KETCHUM, Idaho (BRAIN) — Pro cyclist Rebecca Rusch will lead a bike tour along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos next week, to raise awareness about unexploded ordnance that remain from the Vietnam War and raise funds for the safe removal of ordnance from war zones.
Rusch will lead an eight-day, 550 kilometer ride Nov. 13- 20. The Ho Chi Minh trip is a beta test for Rusch's new business, #JoinTheRusch Adventures, which will offer bike packing, adventure trips and camp outings; often with a social mission.
In 2015 Rusch rode the entire 1,200 kilometer trail route.
"It was the most spectacular ride of my life," Rusch said of her 2015 expedition. "I was able to spend time on the route, interact with locals and pedal some of the most beautiful terrain I've ever seen. It's a special place, but the issue of UXO's (unexploded ordnance) remains very real. This journey is an opportunity to share the route with other cyclists and educate the public about the urgent need to eradicate UXOs."
Next year, Red Bull Media House will release a full length film, Blood Road, that documents Rusch's 2015 expedition, which was in honor of her father, who died in the Vietnam War. During the ride, Rusch and her Vietnamese riding partner pedaled 1,200 miles to locate her father's plane crash site while experiencing the impact war leaves on families, countries, and cultures.
More information: rebeccarusch.com.
