I took a four-day bike and service trip with Pedal for Change trip this past July to Baños and Puyo and I was thoroughly impressed with all facets of the trip.
I have been living and teaching in Ecuador for five years and I have been a part of several volunteer trips varying from translating for medical brigades to doing trail work for preserves in the rainforest. And as far as organization, professionalism, sense of satisfaction, and most importantly FUN, this trip was one of the best!
From day one, Rayna and her crew were focused on safety and providing the best possible experience for our group. Highlights from the biking part (days one and two) include: riding downhill through small towns and scenic farms into the town of Baños, riding under waterfalls and stopping for sugar cane juice and taffy on the famous Ruta de las Cascadas, stopping for a lunch of fresh trout and a hardy soup, and getting picked up in the van by Don Lucho for the ride into Puyo at just the right time.
Highlights from the service project (Days three and four) include: learning about the medicinal plants of the indigenous Shuar culture and ecological dry toilets, and doing some trail work.
Finally, I had a great time getting to know the other like-minded, service oriented participants on the trip and I was really impressed with Pedal’s vision for the future of combining community service education and cycling in Ecuador and beyond!
An absolutely phenomenal weekend! Last Saturday, I joined Rayna, Marie and a large posse of Canadians on a stunning 73 km descent into the Ecuadorean tropics. It was surprisingly rough riding down a rocky dirt road (don't think you'll be cruising just because it's downhill). I wiped out once, painfully, for trying to take a shortcut. If you're tempted to cut across the grass at any point, don't. Also, I recommend letting one of the mountain pros ride point, as cars, buses and trucks frequently make the ascent; due to the geography of the region, it's often impossible to see or hear them before they're uncomfortably close and you have to emergency maneuver your way out of a collision. Some of the girls eventually hopped in the van, prudently preferring to take it easy (you're much more likely to have an accident when you're tired, so having a support vehicle was both critical and reassuring). The final 10 km were my favourite: racing down at full speed towards the highway on Rayna's lime-green bike, relying sparingly on the hydraulic disc brakes. I made it down first by about 7 seconds. We later arrived in the Tsáchila people's community just in time for friendly introductions and a shamanic ritual. One of a kind. Some of us wandered around in the dark afterward, feeling fully immersed in the rainforest.
Sunday was equally amazing. We went net-fishing for our lunch in some shallow pools set up by the Tsáchila. I teamed up with Alfonso (the Tsáchila "ambassador", if you will) to catch some fish old-school style -- essentially using our bare hands (Google search "trout tickling"). One of the Canadian girls had a fiendish allergic reaction to eating a tiny piece of fish, so make sure you bring what you need to avoid anaphylactic shock and/or death by Tilapia. We went on a guided hike and the men gave us an interactive demonstration of their age-old achiote hair-dyeing tradition. There was an opportunity to support a local vendor, who sold a variety of artisanal goods.
My only regret is that the whole trip was too short -- a mere 36 hours in total. I felt that my presence could've had greater impact, and was disappointed that we didn't get to work with the Yanapuma Foundation building community gardens, working on trails and the like. Overall, however, it was a mind-blowing experience that far surpassed my expectations, and will exceed yours, too.
AWESOME ADVENTURE! Great Biking experience with Rayna. We Biked up and down a mountain for a full day. Rayna and the others were super helpful with everything.
I have nothing but positive things to say about this trip and organization.
-Dane
My husband and i did a bike ride from Banos, Ecuador to Puyo, Ecuador; high up in the Andes down to the Amazon Floor. We were guided by the multi-talented, Rayna Weiss, founder of the organization. Rayna did a professional job of meeting all our needs + extras. A gentleman named Pablo was in charge of our support vehicle. We never had one worry (other than our ability to do the ride!). Great ride, great people, great food, to-die-for views of spectacular waterfalls along the route, etc. Given our super positive experience with Pedal for Change, we would recommend any/all of their trips for families, older adults (like us - we are 61 & 60), teens, college students, etc. The staff is highly trained and super attentive. Excellent all around!