Jacob George -- VFP member/Afghan war vet is on a bicycle journey for peace through his effort called A Ride Till The End (ARTTE). On September 11, 2011, A Ride Till The End (ARTTE) will embark on a 250 mile bicycle ride we're calling the Bikes Not Bombs Bicycle Tour. The tour will begin at the World Trade Center (WTC) site in New York City, NY and wrap up at the White House in Washington, DC. marking the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. The goal is to raise one bicycle per mile (250 miles) and awareness about the people's reality of war, from the people of Afghanistan to the United States of America. Afghans will ride along to share stories together. Why raise 250 bicycles? According to Jacob George, "As a community of Afghan war veterans, we feel a peace offering is needed as we approach 10 years of war in Afghanistan. Upon collecting the bicycles, we'll be attempting to send some to Afghanistan and others will be used to get more veterans on bicycles. We've asked Bikes Not Bombs to help us in this effort and will be pedaling together as reconciliation approaches."
The Ride is public and open to all bicyclists for however long they wish to ride. Veterans and artists on bikes will be speaking, hosting video conferences with peace groups in Afghanistan, sharing experiences, and sharing art at dozens of diverse places along the path. Learn more at http://www.operationawareness.org/