AfricaBikes on dirt paths in Africa and paved streets in US

A few years ago I wrote about Ferndale, Washington, bike-maker Kona's efforts to create a rugged bicycle for use in Africa for home healthcare workers.

The AfricaBike program was a three-way effort by Kona, Bicycling Magazine and Bristol-Myers Squibb to provide bicycles and medications to several countries in sub-Sahara Africa to provide AIDS/HIV treatment.

This past week I saw in a Seattle Times commuter bicycle review by Dan Nelson that those AfricaBikes (in 1-speed and 3-speed versions) are available in the United States and Canada as commuter bikes.

Checking around, I also learned that the Kona BikeTown project is still going strong and plans to send more bicycles to Africa this year. Since it was launched in 2005, some 3,000 all-steel bicycles have been delivered.

This year, the program seeks to deliver AfricaBikes to Tanzania, South Africa, Burkina Faso and Mali.

The rugged terrain of these countries makes it difficult to provide treatment to patients in outlying communities, as healthcare workers have to make the trips on foot. With the AfricaBikes, they can triple the number of daily visits they make.

The attributes that help make the AfricaBike a good choice for the rural roads in Africa can also make it a good commuter or errand-runner in US cities where cyclists encounter potholes and road debris to and from work or the market. According to Nelson's review at the Seattle Times:

“The all-steel AfricaBike is stout enough to handle rough dirt tracks, but cruises well on suburban streets. With an integrated tail rack and a deep handlebar basket, the AfricaBike offers the tools you need to carry home the shopping.”

For every two bicycles sold, Kona donates one to the AfricaBike program.

There also are two BikeAfrica fund-raisers coming up next weekend. There's the Africa BikeTown Spin-a-Thon at Blacksburg (VA) Health and Fitness at the Weight Club from 12:30 to 5 p.m. March 29, and the March of the Moles bike ride on March 29 in Bellingham, Washington.

Photo above of BikeTown Africa bikes by Pedro Paramo at flickr.com