remember your 7 speed shift levers and derailleurs that you changed to 8 speed then 9 or 10 speed a few years later. Do you have any cycling shoes that have cleats and compatible pedals? Sizes 36 to 44 are best. Other standard parts such as handlebars, stems, seats, water bottle cages, brakes are all useful items. Put your old equipment to good use and help someone develop and improve their cycling skills.

For the past 12 years, our director Lon Haldeman has been organizing tours to Peru with the help of FPC Global Outreach. As we traveled to more remote parts of the country, we visited many areas that could use basic supplies such as garden equipment to help grow their own food. These projects eventually expanded into building two schools and helping support several rural orphanages.

During our travels by bicycle, we became friends with several cyclists from Peru. These friends were active in promoting races and cycling events. We got to know these cyclists better when they joined us on our tours to different regions of the country. We could see their equipment was very basic and outdated, but the riders were very strong and passionate about riding bikes. We decided to try and help them get better equipment.

In the United States, we had a good group of riders participating in our cross country tours. Some of the riders started donating old bike parts and clothing to the Peru cyclists. We would take several gear bags of supplies to Peru each year to give out as prizes during the annual 55-mile bicycle road race across the jungle. This race was in the middle of the Amazon Rain forest on the only paved road in the region. Sometimes, over 100 riders would enter the race to have a chance to select an old jersey or a pair of bike shorts as a prize for finishing.

During the past five years, we have organized more tours in Peru to visit the schools and orphanages we have helped in the past. All these tours are also missions to bring more bike parts and clothing to the cyclists. Many times our riders will bring an old bike and ride it during the tour. They then donated the bike to the race prize list or gave the bike to a special racer they have met during the week.

We are continuing to collect parts and clothes for our next tour to Peru. Our goal is to bring over 200 jerseys and shorts to the jungle. We are also collecting shoes, cleats and pedal sets. Riders always need helmets, saddles and hardware. We try to keep shifter levers and derailleurs matched as sets. Basically the riders in Peru can use anything, and they are experts at making old parts work again.

We will sort and match all items into matching sets. Thank you very much for offering to help. There are many stories about our Peru Adventures in Lon's Newsletters. There are over 50 articles in the archives about his travels in Peru. People making donations to these Peru Part Projects will be included on future Peru Newsletter updates.

 Bicycle Inter Community Action and Salvage (BICAS) began in 1990 in Tucson, Arizona. They collect parts and provide bicycles for people who cannot afford to buy a bike. They are also very involved in community awareness and cycling education. If you have old bike old parts or a frame you want to donate, you can send your parts directly to BICAS. You can contact them at http://www.bicas.org/