Cristina and Jamie Bianchini have just finished setting up the family’s campsite in Swanannoa as 4-year-old Luca throws rocks into the lake and 2-year-old Candela prepares to go on a bike ride. The family has just arrived in the Asheville area from Charleston, S.C. This stop is part of a six month, 36-state book tour for Jamie’s book A Bicycle Built for Two Billion.
Jamie recently completed an 8-1/2-year journey through 81 countries in Africa, Europe and Latin America where he asked people to join him for a ride on his tandem bicycle. During his trek, Jamie raised funds for bicycles and malaria medication . He aided in the delivery of fresh water to a community in Bolivia, worked on a school for AIDS orphans in Uganda and chronicled it all along the way.
On Friday, June 5, Jamie will share his experiences in a multimedia presentation at Youngblood Bicycles on Merrimon Avenue. The presentation will include both photos and videos from his adventures. “It lets [the audience] take their first ever intercultural expedition around the world,” Jamie says.
The presentation, Jamie adds, will bring the audience along “on this very real, very soulful adventure of this guy going out on his bicycle like a kid.”
When asked, ‘Why Asheville?’ Jamie says, “Going to places I like makes this whole trip more palatable.”
The presentation beings at 5:30 p.m. and is free to the public. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. For additional information visit Jamie’s website.
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