Hello reader, yes, you. Someway, somehow you found yourself here so let me explain to you what's going on.

My name is Andre Abreu, I'm a 24 year old, Portuguese amateur cyclist living in the UAE. I started cycling competitively 8 years ago and since then have only fallen more and more in love with the sport.

As I check off personal accomplishments in this amateur sports career of mine, it all starts to feel less and less relevant... Don't take me wrong, like I said, I really enjoy spending time on the bike, I mean, I can't have enough of it! But riding just to ride, or even with a competition or personal goal in mind doesn't quite do it for me, to be honest, I feel selfish. I am blessed to be able to what I love all over the World while others have never even had the pleasure of riding a bike; I would even go as far to say that some don't even know what a bicycle is...

But it's not just about bicycles, that's just a small grain in the desert that is education, something that first World born people like me take for granted way too often. And that's not to shame anyone, I do that too! We just don't think of it and it's not one individual's fault, it's the way things are, which doesn't mean they can't be changed.

Challenge

My goal is to combine my love of cycling with raising awareness for this issue that is education in underdeveloped countries. For that I will attempt to ride the Fastest Known Time through the 7 Emirates of the UAE which currently stands at 14 hours and 41 minutes moving (20:51hr in total) for the 467km.

When and where

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/19004956

9 November, 2019. The start will be in Abu Dhabi at 00:01.

How you can help

I would love to encourage you to join me on the ride at some point of the route (or the whole thing!), but above all to donate to the Maria Cristina Foundation, so that we not only raise awareness but also directly, right away help the children of Dhaka in Bangladesh.

Goal

Raise $100 for each Emirate ($700). What will that money do?

100% of the funds raised will go to help pay for the education needs of children in Dhaka.