Thirty orphans from a Yunlin County home for children on Wednesday completed a 21-day, 1,100km bicycle tour of the nation.
Clad in yellow shirts and blue bicycle helmets, the young riders, ranging in age from seven to 18-years-old, biked from Yunlin to Taipei and back to raise awareness of the hardships endured by orphans. The group biked through Kaohsiung County and along the east coast. They were accompanied by volunteers and teachers, said Wu Wen-hui (吳文輝), the home's director.
"The marathon not only tested the children's strength and will, it also gave them memories for a lifetime," Wu said.
PHOTO: LEE CHING-FANG, TAIPEI TIMES
On their trip, the children adhered to a grueling schedule, getting up at 4am and biking until 9am. The children then rested until 2:30pm, after which they got back on their bikes and rode until dusk. The group then looked for an inn or temple to spend the night, Wu said.
"Many fell off while riding," he said. "But they got up and kept going, learning how to overcome frustation and pain, and how to persevere."
Six students from Hsing Wu College in Taipei County who volunteered to bike with the group recorded the entire trip on video. A group of students from National Yunlin University of Science and Technology also accompanied the children, which gave the children a great chance to bond with older role models, Wu said.
Local cycling clubs joined up with the group at various points during their trip and police blocked off traffic at difficult points in the trip for the passing children, he said.
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