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CANADIAN BIBLE SOCIETY TO CELEBRATE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY WITH CROSS CANADA BIKE RIDE

TORONTO — In honour of its up-coming centennial anniversary, the Canadian Bible Society is planning a coast-to-coast bike ride that will take participating cyclists on a history making, 62-day journey touching every province across the nation, July 2 – September 1, 2006.

Just as countless Canadian Bible Society (CBS) workers, (known as ‘colporteurs’), once travelled from community to community offering Bibles to those who had no other means of obtaining them, cyclists who participate in the Bike for Bibles Centennial Ride will travel through more than 100 different Canadian communities, across a distance of more than 7,800 kilometres, while helping to advance the Bible cause.

Bike for Bibles is a fundraising activity employed by Bible societies around the world. Started in Australia in 1984, the annual rides generate funds for Bible translation, publication and distribution projects globally. The Canadian Bible Society hopes to raise $500,000 through next summer’s event.

“Looking back to the earliest days of the Canadian Bible Society almost 100 years ago, our workers once carried Scriptures on their backs as they walked on foot or rode on horses or mules to make Bibles available to the people of Canada,” says Rev. Phyllis Nesbitt, National Director of the Canadian Bible Society. “The Centennial Ride will honour that heritage and that colporteur spirit of devotion to the Word of God.”

Starting in Victoria, British Columbia, participants will celebrate Canada Day together Saturday evening and begin their ride the following morning. The trek will conclude in St. John’s, Newfoundland on September 1.

“The Centennial Ride has been two years in the planning,” says Bruce Kemp, CBS District Director for North Alberta. Kemp—who is a marathon runner and avid cyclist himself—organized the event and plans on taking part. “We have structured the ride to take place in nine ‘legs’ and we have room for 110 participants on each one of those legs of the race. We are hoping 60 cyclists will take on the challenge of the entire tour.”

Anyone with a passion for cycling and a desire to support the Bible cause can participate. Past Bike for Bibles rides have included cyclists as young as teenagers and as old as octogenarians. “People can support the ride in other ways as well,” adds Kemp. “We will need roadies, sponsors and prayer partners to bolster and encourage our riders on every one of those 7,800 kilometres.”

Registration fees vary depending on the distance to be travelled and the route taken, but cover meals, transportation, accommodations, official Bike for Bibles cycling jersey and team T-shirt. To register, visit www.bikeforbibles.ca.

The Canadian Bible Society (headquartered in Toronto, Ontario), translates, publishes and distributes the Bible throughout Canada. Formally founded in 1904 and chartered in 1906, the Canadian Bible Society is a member of the United Bible Societies, a fellowship of 141 national Bible societies around the world.