The children of Dili were today treated to the opportunity to ride with their heroes from the Palacio Governo to Christo Rei in Metiaut on Saturday. The event had riders from both male and female national teams, many of the Timorese district teams, representation from top Australian male and female teams, as well as Mountain Bike legend Tinker Juarez.
The Ride for Peace is an extension of the highly successful Run for Peace, inaugurated with the support of Peace and Sport at the Dili ‘City of Peace’ Marathon in June this year. The concept is one of promoting social cohesion and creating a platform for positive interaction across a broad spectrum of society. The Run for Peace had attracted 5,000 runners, while the Ride for Peace this morning had equal levels of enthusiasm from the children able to source bikes.
Upon arriving at Christo Rei, children and Tour de Timor participants were met with a festival atmosphere generated by music, a jumping castle, the UN Volunteers tent promoting the year of the volunteer, the UN Women tent with their ‘feto mos bele’ – ‘Women can too’ – campaign and the soccer themed Score a Millennium Development Goal. The Ride for Peace is the first event of its kind and will be continued into the future.
Today’s event showed fantastic promise for future generations of cyclists. One interaction between a current district rider and a young boy with him during the ride outlined the discipline required to be a rider: “If you want to be like us, if you want to ride in the Tour de Timor, then you can’t drink, can’t smoke, can’t fight, you must train hard and concentrate on your goals”. The future is bright for cycling and peace in Timor-Leste.