We are often asked why we decided to do GREEN Riders and how we came up with the idea.
This is how Kenny remembers it: Basically, we were sitting in a pub in Kuala Lumpur having some dinner after a workshop we both were attending to learn more about service learning. We were talking about some crazy ideas for an adventure that might also include a bit of education and awareness as well as service learning. In the beginning, we were talking about walking across Malaysia in the tradition of The Appalachian Trail in North America or possibly riding bikes across Malaysia from the Thai border to the Singapore border. I’m not sure how it expanded and became a ride across Southeast Asia. But it did!
This is how Jamie remembers it: It’s pretty much like Kenny said except that I wasn’t too excited about the idea at first. I was just lukewarm about the idea initially, but it grew on me. Since I had studied film in University I thought it would be a great opportunity to combine my passion for the outdoors and environmental education with documentary film making. When I returned home to Japan I started getting more and more excited. The rest is history except the fact that we originally planned to ride from Bali to Phuket. How we reversed the route is a funny story you’ll have to ask me or Kenny one day!
And this is the why!
