Despite the rain clouds looming in the distance, a group of seven bicyclists passing through Oswego Monday morning were remarkably light hearted. Several hours into their 60-mile stretch of riding for the day, the group passed through the Port City on the fourth day of their 1,000 km lap of Lake Ontario.

The convoy of bicyclists, consisting of six men and one woman, all in their 20s, are a fundraising group supporting a charity organization called Africycle. This new, annual fundraising event has set a goal of raising $15,000 for their nine-day journey.

According to Michael Vanderherberg, the bicyclist who came up with the idea to circle the lake, the organizers of Africycle are the bikers’ friends, so they “decided to support them by riding around Lake Ontario.”

Vanderherberg stated the point of the ride is to “raise money for the shipment of already collected bikes that Africycle has in Canada, waiting to be shipped to Malawi, Africa.”

Africycle is a charitable organization bringing people together to improve access to bicycles in Africa, according to their Web site. The organization has two means for facilitating their charity, including their ‘Recycle-A-Bike’ program in Canada, and a bicycle repair and distribution shop in Malawi.

Africycle takes used bikes and refurbishes them, ships and sells them in Malawi, and then donates the proceeds to an orphanage and school in Zomba, Malawi.

According to their Web site, Africycle strongly believes “the bicycle can be a tool used as a catalyst for change in Malawian communities.”

“The ride has some corporate sponsors, and we’ve created a method where sponsors can donate a certain amount of money per kilometer,” said Vanderherberg. He said he is confident they will be able to obtain their goal of $15,000.

Their current tour of Lake Ontario started Friday in Port Hope, Ontario, and will return there Saturday.

According to Vanderherberg, most of their route was taken from Harvey Botzman’s “Round Lake Ontario- A Bicyclist’s Tour Guide.”

“Africycle is a new organization, they have only been around for three or four years,” Vanderherberg said, so he and his friends are doing all they can to contribute.

After their stay in Sodus Point Monday evening, the group will today cycle their longest day of the trip, called a “century day,” said Vanderherberg, “encompassing 100 miles from Sodus Point to Golden Hills State Park.”

The crew was optimistic of the weather forecast of rain for the next few days. “Sunday was fun, the rain helps us stay cool,” Vanderherberg said, “It’s fun to see how we keep up the good spirits despite the rain.”

The group has three designated indoor spots where they will stay at night, with the rest of the nights left to camp outdoors. One of the rider’s parents follows them from destination to destination in a supply car, so the riders don’t need to be burdened with heavy supply bags.

“One of our main objectives is to raise awareness and raise profile of the Africycle name,” said Vanderherberg. “It’s a small cause, but a good one.”

This is the second annual Ride For Africycle, last year’s being around one-tenth of the distance.

“We decided to turn it up a notch this year,” Vanderherberg said, “We’re planning another big trip next year, possibly a coast-to-coast trip, or involving all of the Great Lakes at the same time.”

Information about Africycle can be found at Africycle.org, and information about the Ride For Africycle along with Web logs and coverage of the ride at RideforAfricycle.com.

After returning to Port Hope, Ontario, Vanderherberg says he is looking forward to the welcome home party, as well as eating a full meal to “replenish all the lost weight.”