Athletes Attempting the First Complete Ascent/Descent of Notorious Mt. Kilimanjaro While Mountain Biking the Entire Route

    LAGUNA BEACH, CA, March 04, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In less than a week, on March 10th , 2017, a team of athletes, including ironman James Lawrence, amateur MMA fighter, Tate Nelson, and former University of California - Irvine's assistant tennis coach and pro, Rob Nelson, want to become the first people to mountain bike up and down Mt. Kilimanjaro, the entire way through. In collaboration with the Human Outreach Project the Cycle Kili adventure campaign, is designed to raise $1.96 million for Treasures of Africa (TOA), a ministry that cares for orphans and abandoned children at the foot of the famous mountain. The funds will go toward constructing a new 5.4 acre campus, to be deemed, "The Treasures of Africa Children's Village," which will include school buildings and a farm to grow food to feed the community.

Rob Nelson first learned about TOA when his child's 5th grade teacher left Orange County to move to Tanzania to help establish Treasures of Africa Orphanage in 2006. "I've always had a drive to serve others, it's how God's wired me," he said. "Especially a vision like TOA that takes the abandoned, the abused, and the discarded and raises them to one day make a difference in their communities." The team's fundraising was inspired by the altitude of the majestic mountain, an elevation of 19,341 ft above sea level.

The Cycle Kili team will be utilizing the Marangu Route, mountain biking from the town of Moshi up toward the Summit of Kilimanjaro. The terrain will vary, taking the riders through five different ecosystems. Each night, they'll spend the evening in huts along the route to Uhuru Peak, the tallest freestanding peak in the world. This is also one of the 7 summits and the highest mountain on the African continent.

"Someone on Facebook suggested it was a death wish," said Rob Nelson. "I disagree. I have every intention to summit and return alive! Lawrence may have to tow me on certain ascents but if anyone can do this, my confidence is in our team." Although there are inherent dangers involved with a trek like this, the number one cause of death is altitude sickness. The team has been training vigilantly over the past 6 months with the help of an elevation training mask, simulating high elevations.

Previous successful summits of Mt. Kilimanjaro with mountain bikes have been accomplished in a combo of pedal, push, and pack of mountain bikes on certain segments up and down the mountain. The Cycle Kili team will attempt to be the first "Full" ascent and descent of Mt. Kilimanjaro while mountain biking the entire route. The team will join an extraordinary and historical group of Kilimanjaro mountain bikers. Specifically of recent:

-- 2016 - Rebecca Rusch and her riding partner Patrick Sweeney successfully summited Mt.Kilimanjaro with mountain bikes. In Rusch's YouTube videos, she demonstrations how the bikes are broken down and packed up certain terrain;
-- 2016 - Danny MacAskill and Laguna Beach's own Hans Rey successfully summited Kilimanjaro on mountain bikes with the same net result of pushing bikes up certain terrain;
-- 2014 & 2015 - Guide, Dean Cardinale, has taken two Navy Seal paraplegic riders on mountain bike quad wheels with assistance;
-- 2013 - Brad Pitt's brother Doug Pitt, had mountain bikes carried to the summit and executed a descent of Mt. Kilimanjaro;

For those that want to follow our story, get involved or make a donation go to our website WWW.CYCLEKILI.COM and follow our social media handles.

#cyclekili #treasuresofafrica #Kilimanjaro

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