BIKE 4 MALI - Home Page

Welcome to BikeForMali! On August 6, 2008, Bruce Overstreet completed his bicycle ride from California to Maine to benefit Koutiala Women and Children's Hospital in Mali, West Africa. Donations and pledges per mile are still being taken and will go towards the needs of the hospital described on the "Why the Ride?" page. All updates will be posted here, as well as on the page relating to the update. Thanks for your support!

Updates!

Bruce has arrived! He's ridden the last leg of the ride to the Koutiala Women and Children's Hospital and has delivered the funds - over $60,000! Thank you all for your prayers and support of this extremely effective ride across America and in Africa to raise funds and awareness of the needs of the Koutiala Hospital.
Posted November 4, 2008

The Alliance video for Bike4Mali is completed! Click here to watch it.
Posted August 28, 2008

He did it! Yesterday afternoon, after a very cold and rainy ride, Bruce finished his bike ride and dipped his front tire in the Atlantic Ocean. It was an emotional week, and after a total of 56 riding days and over 4100 miles of riding, Bruce was finally able to see the coast.
Posted August 7, 2008

Bruce is looking for a donation of frequent-flyer miles that would be transferrable to Delta, Northwest, or AirFrance Airlines. He is hoping that by doing it this way, it will detract from the cost of getting him to Mali for his ride from Bamako to Koutiala, Mali. If you are willing to make this, or part of this donation, please email him at baobiker@gmail.com.
Posted August 5, 2008

Today, Bruce continued his ride. He rode around 90-100 miles and the family will be joining him tomorrow.
Posted July 22, 2008

Bruce was on CBN! To see the video clip, click here.
Posted July 20, 2008

In case you didn't see the blogs, we did take longer than expected getting started this week, and this coming weekend is going to be a bit last-minute. However, Bruce was able to do a 200 - no, 201 - mile ride yesterday to try and make up for this week's slow start. Today he rode 122 miles. Thanks again to everyone who's checking up with the site daily and please pray for us this weekend. Also, don't forget to be praying for the rest of the ride, for funds to keep coming in, and, most of all, for the hospital in Mali.
Posted July 16, 2008

So, it's been a few days since I last updated, sorry for that. Yesterday, we had little power in the RV for running laptops, and even less internet connectivity. However! There is a new photo in the picture gallery page, of Bruce at the top of Monarch Pass, along with a new (and slightly late) blog. The location on the map has also been updated, and the PDF version of the route has been restored, on the "Are We There Yet?" Page. I've also done some general "house cleaning" of the site.

Some people have been wondering how often the site is updated and whether anything's really done with it apart from general information about the hospital and the ride. The answer is YES!! I realize that unless someone knows where they're looking, that might be hard to realize. So, you might have noticed the new little blurb under the navigation for the site, directing users to where the most common updates can be found. Hopefully this will be helpful to everyone; letting new users know where to find information they want, as well as letting you know when you should go further than the home page.

Also, note that it says I update the location daily. This is generally true, except in cases such as last night. This is sort of obvious, but I just thought it should be mentioned that I will be updating this as often as I can, and as often as it's needed. Since Dad is riding every day (except Sundays), the location, if nothing else, will be updated daily. Thanks!! --Christina
Posted July 10, 2008

We now have a Route Page! This page will be linked to from the "Are we there yet?" page, as well as above the link to the power point, and below the first paragraph on this page.
Posted July 8, 2008

We have now made it to Woodland Park, Colorado - just west of Colorado Springs. We plan to make it there tomorrow.
Posted July 4, 2008

Bruce has now ridden a total of 1566 miles so far and we are now in Monarch, Colorado! There are several new blogs, and a blog archive page is under construction!
Posted July 3, 2008

Bruce has ridden a total of 1058 miles so far and is now in Torrey, Utah! There is also a new blog, just to give you the heads up.
Posted June 16, 2008

Bruce has made it to Milford, UT a day ahead of schedule! At this rate, who knows how long the ride will really take? There's a new blog, so head on over and check that out...
Posted June 16, 2008

Bruce has been featured twice now on the Chris Fabry Live radio show on Moody Radio. Click here to listen to the shows he's been on, and scroll down to the June 9, 2008 and May 23, 2008 broadcasts; then click "Listen" in the upper right corner.

Bruce also hopes to make it to the Nevada/Utah border by tonight, so that's how far the map's been filled in to. 2 states down, 13 to go!
Posted June 14, 2008

We have a new video on the website! If you go to the "Mali Videos" page, you will find videos from Bruce as he rides across the US. So far, there is only one, but there will be more to follow!
We also have a new blog up, and they should start to become a bit more regular on here, so be sure to check back!
Posted June 6, 2008

The ride has officially started! On Monday, June 2nd, Bruce rode 50 miles. On Tuesday, June 3rd, he rode 100 miles, and made it to Redding, California. If you go to the Are We There Yet? page, and put your mouse on the map at the top, it will show, in yellow, how far he's come. Also notice that the check points in the list below are being highlighted as he goes along.
Posted June 4, 2008

Bruce and Isaac left on Monday, and are now in California. Bruce will be starting the trek back this Monday, and we'll be sure to keep you posted!
Posted May 30, 2008

Click here for the news article published on Friday, April 25, 2008!

Letter Excerpt from a worker in Mali!

Friends and family,

It has been a while since we have written. We have been swept up in the life of the hospital and I realize that I need to take more time to communicate. God continues to be so very good to us. Plenty has happened since our last letter - perhaps the greatest thing is that Gos has sent us a hospital administrator!! Craig and Marilyn Hanscombe joined the team here in January. Craig has hit the ground running and is pushing the hospital forward in a dozen directions simultaneously. I marvel at God's goodness. Six months ago I had never heard of Craig and Marilyn. We were quite discouraged, seeing so many needs and feeling so inadequate. It seemed all we could do to keep our heads above water at the hospital, let alone take concrete steps to move forward. To think that we would find someone with financial and administrative experience, who also understood Africa and spoke French and would be willing to move to Koutiala and dive in, seemed like a naive dream. Now, here we are six months later and the entire picture looks different. I am continuously amazed at God's timing and kindness. We have seen one miraculous porvision after another.

155 babies were delivered at the hospital in the month of March. There are lots of preemies and 4 sets of twins in the house right now. It is amazing to see little two pound babies make it when you consider how little technology we have to offer.

We have had several visiting medical teams in the past 6 months. Each team leaves us stronger than we were before, as we are slowly expanding our competence and confidence. It is great fun to see the progress. 2008 looks to finish strong as we are nearing completion of a large storage building and preparing to start construction of the new maternity complex.

Thank you for your faithful prayer and support of us. It is your kindness in giving that allows us to stay out here. We are humbled by your friendships.

-Dan, Marcy, Emma, Ellie and Maggie

Updates!

Letter Excerpt from a worker in Mali!

Update from a worker in Mali!

A Few Updates...