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Long ride for faraway students

Steve LynnVail, CO Colorado
Kira Horvath/Vail DailyWarren Schick is going to bike 2,000 miles through Canada in May to raise money for Vision of Africa, and organization that teaches job skills to women in Uganda.
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BEAVER CREEK – Warren Schick will lose more than one month of income riding his bicycle to help expand a girl’s school in Uganda.”I think right now they think I’m crazy,” Schick said about his parents. “I know they’re concerned right now, but I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic,” when the ride is completed, he said. In May, Schick, athletic director at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, will ride more than 2,000 miles in 45 days from Nova Scotia to his home, Renfrew, Ontario, near Ottawa. Schick hopes to raise $50,000 for a women’s vocational school in Uganda. Anne Prinzhorn, Beaver Creek resident and co-founder of the school, inspired longtime friend Schick, 29, with her stories of the women’s willingness to learn skills to start their own businesses, he said.

Schick also wants to help the women in danger of being circumcised if they return to their homes. Circumcision is a genital mutilation tactic used to control women and is common in some areas of Uganda, Prinzhorn said. Every dollar will go to benefit the women through charity organization Vision of Africa, which plans to build a dormitory to expand the current enrollment of women from 27 to 50, Prinzhorn and Schick said. Schick will ride 40 hours each week on a bicycle weighing – when supplies are added – 60 to 70 pounds. He will sleep in a tent most nights, he said. Two Beaver Creek couples have already agreed to donate money for equipment and lodging, which he will use maybe twice a week, he said.”This is by far the biggest challenge I’ve given myself,” he said.

A challenge, indeed. Schick has never cycled more than 80 miles for more than a couple consecutive days. In addition to a 40-hour work week, he’s training 30 minutes to two hours a night by skinning straight up Beaver Creek Mountain on his skis.Schick’s friends are proud of him, he said. Prinzhorn was touched that her young friend has dedicated his time to the cause, she said. Schick wants people to learn from his charity ride that they can improve someone’s life, he said.”The smallest donation is going to make the biggest difference,” he said. Staff Writer Steve Lynn can be reached at 748-2931 or slynn@vaildaily.com.


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