The race will start from two separate venues and finish at Barkpak of Gorkha, the epicenter of the devastating earthquake that rocked the country on April 25 last year. The four-day mountain biking for Group A will start from Kathmandu on April 22 and three days of ride for Group B will start from Gorkha Bajar on April 23. Both the groups will finish at the same venue. Bikers in Group A will cover 192.93 km and those in Group B will race 50.4 km.Organizing a press conference in the capital on Monday, Tularam Ghale, president of Rupinala Youth Society, said that the primary aim of the rally was to raise funds for rebuilding Barkpak. The slogan of the rally is 'cycling for rebuilding'.
Informing that over 90 percent of 1447 houses of Barpak were destroyed by the earthquake, Ghale said that they have coincided the finishing date on the first anniversary of the earthquake to strengthen the survivors' belief to stand on their own as they move forward to their normal life.
"We hope that the rally will help generate income through sustainable tourism for local people affected by earthquake," said Ghale adding that they have appealed for donations from various agencies. "Half of the donations will go directly to help orphan children of the epicenter for their education."
According to the organizers, only 200 participants will be allowed to take part in the rally. Participants need to pay at least Rs 3500 for registration. Cyclist from India, Australia, America, Italy, Thailand, United Kingdom besides Nepal have shown interest to participate in the event, according to the organizers.
The expected cost of the event is Rs 3 million.
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