S.S.B.’s “Ride across the Country” coming up

Four years ago, the employees of the Social Security Board started the Ride across Belize as an initiative to uplift the image of the organization and at the same time promote a healthy lifestyle and raise money for charity. In 2007, the ride raised sixty thousand dollars. This year’s four-day ride begins this coming Thursday. Committee member Chandra Nisbet-Cansino of the S.S.B. tells us what riders can expect and who will be on the receiving end of the funds.

Chandra Nisbet-Cansino, Cmtee Member, Ride Across Belize
“The ride averages about seventy to eighty miles a day. We ride generally from Corozal to Punta Gorda in four days. The first leg being from Corozal to Belize City; the second day is Belize City to San Ignacio. The third day is San Ignacio to Dangriga and the last day is from Dangriga to Punta Gorda, which is the longest ride, but most beautiful ride.”

Kendra Griffith
“How has participation been through the years?”

Chandra Nisbet-Cansino
“Participation has gradually increased. We encourage all riders, not only the professional riders because it’s not a race, it’s a ride and we ride at a pace that is usually manageable by amateur riders or the bike clubs that they have across the country and so we encourage riders, professional and non-professional to join us and it’s becoming better every year. This year we will be riding for Marla’s House of Hope, a home in Belmopan that houses children from abused families and they need expansion to improve and offer more services to the children. We are also riding for the Diabetes Association, but specifically for a prevention program because too often the Diabetes Association is associated with helping people get dialysis treatment when the broader picture should be for prevention.”

The Belize Blood Donor’s Association will also benefit from this year’s ride. The S.S.B. contributes twenty-five thousand dollars to what is raised by the employees. For more information on the ride call S.S.B. and ask for Cansino or Dr. Ramon Figueroa or email them at ccansino@socialsecurity.org.bz or rfigueroa@socialsecurity.org. bz. Riders can register the morning of the ride for a fee of twenty-five dollars, which covers the cost of servicing and you are not required to ride the entire race.