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Open your door, open your heart

By Louise Lodge
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Ben and Linda, from the Netherlands are shown leaving Barriere as they continue on their world cycling tour fundraiser. (Louise Lodge submitted photo)

By Louise Lodge

Do you think you could arrive in a town, knock on a door and ask for a bed to sleep in? Well, Ben and Linda did just that on Saturday, Aug. 27. I was visiting with Stacey when I saw two cyclists ride into Stacey’s driveway. We had no idea who they were or what they wanted. As Ben approached we met him on the front steps. He introduced himself and Linda, his wife, and explained what they were doing.

Ben and Linda, from the Netherlands, are doing a world tour on bicycles and plan to be on the road for seven years (100,000 km). As of Aug. 27, they have been on the road for 802 days, 27 countries, and 27,000 km. As they travel, they knock on doors and ask if they can stay with you. Sounds a bit suspect? Well, for most, yes. However, my experiences have taught me to be open and find good in people. Stacey was unable to host them, so I invited them to come and stay at my house.

What a great experience it was to meet Ben and Linda and have them as my guests. They are not just riding for the sake of riding, they have a foundation. The goal of their ride is to raise € 1 for every km travelled…which would be € 100,000. Their mission is to help people in need and protect nature through giving to local organizations and aid projects. They have raised € 17,000 and provided € 4,500 for projects.

Ben and Linda left Barriere the morning of Aug. 28, and headed to Kamloops, then they will continue on to Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Osoyoos, Princeton, Hope, Vancouver, Victoria, and then into Washington. I encourage you to check out their website: www.xplorid today, and possibly make a donation to support their cause. More importantly, remember there is still good in our world.

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news@starjournal.net

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