Ethiopian Airlines welcomed riders supporting ‘Ride 4 Rangers’ at Manchester Airport today, Sunday 23rd August 2020. The British amateur cyclists started their global 30,000KM bike ride in Land’s End on Saturday 15th August and will arrive in John O’Groats on Saturday 29th August.
Stopping off at Manchester Airport on route to thank the Ethiopian Team for their support, Michael Yohannes, Director UK & Ireland Ethiopian Airlines commented, “We are delighted to be supporting this amazing charity and welcome the cyclists to Manchester Airport where we operate from to Addis Ababa and connecting across Africa.
During these difficult times, it is a pleasure to support and work with the African Travel Industry on this incredible project (detailed below) and we wish all the cyclists the best of luck in the UK and across the African Continent”.
Julian Carr, Airline Development Director at Manchester Airport, said: “We were thrilled to welcome Ben, Jean and Joel to Manchester Airport as they approached the halfway mark on their lengthy journey, raising money and awareness for a very important cause.
“In these unprecedented times, it’s important we do whatever we can to continue building on the crucial links between the North and the rest of the world. We’re delighted that Ethiopian is maintaining its thrice-weekly service to Addis Ababa, linking Manchester directly with sub-Saharan Africa, and to that end, it’s also fantastic to see three British cyclists helping to make a huge difference to wildlife conservation across the continent.”
A TEAM OF BRITISH AMATEUR CYCLISTS START GLOBAL 30,000KM BIKE RIDE WITH LAND’S END
TO JOHN O’GROATS ADVENTURE TO PROTECT AFRICAN RANGERS & WILDLIFE
50+ African Travel professionals doing a joint bike ride Land’s End to John O’Groats
Thousands of people around the globe doing their own ‘virtual’ bike ride for Rangers
874 miles Land’s End to John O’Groats
30,000 miles cumulative distance target – the equivalent of circumnavigating Africa
5,000 Wildlife rangers will be kept in the field doing vital work to protect wildlife across Africa
1,038 rangers have died in the field over the past 10 years which is one ranger losing his/her life every 3 days
Large increase in poaching as a direct result of COVID-19
US$10millon- the total Tusk aims to raise and put into the field to support African Rangers over next 6-9 months
JOIN THE RIDE – the initiative is inviting fellow wildlife and Africa lovers to join the team for part or all of LEJOG or in your own Ride 4 Rangers
NOMINATE – Cycle 10KM, Donate £10, Nominate 3 people
A GLOBAL INITIATIVE
Alongside the Land’s End to John O’Groats ride, 15th August also marks the start of a series of global Ride 4 Rangers events and activities where Africa and wildlife lovers across the UK, Europe and 9 African Nations (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique) are getting involved clocking their own miles and raising vital funds. A team in South Africa’s Kruger National Park are doing a relay walk from north to south, in Northern Kenya another team are doing a horse ride for rangers traversing Borana conservancy into Lewa conservancy, in Botswana they are holding a club bike ride, in Malawi, they are hosting a charity run in Lilongwe, in Tanzania a team are riding from Mount Kilimanjaro to Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, in Uganda a group are doing a 5km cycle around Entebbe, Namibia have a socially distanced hike and in Austria they have launched a series of 10KM bike rides. The initiative is gaining momentum daily.
